Newsgroup: it.hobby.giochi.gdr.dnd
Titolo: QUARTA edizione 4th - intervista ad Andy Collins e Scott Rouse

da 
www.enworld.org
The following is from Xath, one of EN World's moderators, and one of
EN World's press representatives at D&D Experience:
I had the good fortune to have a sit-down chat with Scott Rouse and
Andy Collins today at D&D the Experience. In preparation, I gathered
questions from EN World posters, and asked as many as I could. The
results are below:
Question: What are your favorite aspects of the new edition?
Answer: Scott Rouse says "I feel like I'm roleplaying more. I've found
I've been able to get into my character more and sort of play the
character instead of managing a lot of the rules interactions." Rouse
thinks of himself as an "optimizer," which I take as the polite term
for min/maxer. In his current play-test group, he's playing a
trickster rogue. He started out as a brawny rogue, but re-wrote his
build to encompass what he wanted to get out of his character. Though
many of Rouse's re-specs have been as a result of rules changes in the
play-test process, he did insinuate that the edition has some
rebuilding options built in to the system. Scott Rouse also took this
opportunity to explain one of his favorite combat encounters.
He had been stocking a lot of his "per encounter" and "per day"
abilities for a final fight. His party was fighting a band of Goblins.
The party Warlock was down, and the two Dragonborn were keeping the
masses of Goblins at bay. At that point, the Big Bad came out and was
34 feet away from Rouse's character. On his turn, he took a move
action towards the boss and took an attack of opportunity from a
goblin. He then used his "Phase Step" ability (a move action) to
teleport up to 25 feet, which allowed him to flank the big bad. His
turn over, Scott used an action point to give himself an extra
standard action. He used a per day ability (Combat Advantage) and
rolled a 19 on the die for his attack. The combat advantage ability
(combined with other details he couldn't share) allowed him to deal
3d8 + 6 + 2d6 damage. He rolled well and dealt 36 damage.
Unfortunately for Scott Rouse's character, the Big Bad also had a per
day special ability. It allowed him to use a minion as a shield. So
Rouse's 36 points of damage obliterated the minion, but he was left
with the problem of being very close to the big bad. Scott described
the experience as being both glorious and a let down at the same
time.
Both Rouse and Collins insist that 4e allows for more role playing and
less accounting. Even with the release of future supplements, neither
thinks that the system will get too bogged down with mechanics. Their
goal is to keep the system as open as possible. They used the
supplement "Martial Power" as an example, insisting that only people
playing martial characters would have cause to buy the book.
One of the over-arching goals of 4e was to allow players to get their
characters to the "sweet spot" of abilities, and then to keep them
there as long as possible. Instead of getting hoards of new abilities,
many level advances offer improvements to existing abilities. On the
GM side of this, the developers have worked to make high level
monsters more manageable for the GM.
Question: Will Star Wars Saga be revised to make the rules closer to
4E?
Answer: WotC has no plans to update Saga edition to 4e unless there is
a huge demand for it from the player base. I asked them about the
comparisons of Saga edition to 4e, using the release of Alternity
before 3e as an example. Apparently, there are many more differences
between Alternity and 3e than there will be between Saga and 4e. Andy
Collins alluded to Saga edition as a "snapshot of a particular spot in
the 4e design process."
Question: What power sources can we look forward to in PHB2?
Answer: Andy Collins was esitant to promise any because they have just
started designing the book. There is an aggressive plan for how much
to fit in the book and he's not sure that all of it is feasible. The
two power sources that are highest on the list are Psionic and Primal,
but he doesn't know if it will all make it in. Apparently, they were
not able to fit all of the Divine and Arcane information into the
first PHB, so the subsequent information will also need space in the
second book.
And for those of you worried that there will be a new edition of the
PHB every year, have no fear. WotC has no intention of re-releasing
the PHB during the 4e process. Instead, new information will be
presented in a PHBII format, similar to 3.5's PHB1 and PHB2.
Question: Will the online tools for DM's in D&D Insider support house
rules? Things like custom classes, new spells, etc?
Answer: To some extent they will. As long as the house rule is
possible within the tool itself, house rules are possible. For
example, the game table mechanic currently does not support a Z axis,
so a house rule giving a character the ability to fly may not be
possible within the system. However, on the character sheet side, you
will be able to enter in your own home-brew feats. You can even
incorporate the mechanics of those classes and feats to auto calculate
if they effect ability scores, amount of weapon damage, etc. If the
character sheet senses that a non-standard mechanic is in place, it
will note that the sheet is house-ruled.
Question: It seems that one of the big barriers to entry for D&D now
(pre-4e) is that amount of effort required to be a DM -- understanding
the rules, preparing encounters, making a campaign world, etc. First,
do you agree with the assertion (that the difficulty of DMing is a
barrier to entry)? Second, will 4e be addressing this issue, and if
so, how?
Scott Rouse says "I think the DMG is a start at that effort. Andy
didn't really touch on it today; because everyone here assumes they're
a good DM...There are a lot of things in the DMG that will make bad DMs
better and good DMs great. We're looking at how we can use the
internet and D&D Insider to make everyone a better GM." One of the
items on the docket is an Encounter Generator, which they hope will
make it easier for DMs to plan encounters and adventures. Another idea
being bandied around is a video series with helpful tips for GMs.
Scott Rouse also mentioned the D&D University program that James Wyatt
ran on Barnes & Noble online a while back. They're hoping to take that
curriculum and develop new tools to make the GM's life easier. Rouse
made a point that developing new DMs is a major point of interest for
the company because every new DM equals five new players.
Question: Anecdotally there are a lot of groups where only one person
(usually the DM) buys the books, and shares with everyone else.
Obviously, this doesn't maximize WotC's potential revenue from that
group. Was part of the business case for 4e that some effort needs to
be made to address this? -- i.e. find some way to entice more people
in each group to buy the books, thereby increasing WotC's revenue?
Answer: Rouse answered "I don't think it's something we can
necessarily solve. For some reason players have a stigma of sharing
their dice, but not their books. I think book sharing is part of the
culture, part of the game. We would love for everyone to have their
own copy, but the medium allows for sharing." Rouse followed with the
idea that even people who don't have their own books can still help
others have a better game experience, and that a good game experience
benefits WotC as well. To encourage more people to buy their own
materials, Rouse insists that Wizards is taking some active steps to
make D&D as affordable as possible. He feels they've made some headway
with the following products:
- Dungeon Tiles: For the past several years, everyone in the Wizards'
world has been trying to crack the terrain puzzle. They looked at
several options, and finally decided on board-game stock. That way,
such an easily reusable product could be as consumable as possible.
(Under $10).
- Mini's Starter - Taking out the random minis brought the prices down
and made play for new characters easier. Through this, they were also
able to make the packaging more attractive without losing value.
(Under $20)
- RPG Starter - Wizard's decided to remove the minis from the product,
as they were the most expensive part and weren't necessary. Instead
they changed to flat tokens, made with the same stock as the dungeon
tiles. (Under $20)
- GM Screens & Character Sheets - WotC plans to keep the GM Screens
and character sheets at the same price ($9.95) but up the quality.
As it is, Rouse thinks that D&D has some of the best market value out
there. With only three books, you purchase a potential lifetime of
gaming.
Question: How is the D&D MMO doing? Is it meeting / exceeding /
failing to meet expectations? Are there plans to update it to the 4e
rules?
According to Scott Rouse, D&D Online is still going strong, but facing
fierce competition from World of Warcraft. Turbine continues to
release new content to the small but solid fan base. WotC is in talks
with Turbine and Atari over the 4th Edition rules, but it's ultimately
up to Atari as to whether or not the game will update to 4e. It would
involve a substantial code revision, and it might be easier for them
to start from scratch with D&D MMO part 2. Atari is here at D&D
Experience to talk about the translation of 4e to video games. I will
try to find out more on the subject
Question: Will elements of future books, such as the Martial
Sourcebook, Arcane Sourcebook, Tome of Treasures, etc, be added to the
GSL?
Answer: There will be elements of future source-books. The GSL will be
updated on a more regular basis. Rouse stated that they would
ultimately rather have folks design new stuff than just rehash what
WotC has published. They also want ppublishers to be able to reference
all of the core classes, all of which will not be available in the
initial three books.
Q: Will the GSL (Games System License) prohibit 3rd party publsihers
from creating certain kinds of material, ie: sourcebooks, software,
etc?
Answer: Yes. It's going to be a bit more how like the d20 system
trademark works. For example, companies can still create fantasy based
minis, they just can't create compatible rules. There can also be no
GSL based computer games. Adventures, campaign settings, sourcebooks,
are still all ok.
Question: What exactly is the holdup with getting third party
publishers the new OGL?
Answer: It's taking longer than they had hoped. WotC had talked with
several third party publishers in January. A draft of the License is
in review and Scott and Andy both agree that it is a priority in one
of the things they'd really like to get off their chest. "We want
folks to have the license. We want them to contribute and participate.
We want to make sure the license does what we want it to do, and
doesn't do what we don't want it to do." The powers that be also need
to make sure that Wizards isn't opening themselves to something
damaging. Their chief concern is to protect the game, for personal and
professional reasons. They've learned a lot from the OGL, and enhance
what worked there.
Question: What sorts of products do you hope that 3rd party publishers
produce?
Answer: Campaign settings, adventures, sourcebooks, etc. "We want them
to do creative stuff; explore as many avenues of design as they can
find in the game. I hope that a lot of them find different places to
explore than what WotC is doing, but know there will be overlap."
Rouse continued, saying that if 3 companies publish the same monster,
the players will decide which is the best. Wizards is looking for
serious companies to contribute for the long haul.
Question: How does multiclassing work in general?
Answer: Andy Collins remarked that they've explored a lot of avenues.
They were very concerned about getting it to work well. He commented
that there were good and bad things about 3e, and that he couldn't
give any specific details about how that would translate to 4th
Edition. He was more than willing, however, to comment from a
philosophical point of view. "We want multiclassing to allow a
character to dabble outside of their class without losing what makes
their class and role in the party special and unique." On a fighter
multiclassing into rogue, he commented "We want a fighter/rogue to
feel like a fighter with rogue topping." He clarified a few points.
Characters in 4e are built as to have a specific niche role in the
party. You can't combine as many classes as you want into a character
because that will result in being under-powered. Collins recommends
trying to stay away from hybriding characters into meaninglessness.
Question: How do you gain abilities from other classes?
Answer: You can gain abilities from other classes, but they're not
giving that secret away quite yet. Andy Collins insists that though
you'll be able to gain some ability, you'll never be able to do
everything that another class does.
Question: We have seen many examples of low-level play. When can we
expect to see examples of high (upper paragon or epic) level play?
Answer: Probably not before the release. The playtesting phase is
done. WotC is focusing on low-level play because new players learn
best at low levels. Don't worry though. They did playtest at high
levels, both internally and externally. Andy Collins noted that the
game doesn't have fundamental changes at high levels. Powers are more
potent, monsters are scarier, but there shouldn't be fundamental
shifts to the kinds of adventures you go on.
How long does character creation take for, say, a Paragon tier
character?
Answer: It depends on if you're creating a character for the first
time or not. Andy Collins recommends that you don't build one for your
first character. That said, even that character is just a list of
choices from various menus. There are no skill points to deal with, so
comparable to 3e, the process should be much simpler.
Question: I'd be curious as to what they can say about the social
encounter/challenge system, and how unified the mechanics are. Is it
similar to combat, is it related to the skill system, or is it an
entirely different subsystem?
Answer: The DMG has a lengthily description of "non-combat
challenges." These include social encounters, chase scenes, library
research, etc. They aren't handled by 1 or 2 dice rolls, but instead
involve multiple checks over some period of time in the game to see an
outcome. Andy Collins says that the closest thing to it is the Complex
Skill check from Alternity. Their goal is to have more people at the
table involved in social situations. Player 1 might make diplomacy
check, as Player 2 makes a bluff check to support him, and Player 3
makes an intimidate check to drive the point home. (If done correctly,
these checks should aid each other, not counter.) An NPC might counter
with the support of a Knowledge roll, and Player 1 counters with other
knowledge and a second diplomacy check. This makes it more of a back
and forth between players and GMs. Collins noted that they don't want
to penalize players who's own ability doesn't match their characters,
but they still want to inject roleplaying into social encounters. The
result is a range of results from a social situation instead of a
simple pass/fail.
Question: What can you tell us about D&D Insider?
Answer: The original ".pdf with every book" plan changed. Now, WotC
has the Rules Database, which is incorporated into the D&D insider.
Initially the plan was that D&D insider would know what books you own,
and give you access to the corresponding rules in the database. They
soon determined that that plan was too complicated. In an effort to
really embrace the community, they decided on a much simpler plan. D&D
Insider assumes that a subscriber owns every product that WotC has
published. As long as you subscribe, you'll have complete access to
everything in the rules database. WotC will still offer .pdf's of 4e
books for sale.
The D&D Insider E-commerce will have about 14 different payment
options. The price of D&D insider won't change with the edition. The
prices are currently listed as:
- 1 month = $14.95/mo
- 3 months = $12.95/mo
- 12 months = $9.95/mo
With membership comes unlimited access to rules database, use of the
full suite of character creation tools (with 50 save slots for
character sheets and virtual miniatures). You will also receive all
Dragon and Dungeon magazine content as released, and a compiled
monthly .pdf. Members will also have unlimited access to the D&D
virtual game table and other community features. As a limited time
offer at sign up, members will get complete set of online minis and
dungeon tiles. In a combination of the 'subscription' and
'microtransaction' models, individual minis and tiles will be
available for separate purchase. However, you don't need to purchase
D&D minis to play. All members will have included access to the entire
WotC collection of 2d tokens.
Well, that about wraps this article up. Thanks to Scott Rouse and Andy
Collins for taking the time out of their busy schedules to speak with
me.
- Xath
--
Fabio

simple pass/fail.
conflict resolution?
-- 
 Domon

 conflict resolution?
?
--
Fabio

?
risoluzione "del conflitto della scena, globale" invece che "delle
singole operazioni, una per una"
sostanzialmente, un'innovazione Forgista :)
-- 
 Domon

 sostanzialmente, un'innovazione Forgista :)
non sono sicuro di aver capito, in effetti dicono che usano una
sequenza di roll piuttosto che un roll singolo
Fabio



bisopgna vedere poi come sarà inquadrato.
però mi sembra che invece di dirti "riuscito e fallito" sulle singole
azioni, il sistema ti permette all'interno di uan challenge ("scena")
di individuare consa vuoi ottenere dalla scena e procedere coi vari
tiri ad avvicinarti o meno, descrivendo come me fai, ma sapendo già
dove stai andando a parare in definitiva.
sbajo?
-- 
 Domon


si più o meno :)
Fabio