Brave New World
If you have read this column for a while (and if you haven’t feel free to go back and read the stuff you missed, I’ll wait) you know I’ve played every version of D&D since AD&D 1E with long campaigns in 3.5 and a Heroic level campaign of 4E pre-Essentials. I like D&D quite a bit.
D&D N
I'll admit, I was very skeptical but hopeful. Have 4E edition warriors sit down with 3E until I die grognards? Bring back some 1E guys and some kid brand new to RPGs? And we all play together, roleplayers and number crunchers whatever system edition we favor? Yeah right.
As a bonus, my friends and I took a picture with Monte Cook. I was the short one in the picture. Having some many Wizards employees on hand (upwards of ten I believe) showed to me that the feedback is important and being listened to.
What I Wanted out of D&D N
Since I can’t share mechanics, let me explain what I’m looking for in D&D. One, to be able to game with anyone who likes D&D. And none of us have to justify what edition we’re playing.
Two, adventuring should be dangerous. I don't want to be superman. If I make a tactical error it might get my PC killed or nearly so. That is fair, especially if the DM is providing visual clues and hints about the danger. I don’t want gotcha instant death though.
So I’m at D&D Experience and I want the edition wars dead and a challenging play experience.
Logistics of the D&D N Adventure
We had six players plus one DM. French Canadian, twelve year old and dad, Bostonian (friends sent him to D&D Experience as a birthday present to check out D&D N), me and two of my gaming buddies--one played 4E to 30th level and the other left the D&D hobby over 4E. Six players was not a problem to run but I could see smaller groups (and maybe bigger with an experienced DM--eight tops maybe).
The adventure was basic, literally (from D&D Experience description: Caves of Chaos). Just dice, paper, and pencils. And a blue dungeon map (also in the pics Wizards provided). Recent posts by Wizards has since reported that this version of D&D N had no extra rule modules—it was bare bones basic rules only.
What It Played Like at the Table
Our DM smiled through most of the game and at one point he pretended to hand me the gold card out of his wallet based on some BS my character was slinging around. He'd played everything from 1E forward and he was pleased.
On the other hand, a twelve year old (with his Dad) mostly stuck to what his character sheet had. He did better than I did the whole game from a mechanical standpoint.
We never slowed down, we never argued, and the DM seemed relaxed and energized. We did need to stay engaged and pay attention since the game rolled along quickly based on the design of the adventure. I could see a DM being able to easily moderate the pace.
I was able to play D&D N with strangers, one from another country and another a kid, and we were all on the same team with some of us yelling out in character and others focusing on what the character could do. And we had a 4E guy that had played all the way to 30th level in his home campaign and another guy who left D&D because of 4E and they worked together well. That was priceless. You can't sell that kind of synergy. Well, you could, if I could pre-order D&D N.
I think what amazed me the most is that they really did manage to pull in something from all editions, thus making it truly D&D All Editions but also make it a new, modern game that was actually fun to play. My character was the most 4E like but I saw all the editions in what was represented around the table and in the adventure itself.
The weirdest thing was, I meant to really study the sheets, memorize things, try to see how things ticked just to satisfy my curiosity. But I ended up having so much fun I didn't care so much about all the individual rules. That surprised me, I expected a playtest to be a bit dull and unpolished. Instead, I got swept up and lost track of a few hours in a hobby I enjoy. I can't remember the last time that happened to me!
My Character
My character had the ability to do much more than the adventure could cover but that just encouraged me to improvise. Other players stuck just to the character sheets and did well--no pressure to roleplay and no penalty for new/shy players who weren't into it. Loud mouths like me did okay but attracted monster attacks (watch what happens to officers in war movies--it goes like that).
My character without a doubt had its genesis in 4E from concept to mechanics and flavor. It didn't play exactly like 4E (new edition and all) but I could see the influence of 4E and the respect the designers have toward the edition.
I roleplayed as a wise-cracking veteran of some ugly conflict that didn't end well for my character. This background was noted by the DM and used in the game (along with every other background created by the players).
I felt the various useful mechanics and descriptions deeply supported my BSing and loud talking. I also attracted missile fire because of my character's mouth (the DM not only laughed at my character but also reacted as monsters in wanting to shut me up--for good!). The fact that my talking also translated directly into mechanical benefits smoothly blended my roleplaying with the game rules.
Conclusions
D&D the next generation is great. It plays quick and fast. I felt I could either look for ideas for what to do on my character sheet or simply tell the DM what I wanted to do. If I couldn’t find it on my character sheet I felt I could ask my DM how to do something.
I'll be honest, after the throw-down in Fort Wayne I realized I have been getting soft in my gaming. Not just in combat, but simply not listening to the DM and picking up on what is going on around me. I feel D&D N will help make me a better player, a lesson that has been part of the game for me since AD&D 1E. You really need to be there, in character, to play D&D N. I really, really like that design feature.
Personally, I'm very glad learning new things in game and becoming a better player (not just character) is part of D&D N.
I don't expect death in the final version of D&D N to be housecat death (where a 1st level wizard gets mauled to death by a house cat). However, a wizard who charges say six orcs with greataxes and engages them in melee should reasonably expect some death. It makes sense in game.
In D&D N, I believe the wizard will realize, hey I can’t punch my way out of a wet papyrus bag and I’m basically wearing a dress. Why am I wrestling with six brutes armed with cutlery? And he’ll have one or two rounds to get out (with his friends help) or go down fighting.
Could bad luck just kill a character outright in D&D N? My personal opinion is that in D&D N the answer will be no (or so rare it is almost no).
I can also really see the influence of 4E at play here. Knowing the numbers and tweaking the rules so a round or two of survival is built into combat for even the craziest risk-taking character is an amazing accomplishment. The math WotC must be doing has to have been based on work on 4E. You have the balanced nature of 4E combined with the spirit of deadly danger that is traditional in most D&D versions minus the frustrating stuff (the save or die, the level drains, the house cat mauling the wizard, instant death traps etc.).
Seems like a wonderful fusion to me and I hope the designers can continue to enhance and flavor the game in and out of combat using all the tools and rules (all editions) at their disposal. They seem to truly be experts and that installs confidence in D&D N in me.
"We are rainbows in the dark" (Color Road saying),
Charlie
