4th Edition D&D announced

[B4UTRUST]

What you need to know about the new 4th ed D&D

1. Character roles are more clearly defined.
Everyone who’s played D&D knows that there are roles for
each character – some characters “tank”, some characters
are “artillery”, etc. 4th Edition defines those roles into four
types – controller, defender, leader, and striker. Controllers
(like wizards) deal with large amounts of enemies at once,
favoring offense over defense. Defenders (like fighters and
paladins) are the front-line characters that have great
defensive abilities and good melee offense. Leaders (like
clerics and warlords) are good at aiding other members of
the party by healing, inspiring, or protecting them. Strikers
(like rangers, rogues, and warlocks) deal large amounts of
damage to single targets at one time and quickly move about
the battlefield. Most adventuring parties consist of at least
one character of each of the roles.

2. Powers give you more combat options.
Clerics chant prayers, wizards incant spells, and fighters
attempt exploits. These are all examples of powers – your
suite of combat options. Three power sources – arcane,
divine, and martial – are presented in the Player’s Handbook.
Each character class draws abilities from one of these power
sources: clerics and paladins use divine powers (prayers),
warlocks and wizards use arcane powers (spells), and
fighters, rangers, rogues, and warlords use martial powers
(exploits).
You get a number of powers based on your character’s
level. Powers can be used at-will, once per encounter, or
once per day depending on the power.
TIP: Use your at-will powers instead of using basic
attacks. They’ll frequently do more than just a modest
amount of damage to one enemy.

3. Attacker rolls against a static defense.
In 4th Edition, you have 4 defense values – Armor Class,
Fortitude, Reflex, and Will. The attacker chooses an attack,
rolls 1d20, adds the attack bonus, and calls out the result
against the appropriate defense. The defenses are all static
numbers, just like Armor Class was in 3rd Edition. Attack
actions involve a “to hit” roll against any and all targets, so a
power that targets all enemies within 1 square requires a
separate attack roll against each enemy affected.
TIP: If you make an attack against multiple targets, you
don’t roll damage for each target – just roll that once. It’s best
when you attack multiple targets to roll damage first, and
then roll your attacks.

4. Standard, move, and minor actions.
Each time it’s your turn, you get one standard, one move,
and one minor action. Standard actions are usually attacks,
move actions are usually used to move, and minor actions
are little things like drawing a weapon or opening a door.
You can always exchange a standard action for a move
action or minor action, or a move action for a minor action.
There are also free actions, which take almost no time or
effort, such as dropping a held item or talking. You can take
free actions during your turn or anyone else’s turn, and as
many as you like (within reason).
There’s another category of actions called triggered
actions – these include opportunity actions (like opportunity
attacks) and immediate actions (like a readied action). Your
DM can tell you more about those should you need them.

5. Healing gets an overhaul.
Hit points still measure your ability to stay in the fight, but
healing’s no longer just the burden of one character
anymore. Each character has a certain number of healing
surges. Once during each encounter, you can take a
standard action called a second wind; this gives you a certain
amount of hit points back equal to your healing surge value
and gives you a +2 bonus to all your defenses until the start
of your next turn. You then tick off one of your healing
surges for the day. Some powers (like some cleric prayers)
will also heal you your healing surge value, and you’ll tick off
your healing surges for them as well. When you run out of
healing surges, you’ll want to take an extended rest.
If you’re outside of combat, you can take a short rest and
tick off the healing surges you need to heal up damage.
TIP: If you’ve been knocked down a few hit points and
can’t decide what to do when it’s your turn, taking a second
wind action is a good idea.

6. Short and extended rests.
Resting’s now divided into two groups – short and extended.
A short rest lasts 5 minutes, and is a long enough time for
you to regain your encounter powers and use healing surges
to heal up. An extended rest is akin to “camping” and lasts 6
hours. After an extended rest, you’re fully healed, you have a
full compliment of healing surges, you have your daily
powers back, and you reset your action points to 1.
TIP: It’s good to take an extended rest when some
members in the group are down to about 1 healing surge
remaining, or everyone has used all their daily powers.

7. Attack!
Attacks are divided up into a few different types. Melee attacks
are those you make usually when you’re adjacent to your target.
Ranged attacks can be made at any distance up to the maximum
range of the attack; however, if you take a ranged attack next to
an enemy you provoke an opportunity attack against you. Close
attacks affect an area starting with squares adjacent to you;
these attacks don’t provoke an opportunity attack. Area attacks
usually affect an area at range; these attacks do provoke
opportunity attacks.
Most of the time when you take an attack, you’ll use one of
your powers. However, there are some times when you’ll use a
basic attack – just a regular old swing of the sword or shot from
the bow. These attacks are less powerful than using powers, but
they can get the job done. You’ll use a basic attack when you’re
charging, making opportunity attacks, or when you use certain
powers.

8. Action points give you an extra action.
You begin each adventure with 1 action point, and you can get
another one for every 2 encounters that you complete (called a
milestone). You can spend 1 action point per encounter to take
one extra action on your turn. It can be a standard, move, or
minor action.
When you take an extended rest, your action points reset
back to 1.
TIP: Make sure to spend action points at least once every
other encounter (as often as you earn them), since you can only
spend one per encounter.

9. Movement is quick and easy.
Each character has a speed listed in squares. One 1-inch square
equals one five-foot square in the game world. When you take a
move action, you can move up to the indicated number of
squares. Moving from one square to another, even diagonally,
costs 1 square of speed. Sometimes terrain will slow you down,
costing you more than 1 square of speed – this is called difficult
terrain.
Moving away from an enemy adjacent from you usually
provokes an opportunity attack. However, you can also use a
move action to shift; this lets you move one square without
suffering an opportunity attack from adjacent enemies.
TIP: If you need to get somewhere fast, you can run as a
move action. This gives you +2 speed for your move, but you
grant any attackers combat advantage until the beginning of
your next turn.

10. Saving throws are straightforward.
Sometimes your character will be hit by an ongoing effect, like
taking poison damage or being immobilized. When this
happens you’ll usually get to make a saving throw to remove the
effect at the end of your turn. Saving throws are simple – just
roll 1d20. If you roll a 10 or higher, you’ll end the effect. If you
roll a 9 or lower, the effect will usually continue until you have
to make another saving throw at the end of your next turn.
Some characters have bonuses that can be applied to certain
types of saving throws, and some powers grant modifications to
saving throws as well.

11. Durations are easy to manage.
Most effects that have durations (usually imparting a condition
on the target) last either until the target makes a saving throw to
ward it off, or until the end of the next turn of the attacker that
caused the nasty effect. A few effects have durations that last
through the entire encounter. No more tracking rounds to
determine when your effect ends!

12. Reach (usually) isn’t as threatening.
Reach (possessed by some monsters and weapons) is only
“active” on the attacker’s turn. Otherwise, attackers with reach
function just like those without reach. This is usually most
relevant when determining the area a character or monster
threatens.
TIP: Watch out for the few creatures with threatening
reach – they can threaten more than just squares adjacent to
them.

13. A trio of “c” rules you might want to know.
• Combat Advantage – This gives you a +2 bonus to attack
rolls when you’re flanking, or when the target is under one
of a number of conditions (dazed, surprised, etc.).
• Cover – If an enemy has cover, you get a -2 penalty to
attack rolls against it. Your allies don’t provide cover, but
enemies do. There’s also no penalty for making ranged
attacks into melee.
• Charging – This is a standard action. Move up to your
speed, and make a basic attack. You get a +1 bonus on the
attack roll. You have to move at least 2 squares from your
starting position, and you must charge to the nearest square
from which you can attack your target. You can’t charge if
the nearest square is occupied, but you can charge over
difficult terrain (it just costs you extra movement).

[B4UTRUST]

I also got my hands on the new worlds & monsters preview in pdf format if anyone wants it.

Topics cover the process of recreating and reassessing monsters, the new setting, new cosmology, the world and the end of the great wheel, dragons, giants, the underdark, feywild, shadowfell, the elemental chaos, the astral sea, far realms and staff thoughts on the new 4th ed.

[SirNitram]

More goodies. 'Minion' and 'Elite' categories of monster get fleshed out a bit.

A 'Minion' is normal except for it's notation under HP: Dies if takes damage. Finally, a way to have hordes of enemies to cut a swath through that doesn't require keeping track of all those HP counts.

An 'Elite' is tougher and harder to hurt. +2 to AC and Defenses, and double the hitpoints.

Also fleshed out are the Tiers, Heroic(1-10), Paragon(11-21), Epic(21-30). It's a huge article with repetition, so I'll link and hit the main points. Link

As we saw from the powers and other stats, 1st level is now playable. It's even intended to be heroic; actually heroic. They rely on Healing Surges and the various ways to activate them for healing; there's the per-encounter second wind, healing from a paladin or cleric, and apparently from the Heal Skill(THE HEAL SKILL USEFUL? BLASPHEMY!). Near the top is the Raise Dead ritual, so you can bounce back once you get there. Magic items can apparently show up fairly quickly(Reference to filling your slots by 10th being possible), and short bursts of incredible feats. Combat is largely low 'Sweet Spot': Move on foot, use terrain, etc. The suggested level of Plot Badassity is the fate of a town or village, exploring crypts, ruins, and thwarting the monstrous races like orcs.

Paragon is apparently a notable step up. It's been clarified that you won't suddenly 'bing' up hugely at 11th, but the general tone changes. Action points, magic rings, and limited regaining of powers in encounters come into play. Combat moves to higher 'sweet spot': Short range teleports and flight circumvent terrain, invisibility sometimes shows up, and resistance to one or two damage types. Healing goes beyond healing surges: Regeneration(!!!) and other powers offer more staying power in a day. Passwall, Shadow Walk, and some nifty divinations are added to the rituals, allowing for new solutions. With the power of flight through mounts and rituals, think nation, or upper levels in this tier, world. Hydras, giants, yuan-ti, and the denizens of the Underdark are suddenly against you, and you may wind up visiting uncharted lands.

Epic. Well. The gloves come off, apparently. An entire party flying during combat? A flash and you're across a nation? Routine teleports and flight in combat, plus more daily lasting power, invisibility becoming common, and apparently some can return from the dead.. In the same battle they fell! Epic Rituals go balls out: View any creature, instantly teleport anywhere in the world.. Crazy stuff. The Epic Destiny powers are said to 'Break the rules in dramatic ways'. Expect to face the armies of the devils and demons, horrifically twisted Archmages who have entered Lichdom, and all the horrible abominations you can expect to try and end the world.

It even mentions fighting gods.

Hell. Yea. Cyric? Just for the novel Crucible, your ass is going on my trophy wall.

There's rules for creating a higher-level PC included, which reveal a few things: Feat retraining is ridiculously easy, so you can swap out your early level ones for Paragon or Epics, though there's caps on how many you can have. It also breaks down powers. Four categories: At Will(You will always have two, never more, never less. There's apparently a modifier of some importance at level 21 for them, though). Encounter powers, which go up a bit like spells. 1 power until level 3, then 3 low level and 1 higher level. Another bump at 7, for 7, 3, 1. 13, it's 13, 7, 3. Bumps with a similar pattern occour at 17, 23, and 27. There's also a notation P for 11 through 30: It's defined as 'Power from your paragon path'. Daily powers are the same, only it's 5 and 9 levels, and of course, 5 and 9 are the increments(1; 5,1; 9,5,1; 15;9;5, etc). P shows up again, but not until 20th. Curious. 'Capstone' ability? Finally, there's Utility. We've seen it only briefly, as you get your first 2 at level 2... And instead of the three cap we saw, the final tally is 22, 16, 10, 6, 2. There's a P at level 12, and an E(Epic Destiny power) at 26.

The 'Gear' section is much streamlined from the 'Here's a huge chunk of cash' model. Magic Items: One item of your level +1, one item of your level, one item of your level -1. Mundane: Whatever you like. Cash on hand: Equal to the value of a magic item your level -1. Spend it on rituals, potions, magic items.. Or just tote it around and flaunt it.

In short, apart from the mild tedium or picking out a bunch of powers, making high level characters looks more better.

[Cynical Cat]

Utility powers have previously shown to include things like light spells and other useful, but noncombat abilities.

[Rogue 9]

I suspected as much. The magic item rules they talk about in the article were pioneered in the Magic Item Compendium, though of course the item level system in there allows for more items since 3.x characters are so dependent on them. The book also introduced a lot of relatively cheap utility items; we used it from the beginning in one of our campaigns and my character had all his item slots except the face slot filled by 9th level. Granted, it was mostly with cheap stuff we'd found (being a barbarian, most of his magical goodness was in his weapon), but it was an interesting change of pace.

Though it does introduce the problem of occasionally forgetting that you have an item that would be useful in a given situation.

[Cynical Cat]

I suspected as much. The magic item rules they talk about in the article were pioneered in the Magic Item Compendium, though of course the item level system in there allows for more items since 3.x characters are so dependent on them. The book also introduced a lot of relatively cheap utility items; we used it from the beginning in one of our campaigns and my character had all his item slots except the face slot filled by 9th level. Granted, it was mostly with cheap stuff we'd found (being a barbarian, most of his magical goodness was in his weapon), but it was an interesting change of pace.

Magic Item Compendium was very nice. Lots of useful, low level gear that remained useful at higher levels. I have to say I'm glad that 4th is moving away from "have to have combination x of augmentative items to be competitive".

Though it does introduce the problem of occasionally forgetting that you have an item that would be useful in a given situation.

Tell me about it. Nalifan's arsenal is staggering.

[frigidmagi]

There's at least one epic power that starts off

"Once a Day when you die..."

[Comrade Tortoise]

Ok, that is just downright unsettling. I dont plan on any of my characters dying once a day... maybe once a week but not once a day

[Cynical Cat]

Ok, that is just downright unsettling. I dont plan on any of my characters dying once a day... maybe once a week but not once a day

I didn't like it at first, but then I started thinking, having some immortal "Highlander" or "Planescape: Torments" style PC would be appropriate for epic level and thus the ability isn't necessarily bad. We are talking "Nine Princes of Amber" power level here.

[LadyTevar]

Ok, that is just downright unsettling. I dont plan on any of my characters dying once a day... maybe once a week but not once a day

I didn't like it at first, but then I started thinking, having some immortal "Highlander" or "Planescape: Torments" style PC would be appropriate for epic level and thus the ability isn't necessarily bad. We are talking "Nine Princes of Amber" power level here.

Hey, I've seen "Planescape: Torment". Guy replaces damn near his whole body by the end of it! Hell, you make spare change by going out, getting killed, and letting the Dustmen take you away!

[SirNitram]

If you don't like that power, take a different Epic Destiny. There's apparently a few per class(Probably some based on race). Honestly, I see this 'Once per day, when you die..' as winding up being a Fighter or Paladin power, as they are the meatsacks in front, with powers to keep combatants hitting them.

For a Fighter, it's probably the classic 'Too stubborn to die' like Boromir, for Paladins it could be a return bathed in holy light.

[Cynical Cat]

For a Fighter, it's probably the classic 'Too stubborn to die' like Boromir, for Paladins it could be a return bathed in holy light.

It's far too high fantasy to be Boromir. But epic D&D is pretty high fantasy. Reminds me of the Warrior power Death Stand from Earthdawn.

[SirNitram]

For a Fighter, it's probably the classic 'Too stubborn to die' like Boromir, for Paladins it could be a return bathed in holy light.

It's far too high fantasy to be Boromir. But epic D&D is pretty high fantasy. Reminds me of the Warrior power Death Stand from Earthdawn.

True. I was trying to avoid injecting deific or magical powers, but let's face it, an Epic Tier Fighter is going to be bringing magic in spades, and probably have at least a minor favor from some minor godling.

[Cynical Cat]

True. I was trying to avoid injecting deific or magical powers, but let's face it, an Epic Tier Fighter is going to be bringing magic in spades, and probably have at least a minor favor from some minor godling.

If it was good enough for the Greeks and Celts, it's good enough for your character.

[SirNitram]

More!(Expect fairly regular dumps until the release. I'll continue to post links, but given the likely volume of quotes, I'll just synopsis.)

DMG: Customizing Monsters.

Alot more sane than the kludgy Savage Species or 'Advancement' methods. Straight adjustments are +/-1 to attack, defense, and AC per level. Every 2 levels, adjust damage from it's attacks by one. This works, in general, up to 5 levels either direction.

You can always just throw some gear on the baddies, and it suggests a 'threshold' for limiting the bonuses the monsters get from magical gear. It also returns to the model of some armor just isn't worth throwing on.

Templates return. One big, important difference: Limit of two. One turns an NPC or monster into an elite. That means +2 to defenses and double HP. If you for whatever reason give it two, it becomes a Solo Monster. No info on those yet.

The ones shown, Lich and Vampire Lord, also reveal a change to Regeneration: Now, specific conditions stop all regeneration for a time.

Monster Manual: Epic foe, Phane

A leftover weapon from a war between Primordials and Gods, the Phane manipulates time to battle opponents. Decked out with four at wills(Close in attack with move, ranged attack that debilitates, burst that debilitates, and a remove effect), level 26, and you have a nasty foe.

[Rogue 9]

Only two templates? Well that'll just shut down my group's other DM; he loves his templated monstrosities of PWNING DOOM.

[SirNitram]

Was it you, Rogue, who wanted to know about the OGL?

It's generally back. There's free, and there's a 'registration', which apparently is paying them to check it's all good and then you can slap a logo on it saying you have Wizard's approval. So 3rd parties aren't out, both businesses and just random dudes.

[Rogue 9]

What, exactly, would paying them to make sure it's all good do for you, exactly? Surely it's not to make sure it's balanced with the rest of the game; they can't even do that for their own shit.

[SirNitram]

What, exactly, would paying them to make sure it's all good do for you, exactly? Surely it's not to make sure it's balanced with the rest of the game; they can't even do that for their own shit.

There's a reason we called them Druids Of The Coast...

Marketing, really. 'Look! Approved!'

[B4UTRUST]

Basically it's so they can make money by preventing another sex book for D&D from my understanding. They really didn't like the book of erotic fantasy.

"Here's $100, are we approved?"
"Does it contain sex?"
"No, it contains religion, violence, rape, murder, sins out the ass, mythical creatures, the pits of hell and cheap ways to minmax characters into stupidity."
"Well, just as long as it's not the book of erotic fantasy 2, you're good."

[frigidmagi]

Huh B4? This is DnD, not tea cozy checkers, the books are suppose to contain regilion, violence and mythic beasts, otherwise you're doing it wrong.

The book of Erotic Fantasy was just silly.

[SirNitram]

It was. Alot of people got it because of OMFGBOOBIES but it wasn't good.

[LadyTevar]

It was. Alot of people got it because of OMFGBOOBIES but it wasn't good.

Is that why you have the PDF?

I read over it. One or two useful things, otherwise even the pics weren't that good.

[frigidmagi]

I read over it. One or two useful things, otherwise even the pics weren't that good.

That cause they couldn't decide whether to be a soft porn book or a rule book. Pick one and do a good job.

[Comrade Tortoise]

I prefered the encyclopedia arcane nymphology, but that was meant as pure humor...