D&D 4E D&D 4E fans: what do you like about 4E?

[Hussar]

Reading through this, I just keep nodding and agreeing.

One thing I didn't see that I personally REALLY LOVE:

Standardized area of effects. Everything is square. For someone who plays on virtual tabletop, this is ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC. Not having to screw around with line effects, and (shudder) cone effects, makes me so happy.

 

[Voadam]

I just started playing last year, and I have to say I am really digging the crunchy tactical combat. Even for fights that aren't playing to 4e's strengths, I'm (so far) enjoying the cut and thrust of fighting.

For me it is also the type of tactical crunch. It is not GURPS where you take one second actions with facing and movement versus attack tradeoff issues, but a D&D round where you can almost always do a neat attack and cause effects to happen. The crunch on movement, types of damage, different area effects or condition impositions works well with the move, attack, minor action economy of 4e.

 

[Composer99]

For me it is also the type of tactical crunch. It is not GURPS where you take one second actions with facing and movement versus attack tradeoff issues, but a D&D round where you can almost always do a neat attack and cause effects to happen. The crunch on movement, types of damage, different area effects or condition impositions works well with the move, attack, minor action economy of 4e.

Amen to that!

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I’m not a huge fan, but there were 2 things that stood out to me:

1) it had the best version of the Warlock up to that point. IMHO, it wasn’t even close.

2) I felt the 4Ed mechanics- especially the AEDU power breakdown- would make a stellar classless toolbox system, unencumbered by shoehorning it into D&D’s “ecosystem”. It would still need some tweaking, but the bones are solid.

 

[Zeromaru X]

I agree with a lot of what people here have already said. My favorite stuff from 4e:

-Clear rules: The game tells you upfront how things work, which allows you to spend less time with rulings and clarifications, that you can use to play the game.

-The updates: During 4e's life, we got a lot of updates to the system, that really improved it in the long run. Be it the monthly errata, that constantly fixed the bugs of the game, or the whole revamping the rules got in the later half of 4e life (Rules Compendium, Essentials, etc.). When 4e ended, the system was as perfected as much as it could be.

-Easy to DM: The clear rules allow DMs to actually enjoy the act of DMing. Encounter building was easy and straightforward. You don't have to spend hours and hours of preparations for a single session, monsters stats are filled with the precise information you need to ruled combat (no longer looking other books in search of this specific spell the monster may or may not use in the combat), which also mean that modification and creation of new NPCs and monsters was really easy...

The lore: Perhaps my favorite part, I really love the lore and concept of the Points of Light world. It's a world that makes sense in the context of D&D. The mythology and the gods make sense and is integrated into the world, so it affects it and makes sense.

The adaptability: 4e was really easy to houserule. Do you wanted to cast a 'Frostball' instead of a Firebal? Just reskin this power and be happy. It's actually encouraged in the books. You need an specific monster that don't exist in the rules? Just use this other monster, change some keywords, and it's done. You can port encounters from premade adventures into your campaign with little and easy modification, etc...

 

[Campbell]

The setting. The way it embedded interesting conflicts at every layer of the lore in a way that drew player characters directly into it. How it provided a foundation, but then got out of the way and let players/DMs really make it their own. Also, how it had this visceral feel and style to it all. How everything was designed with player interaction in mind. Some of the best narrative design I have ever seen in an RPG.

 

[MichaelSomething]

4E inspired me to create homebrew stuff like never before! Like this...


Ladies' Man

"Can I buy you a fish sandwich?"

Prerequisties:16 Charisma, Male, trained in Diplomacy

For information about the Ladies' Man class, please watch The Ladies Man (2000) starring Tim Meadows.

Ladies' Man Path Features

Classic First Line (11th level):The first Diplomacy check you make when interacting with a lady (or ladies) receives a +5 power bonus.

SmoothMoves (11th level):You can spend an action point to automatically gain two successes in any Skill Challenges that involve "enhancing relationships" with the ladies. You can only use this power once per Skill Challenge.

Just too Fine (16th level):Any lady that makes an attack roll against you become dazed (save ends).

Ladies'Man Powers

Just hit 'em Ladies' Man Attack 11
When it comes to fighting, forget the fancy stuff and just hit them.
Save the fancy stuff for the ladies.
Encounter * Weapon
Immediate Interrupt Melee Weapon
Trigger:An adjacent creature uses a power that is not a basic attack.
Target:The creature making the attack
Attack: Strength +2 vs. AC
Hit:2[W] plus Strength modifier damage and the target's attack iscancelled.
Increase to +4 bonus at 21st level.

Taking your Calls Ladies' Man Utility 12
Since you are such a Ladies' Man, you offer advice to others about relationships.
Encounter
Immediate Reaction Ranged 30
Trigger: An ally fails a Diplomacy check while interacting with a lady.
Effect: That ally rerolls that check using your total Diplomacy bonus instead of their own.

Supreme Seduction Ladies' Man Attack 20
No lady can resist the Ladies' Man.
Daily* Charm
Standard Action Ranged 5
Target: A lady
Attack:Charisma + 6 vs. Will
Hit: The target is Dominated for a number ofhours equal to your Charisma modifier.
Miss: The target isDominated until the end of your next turn.

 

[cbwjm]

I've mentioned this in plenty of 4e threads, but I liked the changes to the base cosmology, the war between the gods and primordials, as it resonated with real world mythology.

Character themes were a great addition. I guess they were sort of similar to the old 2e kits, but they seemed to be more impactful.

I liked the essentials classes, I think the edition would have lasted longer had they started with them.

Hybrid classes brought back old school multiclassing a bit more effectively that the multiclass feats. The feats were bad and were still good for a dip into another class, but I definitely preferred hybrids.

The builders were great, sure the character builder was super useful for quickly putting together a PC, but the monster builder was amazing, largely due to it doing all the calculations for you. You could easily alter a monster to a new level, it was easy to make your own monsters, etc, it was a great builder and I wish the dndbeyond builder was as simple to use.

 

[TheAlkaizer]

1. Nentir Vale.

I'm a big fan of 4E. But I won't pile on, most of the things that I like about it were already mentioned.

However, I always homebrewed and didn't touch the official settings. Why is Nentir Vale getting so much love? Isn't it really small?

 

[deganawida]

I'm a big fan of 4E. But I won't pile on, most of the things that I like about it were already mentioned.

However, I always homebrewed and didn't touch the official settings. Why is Nentir Vale getting so much love? Isn't it really small?

Yes, and no. One of the conceits about Nentir Vale is that one can cross over into the Feywild or Shadowfell at various places, which increases its real estate.

Where it is viewed as small, it’s an advantage IMO. You have a bigger chance to make a difference and see it being made. It’s also a great setting for showing that one can be a hero and important without having to save the entire world.

Each named spot is very detailed, and fits together in an organic fashion. I’ve never seen such a small area put together so well, or presented so well, outside of straight fiction. This is a better Vale than any in FR IMO (lack of Randall Morn not withstanding).

As others have mentioned, the creation myth of the Dawn War reads like actual real-world mythology. It’s messy, and beautiful.