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You see, we live on a planet with an internet. The Internet, from it's inception as ArcNet to the Worldwide Web, is the most perfect copy machine man has ever devised. It is this very property of the Internet that the people who work at Wizards of the Coast despise.
Okay, a little word on responding to this review. This review of the 4th Edition of the best known Dungeons and Dragons Game in the World is coming from a veteran of Roleplaying Games since 1986. I am college educated. I have my High School Diploma. I'm a little conservative as roleplaying games go. I have, by my count, made about 45 reviews here in the past.
All of my past reviews have been game books I have had an interest in. However, I've seen the reviews of the Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition game here on RPG.net, on Youtube, and on Amazon.com. I don't like all of them, so I have chosen to give a review of my own. I may step on a lot of toes and cause a lot of supposed hurt.
If you feel the need to demean me, to say that my review has grammatical errors, or defend Wizards of the Coast for emotional reasons and you want a response from me, feel free to read my Blog Post on PHB1 and leave a comment. http://elton-atlantis.blogspot.com/2010/07/dungeons-and-dragons-4th-edition-first.html
If you want to have a intelligent discussion of my review and want a response feel free to email me. If you want to ridicule me, there's the forums. Please note I will not be responding to your ridicule since I don't post on the RPG.net forums. I have made my break with this community a long time ago when they broke with me. The matter was political, so it's not worthy of an explanation to all of you except over private email.
Okay, that's all explained. So, lets talk about where I am coming from. A little of my intent. This review is for indy publishers and those people you like to call -- Roleplayers. It's not for gamists, World of Warcraft players (although I do play WoW), and it's not for rules lawyers, or another player or -ist. Except perhaps Simulationists, but I'll be touching on them pretty soon.
I am currently running a game for four players. It happens to be a Pathfinder Game set in the World of Warcraft Universe, not a 4e game. My Game Mastering style is that I enjoy doing a T.V. show style in an episodic, over arching epic story to tell.
I just got 4e yesterday from my cousin who was gracious enough to lend me a copy for review. These four books did not come from Wizards of the Coast. Although, I don't mind getting reviewer copies from them in the future for future reviews.
Okay, just so you know where I am coming from and my background, I hope you will all take that into account as to who this review is aimed at before you post any flames on my style, or feel you need to defend WotC, or say your mantra that "D&D 4e is Balanced and it's perfect!"
Perfect? Surely you don't mean "Complete, Whole, and full" in that instance? You mean, "Having the appearance and function to fulfill all players' expectations of the game, and can work for all players all of the time."
I'm entirely sorry to say, it doesn't fulfill all my expectations nor does it work for me or my style. You can argue that it does, but I'm not here to discuss how the game will work with my style, or my plans to customize the game so it can work. I'm just reviewing the game.
Ahem, the Game Dungeons and Dragons as to it's current incarnations has a lot of good ideas. It certainly has the potential to compete with Rolemaster, Ars Magica, King Arthur Pendragon, Deadlands, and Blue Planet to name a few. It also has the potential to give GURPS a run for it's money and to compete for GURPS players. It has strong concepts, strong ideas, and some very very nice rules. From all appearances it is strong. But look deeper . . .
IT has some major, major flaws. Well, it's just a game, that is for sure. And it can be fun to play. But as a ~ROLEPLAYING GAME?
* IT breaks the laws of Physics. You can argue that it is about the Fantasy World, but hey. If I carried the title "God", I would not design a Universe based on some of these rules. Think about that.
* You have to use miniatures to run the game. Apparently, the designers at Wizards of the Coast seems to think that we've all lost our Child-like ability to respond to games like this. There are so many rules dealing with something that represents your characters there is hardly any room to think outside the box. Perhaps they think we don't have imaginations.
* Or maybe the Designers at Wizards of the Coast seem to think that we regressed in our Education and Intelligence. After all, this is the first time any book from Wizards of the Coast insulted my intelligence (don't worry, that's only about the first chapter).
However there is one message I got from Wizards back in 2009 about this game. This was painful, this hurt. I couldn't believe it after this happened. But the people at Wizards of the Coast does not believe that this version of the game can reasonably compete with it's former incarnations. They made this clear when they stole more than thirty-two years of Gamer History right out from our noses. And what else was sick was that they could do it legally. There is no love for this game at Wizards of the Coast. It was after this rape of our history that I became a free culture advocate.
Okay, that's my deep inner beliefs about how Wizards of the Coast regards this game. So lets get on with the review. I will first review the Player's Handbook number 1. This has a total of ten chapters. These include: How to Play, Making Characters, Character Races, Character Classes, Skills, Feats, Equipment, Adventuring, Combat, and Rituals. Plus, there is playtester credits, an index, and a character sheet with a blurb on D&D INSIDER. Lets talk about them, shall we?
1. HOW TO PLAY.
Okay this starts out wonderfully on page 4. I really agree with the few paragraphs here . . .but turn to page 5. And the game writers assume I'm a 6th grader. I really don't mean that in a good way. Even my 11 year-old self would find this to be insulting on my intelligence. Of all the pages in this book, page 5 is the worst. It's writing is very professional, but the feeling I get from reading those passages. If you took the time to challenge me and make me think . . .
But I'm only thirty five with a creative power I revel in. Perhaps I am too intelligent and too creative for this game. Maybe the game writers of the PHB are looking for players who haven't a creative bone in their body and they want to teach them how to unlock that potential. A word to the designers: there are Youtube Videos (the Secret, What the Bleep Do We Know?) that does this better than what you can write in the game. Just assume that the 11 year-olds who play this game are much more mature and highly creative than the average kid of their like and continue to cater the game to them. While you are at it, don't forget us indy designers too.
Okay, after page 5, it gets a little better. It does a good job of describing the d20 system and how things work. They give you three basic rules on how this work. The d20 system is simple to play at its core. However, things start getting tricky on page 12.
2. MAKING CHARACTERS
Okay, we run into some of the good ideas. And some of the flaws, of this system in this Chapter. Okay character creation -- basically it goes like this: 1. choose a race. 2. choose a class. 3. determine ability scores. 4. choose skills. 5. select feats. 6. choose powers. 7. Choose your equipment. 8. Fill the numbers. 9. Fill in roleplaying details you most likely won't see in play unless you have a very good DM and you are also as good as the DM as a player.
So, first of all. Character race -- you can choose five races from PHB1. They are the Dragonborn, the Dwarves, the Eladrin, the Elves, the Half-Elves, Halflings, Us, and finally -- Tieflings.
The Dragonborn are a race of anthropomorphic dragons. They live in nomadic, barbarian, and decadent settlements. Not all of them are adventurers or mercenaries, but they are strong and possess dragon like abilities. Well, they are great for draco furries who play this game and people who want to know what it is like to be a dragon.
The Dwarves are based on Tolkien's and Disney's ideas about dwarves. So don't think for a minute that they are actually based on human beings who have dwarfism genes expressed, making them small of height.
The Eladrin are humans with pointed ears from the Feywild. They also have an ability to teleport per encounter. Okay, that power can be abused. A player can use that ability to frustrate a DM's storyline without resorting to the typical player ingenuity. I would not reward a player with story experience who uses this ability at my expense. I'd most likely give him negative experience points for using this ability to screw with everyone else's fun. Other than that, the Eladrin are like the Noldor from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings.
The Elves are said to be kin, they are humans with pointy ears who dwell in the forests. In this respect, they are like the Sindarin and the Elves of Mirkwood.
Half-Elves are the result of . . . I hope I don't have to explain it in a review. If you don't know, ask your mother. Anyway, they combine the best of traits from humans and elves.
Halflings are straight from Tolkien. Sort of, they lack the hairy feet. You can think of them based on humans with dwarfism, except that they are perfectly proportioned for their height. They have a culture that makes them look like riparian gypsies.
Humans are well . . . Human. They have the best talents and the most potential of all the races. What do you expect of a race with so much potential and uses only 3% of our brains? Unless you are a Wizard or Sorcerer, that is. Then you use 100% of your brain. Although the game doesn't go into the science or mystic of using Wizard powers, however. Not that it matters . . .
Tieflings are humans with an infernal bloodline. I prefer Space Alien, since these demons that spawned the Tiefling are mortal since they have the capacity to breed.
Okay, that is the races. Now Character Class . . .
You have Clerics, Fighters, Paladins, Rangers, Rogues, Warlocks, Warlords, and Wizards. We are also introduced with a flaw for dungeons and dragons 4e. A terrible flaw. The one flaw that HOLDS back this game from reaching it's vaulted potential.
FLAW #1 -- YOU PICK A CLASS AND YOU ARE STRAIGHTJACKETED TO A ROLE IN THE GAME. Let me make this clear to those refuse to see. You are playing World of Warcraft with Dungeons and Dragons printed at the top!
These roles are: caster (Controller), tank (Defender), healer (Leader), and Damage-per-Second (Striker). They justify this by saying that the party is supposed to replicate the classic adventuring party.
I'm sorry, fellow roleplayers, but there is no hope of ever fixing this flaw. So, lets talk about these Straightjacketing roles.
CASTER (or Controler) Wizards have an innate ability to cast spells. It says that you are able to deal with large numbers of enemies. They also cast spells or use powers that weaken, confuse, or delay their foes. Yep, that's a World of Warcraft Mage.
TANK (or Defender) This in respect to the Fighter and the Paladin. They are the tanks of the party, they go in soak damage and deal it. The fighter might be fighting for a just cause, or fighting in a war. For paladins, however - -
You pray at Church. You pay tithing. You make sacraments. You kneel at the holy altar. You help old women across the street. And you go out and psychopathically kill every single monster that threatens your party. There is certainly no repentance because you're expected to do that. The paladin is fundamentally broken because it's a Tanking Class. Somewhere around in there you might get to create a character like this:
HEALER (or Leader). This is reserved for the Cleric, which is a priest, and the Warlord; which is a general. The Warlord has lesser healing abilities to the cleric. But what the hey, they can heal others with certain of their powers.
DAMAGE PER SECOND (Strikers). These include rangers, rogues, and warlocks. There is no communion with nature, no training at Top Secret, S.I. Warlocks blast enemies with their evocations, Rogues use their abilities to disable, and Rangers fight from a distance.
That is a serious flaw, Wizards of the Coast. You could have done a lot better.
So, you go into generating your ability scores. You can either create your character from a cloning vat (standard array), genetically altered and then grown from a cloaning vat (point buy), or your character has a real mother and a father (random dice rolling). However, your organic character is not allowed in official RPGA tournaments. They prefer the Genengineered character. What, has the RPGA gotten in cahoots with Monsanto?
After that, you chose your skills, feats, and equipment and fill in the numbers. Now you are almost ready to go to town. You need to fill in a "lot of Useless Stuff" that is only of interest to a storytelling DM.
There's one section on roleplaying. You get to choose an alignment which is good, lawful good, unaligned, chaotic evil, and evil. Somehow, personally, this change in alignment really doesn't concern me. I mean really, the only way it comes into play in the game mechanically is by the use of certain powers. To a storytelling GM like me, however, it's golden. And I prefer that the player describe his alignment as his moral code and the rules he lives by in a Relative Universe.
Oh, there is a bunch of deities. Some of these have artifacts, and people in the game do worship them and as far as the game world is concerned. They are real, but distant. Your mileage with these deities will vary except in the use of certain feats. Fortunately, a good DM will often have his own custom deities with their own feats.
After this, they get into Personality and you start playing twenty questions. No, really, it's twenty questions. You define your character's personality with 9, and then you get into questions of your mannerisms, your appearance . . . and according to the PHB's designers the most useless of all . . .your character's Background.
Okay, apparently the Designers have forgotten about DM's like me. I love character backgrounds. I'd like to pick at them and use them to help the PCs play their character. I like to bring people from their past, and help them to deal with problems with their character. If a PC has a fear of enclosed spaces, then I can use that in a trap encounter to see how the player character can deal with his claustrophobia. Oh what gems of a character's background they might be! Ahem . . .
Okay, we are done with the "Useless Stuff" lets go on. There's a further discussion of how skill checks work and so on. Plus some basic information on attack rolls, and gaining levels. You are also presented with the three tiers of playing the game, and this is a useful change for the game.
I like the three tiered game concept. I mean you only have to get the PCs to level 10 and have them retire the PCs and bring in new ones for most universes. I think that's great.
So, on to . . .
5. CHARACTER RACES.
Okay, for the purposes of the review, I don't have to go into these in depth. Every race has an ability associated with it. You have draconic heritage and dragon breath for the Dragonborn. Some description of physical qualities, and advice on how to play them. And you get this for every race. Including the breaking power of the Eladrin's teleport. Aside from that, I don't know what this chapter adds except stats and suggested names.
6. CHARACTER CLASSES
Each class is designed with a heroic path, a paragon path, and epic destinies. They also describe the powers that each class has and now we enter into the second flaw of D&D 4e.
FLAW #2: EVERY POWER IS BALANCED AGAINST ONE ANOTHER SO NO CLASS IS ALL THAT SPECIAL.
I really, really, really don't think that this is a good thing. I blame myself for this flaw. I really, really do. I was among those that complained about balance in the classes on the WotC boards and somebody out there . . . listened. And they listened to everyone that complained. THEY LISTENED ALL TOO WELL!
In real life, we all have special gifts from the Universe that makes us unique and special. All of us are not the same. Why should the classes be uniform? No one man is uniform in real life. A movie director is different from a shoemaker. A special forces operative is different from a gangster. They are all trained differently, think differently, see things differently as a result of their choices, upbringing, and how they live their lives.
Uniformity among the human race is impossible. No one man is on the same level intellectually, financially, or any other -ly. We are all different in terms of our spirituality, worldliness, etc.
Now, because of this, you can't tell a wizard from a fighter in performance. This isn't at all fair. This isn't just, this isn't real. It isn't right, it isn't moral. I damn myself for being among those that complained about class balance in 3E. Because this flaw of 4e is the fruit of all those that complained. This flaw works against how the Universe actually works and presents a fantasy world where the Deity is capricious, arbitrary, unjust, and unfair.
Aside from this, I like the concept of Powers and how they are implemented. I really do. I mean, this is something I would have loved to see earlier. I welcome this change.
There are a little nitpicks aside from that Divine Challenge (again, proof that in the world of D&D, the Deity is capricious, arbitrary, unjust, and unfair). The nitpicks are, I can't design an ordinary person. I can't design a low powered person. I can't design and play a noble. A good game should be able to allow a player to create a character he'd like to play. Any character, no ifs ands or buts. There are more stories to tell than just dungeon hacking.
And a player should have a versatile system to create just about any character. :) The PHB just doesn't give that.
At the end, they talk about epic destinies. I am not so sure if I want to the scope of the game to go that high. But they are there none-the-less.
5. SKILLS
Skills are what your character knows. The only thing worth talking about in this chapter is the Skill Challenge. Your ranks are fixed, by the way. These can be increased by taking a feat. I wonder if the Designers have forgotten about the Human Brain, because the human brain doesn't work like this. We are constantly learning. We increase skills as we use them, or decrease skills as we don't use them. But I do like the Skill Challenge. But I'll get to that on the DMG.
6. FEATS
Feats are what you do. And believe me, there are MORE feats than one knows what to do with. Heroic feats, class feats, racial feats, paragon feats, epic feats, feats for underwater basketweaving, and feats for getting rid of the green putty you find in your arm pit one morning. FEATS, FEATS, FEATS, FEATS! Honestly, I think I get FEAT-burn from reading this chapter. And this is from the game company. I have a vision of a bunch of Scandinavian Vikings singing - "Feats, feats, feats, feats, feety-feat! Feety-feat! feat, feats, feats, feats . . "
So, there are more feats in PHB1 than there are in the 3e PHB. This isn't good, since I can get feat overload looking at all the feats. Maybe this is why the character creation software is a good tool . . . NAH! That can't be it.
So we get to . . .
7. EQUIPMENT.
Okay, everything here is standard except the magic items are in the PHB1. Okay, I run magic rare campaigns, so can someone please explain to me how this doesn't break my world? I really don't think it belongs here in the PHB1. IT belongs in the DMG.
8. ADVENTURING.
Okay, you get encounter types, experience points, and milestones. You also get action points, magic items, treasure, and intangible rewards. You also get rules on movement, speed, terrain, mounts, vehicles, marching order, and vision and light. You have rules on interacting with the environment, short rest, extended rest, sleeping and waking up, and keeping watch.
9. COMBAT
Great combat rules, except you have to use miniatures. I don't have any except 2, 5 if you count dinosaurs, 7 if you count old action figures, 8 if you count Vash the Stampede still in its box but partially opened.
*SIGH!* I know how to fix this . . .
And . . .
Other than the fact you have to use miniatures, the combat rules are solid and precise. Now, if the designers wrote clear and concise rules on how *not* to use miniatures along with the rules on how to use them, I would be pleased to use 4e as is.
10. RITUALS.
REAL D&D SPELLS! Mmmmm . . . . The only difference of this is that everyone can use rituals if they are trained in religion or arcana. The rituals are divided by level and often takes time to perform.
Despite this, the mechanics that rituals have got great potential and can be used in other situations. Which I think PHB2 covers. But I don't have it so I can't cover it.
FINAL THOUGHTS
From an indepth look at this tome, I would say that if I weren't creative and good at critical thinking; I would be cheated. Other than that, I can get my money out of this by customizing the game to fit my style.
From the PHB1, the game is lackluster, and missing a lot of important information. It presents a fantasy world that is overseen by an imperfect, indifferent Deity. And all the rules and nitpickings I would overlook if I were just starting out, being ignorant of quantum mechanics and the Theory of Relativity.
The game is unfair by being fair to everyone. I can't seem how to get enjoyment running this game without customizing it extensively or effectively re-engineering it to my tastes.
I gave it a style of 3 -- mostly because the Art saved the book from getting a worse rating. However, my friends at the CGSociety and myself could do much better art for the game. The writing isn't at all like Shakepeare's. Giving it a five in Style would be an insult to other Roleplaying Games that are excellently written.
Substance is 4. It's most certainly meaty. I think it fails on presenting too much crunch and not enough fluff. There's no balance between the two. It's a player's guide after all, some would say. But giving it a five would mean that it excels at this. It does not.
This review has been published under the Creative Commons license.
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