Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition Player’s Handbook Review
Let’s face it folks, Wizards of the Coast is not shy about changing things. 4th edition Dungeons and Dragons is not an update but rather a complete redesign of most of the core architecture in 3rd edition. Not even the fluff is spared as WotC is not just tweaking here, they are re-launching the whole brand. It’s so different, in fact, that veterans will probably (and some have already said as much) feel as though it’s not DnD anymore. In this reviewer’s opinion, it’s still DnD, but at the same time, this really is a whole new game.
Character Creation
Races
As you probably know by now, Gnomes and Half-Orcs are out, Tieflings and Dragonborn are in, and Elves kinda got split in two. Dragonborn are much like half-dragon characters in 3e, and Tieflings aren’t far removed from previous editions. Eladrin are the elves that are more magical and fey-related, and the standard Elf is now more of a Wood Elf variety. One thing to note is that all races now provide a Power and access to further Feat Powers (more on that later) generally useful in combat. Another change is that there are no stat penalties anymore, only bonuses.
Classes (and Powers)
Classes are the meat of this book and present the biggest changes to the game. Classes still provide the meat of your advancement, hit points, weapon proficiencies, skills, etc. I could go on a bit about how bards, monks and sorcerers are missing (presumably some of them may come back in later PH editions), and all that. But what you really care about is Powers.
In 4e, Powers are the bread and butter of the game. Each character gains a similar number of at-will powers (usable any time you want), encounter powers (usable once per encounter), daily powers (usable once a day), and utility powers, which very as to their frequency of use a bit. The interesting bit here is that every character class gets the same number of powers at similar levels, but they each have unique lists of powers to choose from. The powers themselves basically tend to lock each class into certain varieties of combat, and those are reflected in the Roles trait each class possesses. Wizards are Controllers, able to manipulate enemies and deal damage en masse. Fighters and Paladins are Defenders, able to keep enemies attention off of others, deal good offense at close range, and absorb lots of damage. Rogues, Rangers and Warlocks (yeah they’re core now) are Strikers, able to deal focused offense in a wide variety of ways. Finally, Clerics and Warlords are Leaders, buffing or synergizing the party in combat while remaining largely self-sufficient themselves.
In combat, you’ll probably be using a Power almost every turn. It’ll be an at-will power most of the time, an encounter power pretty frequently, and a daily when things get rough.
An interesting thing about this model is that most combat spells from 3e are now Powers, and many Feats from 3e are Powers as well. You’ll see many reincarnations of your favorites from splatbooks of the past right in 4e core. Another thing is that most powers use your key stats, so any stat can give you a bonus to hit your opponents so long as you play to your strengths. No class feels particularly weak in combat because of this; just about any class could hold their own, although each generally excels in a limited set of tactics.
Skills
Skills are similar to 3e in how they operate, but have been greatly streamlined. Each skill now has a much broader area of influence, folding in multiple areas of skills before. Thievery, for example, now covers disable trap, open locks, pick pocket, and sleight of hand. Skill Points are gone; characters now simply pick a number of skills they are trained with. Training provides a 5 bonus to use the skill, and some skills have abilities only usable by characters with training in said skill. Character level also adds a bonus to skills, along with stat modifiers.
Skill Tests are now a major feature of the game, operating much like the Storyteller games. Rolling Skill checks against a DC (much like 3e) for x number of successes before you roll x number of failures. You can also allow multiple skills to come into play to provide bonuses or add successes. Much of this material is in the DMG, but I thought it bore mentioning here how the skills are used much more often in game.
Feats
Feats are much as they were in 3e, but they are now limited to improving existing abilities and powers. They provide bonuses, give you more chances to use Powers, or make Powers more potent. Most Feats are race or class specific, or have significant stat prerequisites. Only a few feats are generic. You will also receive more feats than in 3e, one every other level plus a bonus feat at 1st, 11th, and 21st levels. All characters have the same number of Feats from advancing in levels, but some classes provide feats as class features, such a Wizards and Clerics who each get the Ritual Caster feat, providing access to magic rituals (more on that below).
Advancement, Tiers of Play, Multiclassing
You probably heard that characters get 30 levels of play in 4e. And from what I have said about powers above, you might not be surprised to know that there is one and only one character advancement schedule. All classes gain powers, feats, etc at the same levels (their choices are completely unique, however).
The levels are divvied out evenly into 3 tiers of play. Levels 1-10 are the Heroic tier, levels 11-20 are the Paragon tier, and levels 21-30 are the Epic tier. When you hit level 11, you pick a Paragon path for your class, which grants powers a notch more significant than most you would have at this point. You also get exclusive powers that come with that path, much like prestige classes in 3e. Feats are also divvied into Heroic, Paragon, and Epic tiers, coming into play as you hit the appropriate levels.
Epic play is pretty fascinating, as it requires choosing an Epic Destiny and having the party play out a final quest. It’s not very structured, but the powers available at Epic levels certainly make it interesting.
Magic Rituals
Magic rituals are essentially spells with material components that take 10 minutes or more to cast. Just about any 3e spell you think might not be in the game as a Power is probably present as a Ritual instead. Rituals are available to anyone with the Ritual Caster feat and the requisite components (typically just money). The rituals also are tied to Skills, which help determine how effective your ritual effects are.
Magic Items
Magic Items now have levels, which determine what level you need to be to create them. Many magic items also provide Daily or Encounter Powers, synergize with certain class Powers, or simply provide bonuses to hit or AC.
Combat
Combat really isn’t far removed from 3e. It all works much the same way, except for Powers and new tricks like Action Points (cribbed from Eberron) and Healing Surges. Action Points let you take additional actions and fuel more potent Powers at 11th level and above. Healing Surges heal ¼ your HP total, can only be used a number of times per day, and synergize with many powers that can heal you. Usually using a surge requires the Second Wind action, which is a Standard Action, but sometimes Powers give you the chance to surge without taking an action and sometimes you can surge without spending any surges.
What is different is that its way easier to run combats, because the sheer variety of actions gets pared down tremendously. In 3e, combatants (particularly complex monsters) might have a few dozen actions to choose from (monsters with spellcasting abilities might have more than 100), and designing tactics for them was difficult on the fly. Combat was typically bogged down with way too many options at high levels. In 4e, the combat options you can employ remain greatly varied, but at any given time, you probably are picking from a list that is maybe 12 items long (and shrinking as you use encounter powers and daily powers). This number doesn’t increase that much, even in Epic tier play.
Conclusion
I am intrigued by 4th edition a great deal. It’s a clean, fun to play game with lots of room to grow. I was surprised to find I had a handle on the rules inside of 15 minutes of flipping through the book, and considering the book is pretty thick, that’s saying something. The iconic elements of DnD are all in there, but this new game engine is unlike any that have come before it. Will it turn off long-time players from the 1st and 2nd edition days? Perhaps. But in my opinion, it’s good to clean out the cruft and make an effort to bring some real improvement to the game, when it clearly needed it. I am ready to play 4th edition and I’ll see you DND Insider when the game tables are online!
Review Summary