Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition Review
Name: Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition
Publisher: Wizards of the Coast
System: D20
I didn’t start playing Dungeons & Dragons until 3rd Edition. Actually, it was 3.5 when I really jumped in, before that I was one of those guys who would wanted to give it a try, but never had the will nor a way. After a few years of gaming I was excited by the announcement of 4th Edition mainly because I believe it was time for change, and was anxious to see what Wizards of the Coast could do with the time between editions. Yes, I know that is has been out for a few months and this review is incredibly belated. No, I’m not going to write a few pages on each of the three core Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition books. It’s not like a videogame, which I am used to reviewing, where they work as standalone products. They are together, and unlike the expansion books to come out in the months ahead, they don’t stand alone, they are all part of beginning a Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition experience.
Hit the jump for my full review.
The Player’s Handbook (PHB) is the book that will likely sell the most, and as players generally outnumber Dungeon Masters (DMs), the book that will get the most use. Because of this, the book is also, if I may say, “where the money is,” because while an experienced DM can easily ignore the issues of a shoddily put together book, a new player can’t. There were several issues from the previous edition that Wizards of the Coast set out to fix involving complicated rules and allocation of materials within the core rulebooks, and in 4th Edition they really were only able to fix half of those issues. They did a fine job of simplifying the rules without dumbing them down. The core classes are as deep as they ever have been, and each player should be able to find the niche they want to be a part of and create a character around that.
At nearly every level the player is choosing a new power that can either be at-will, encounter, or daily, and they are allowed to use it in those increments. It’s a great change, and gives all players, regardless of class, a huge selection of abilities to choose from on each and every turn. It makes some classes, namely the fighter, feel much more powerful while making others, like the wizard, feel a bit weaker when compared to its 3.5 brethren. These are only temporary quarrels, and by later levels the powers help keep the game balanced. My biggest complaint is the standard character sheets, which somehow manage to be even worse than those for 3rd Edition. The space given for “Powers,” which is really the bread and butter of 4th Edition, is tiny in comparison to everything else in the book. I have already started printing out separate sheets for players to use because of the shortcoming. This is only a temporary problem, but one I could see acting as a barrier for new players.
Leveling was also simplified, as well as character creation, but you wouldn’t know that by just using the PHB, because it isn’t a really good guide when it comes to character creation. It could be the wording, or the placement, but the lack of a “Here is the way to build a character” section ensures that the first few creations are going to be rough and long. Feats make a return from 3.5, but the sheer lack of variety in the PHB makes them less important than they were in the previous edition, instead waiting for the expansion books to flesh them out. I suppose that is how it may have been in the last few versions too, but it is a problem that should have been addressed.
The Dungeon Master’s Guide has similar issues to the PHB in terms of layout and content allocation, but they aren’t as important because of the fact that it is made to be read by DMs. Anyone complaining should buy post-it-notes and shut up, because the life of a DM isn’t supposed to be easy, so deal with it. The book has several pages with tips for Dungeon Mastering, including how to deal with different archetypical players (funny how the DMG has archetypes for players and the PHB has archetypes for characters), which is a definite plus for any new or old DMs. The Monster Manual (MM) is the only book of the three that I would consider truly outstanding due to the content it holds. It goes above and beyond the call of duty by ending its long list of well-balanced monsters with several pages of player races that didn’t make the PHB cut. Sure, they don’t have feats to use, but the fact that players can now easily roll up a Drow or Kobold puts the MM on top of my list.
It’s easy to see why D&D purists are up-in-arms about the changes. 4th Edition is a lot nicer than 3rd was, with less negatives and more positives. Players don’t have a harder time using weapons they are unfamiliar with, they simply have an easier time with weapons they are. Elves don’t lose any constitution just for being elves, but they don’t gain as much as other classes. It could be argued that the game is easier, but the hurdles are on the side of the Dungeon Master, not the player, to make an interesting game. These are things people can get over, and on the whole, 4th Edition doesn’t suffer from the individual problems of the books or the complaints from traditionalists. Despite the DMG and PHB being poorly put together, the structure of the actual rules makes 4th Edition worth paying attention to, and Wizards of the Coast’s determination to deliver monthly expansions should only make things better. Most of the issues with the books will be null and void within a few months once the expansions are out, the PHBs are rabbit-eared and post-it-noted, and the players know where everything is. 4E adds room to grow, and opens the game up so that it should be easy for new players to jump in with little training. In other words, it’s fun, it’s balanced, and it’s accessible – exactly like it should be.
Avaril says:
“bread and button”?
August 26th, 2008 at 11:09 am
CinnamonBits says:
Thank you for this review. Finally, a review coming from someone who started playing at 3.5 (just as I did.) I really haven’t had the chance to get my hands on the 4th edition books, yet I’ve been interested to see what people have to say. I feel as though all of the long time hardcore players are suffering from “I played when it was cool” syndrome. Suddenly, every aspect of the game was dumb down for the sake of all the “noobs” out there who can only play MMOs. People are upset because the game seems too BALANCED. It just doesn’t make sense. People want the game balanced, next thing you know, it’s too balanced. How? No idea.
Well, they still have their 3.5 books, and are free to do what they want with them. I, personally, am planning on playing 4th edition. Why? Because I’d like to introduce a few of my friends to the game, who I know would have a more enjoyable experience the sooner they can get into the action and grasp the fundamental game mechanic.
August 26th, 2008 at 11:25 am
sobelius says:
I’ve played (and DM’d) D&D since 1979. 4th Edition is far and away the most fun version of the game I’ve played or run. As a DM, it brought back the simplicity that 3.5 lost (at higher levels in 3.5, monsters and characters have so many abilities and scores to track that combat bogs the game down to a crawl). It retains the best innovations of 3rd edition (damage types, mechanics that work the same way for both players and monsters, feats, among other things).
The only reason earlier editions of D&D may seem cool is from nostalgia for a time when things seemed “new” to us. D&D is not new any more, but what I love about 4th edition is that it has given my game a rule system that lets us get back to having fun at the table without having to haul out the rulebooks every 2 minutes.
As for the MMO comparisons, they are largely unfair and unfounded. The only thing directly derived from MMOs was using terms like “tank” and “melee DPS” etc., as well as giving monsters roles like Controller, Skirmisher, etc. In fact, these have actually helped me as a DM to make very easy encounters and actually much much more interesting encounters in a fraction fo the time I needed in 3.5.
So, as 42 year old D&D player and DM, with a lot of experience with previous editions of D&D, I find the changes in 4th edition have made it the most enjoyable edition of the game to date.
September 2nd, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Lee Melanson says:
isnt it funny that everytime there is a new version, you have to
get rid of the old version and buy all the new stuff? and now how many revisions has d/d gone through if you start from the beginning? and if you look at current prices the new books are far more pricier then even the 3rd edition books, seems to me the only reason to make new editions and rule updates is to make people fork over more and more money. this is ridiculous, i used to play d/d when i was a kid it was great, when your young and have alot of time but as a adult you grow
up and have a job and a wife and kids and much more responsibilities, and you also realize your not a kid anymore.
September 17th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Minions in 4th Edition Kindasorta Suck : : says:
[...] of the first changes I noticed in the 4th Edition Monster Manual (which I reviewed here) was the inclusion of Minions, 1HP enemies to use as fodder in large-scale battles. At first I [...]
October 8th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
Floyd says:
In my experiences in 3.5 the so called “Unbalance” of the characters rewarded the characters who chose the more difficult classes and such for a bit more power later on. This concept is destroyed, along with the feeling of different uses for different characters and that of different characters having advantages. Just from reading through the books at the store, and even taking some time for reading them, the game is not new user friendly, in reality the entire game is for damage 2[die]+ whatever modifier. And every hit 1/2 your level + Modifier, and seriously Magic Missle missing? Makes no sense. Makes a great table top game, just not D&D and has no sense of Reality
March 31st, 2009 at 6:28 pm
koboldkommando says:
Having read the books and not liking all I saw (healing surges?, action points?) I still pressed ahead and gave it a go as soon as I could using one of the official scenarios.
Unlike 3.5 this one is actually a joy to run. Both 2nd,3.0 and 3.5 began to make me hate the game as I DMed it but 4th Ed I am happy to run games of D+D again. No more damned annoying monster data blocks, the monster manual is fun to read and give ideas. Many complain about ecologies missing but if anything I found that it restricted creation by being told what all races exactly do.
Now a lot of people complain it is for newbs but that is no bad thing as D+D needs to get another generation or it will die with the currently aging population of older gamers. My main dislike and pet peeve is the Warlord. This class should have been binned I just do not like it and players think they’re the leader because of the title. 3.5 for me was a horrible maddening experience of ever more rules sucking out the fun of actually getting on with the action. Rogues not being able to backstab rogues if so many levels higher etc. detracted and made the game stop/start. I view this edition as a positive because it rekindle the spark of gaming in me and my group.
April 12th, 2009 at 9:27 pm
Tallifer says:
I was able to skim through and understand the gist of the player’s book in one day. And was happy to discover that all the important rules were in that one book. Clean and consistent!
Not every class, power or race impressed me, but overall I got more and more excited as I read and the possibilities for adventure opened up to me. And because of the clear rules framework, I could easily start imagining my own changes and new classes and races.
The Dungeon Master’s Guide is terrific. I rarely ever refereed a game. I am still daunted by the prospect, but theis guide will be a tremendous help, full of detailed practical advice.
The Monster Manual has awesome art for the most part. Most importantly the glossy and evocative art made many previously ludicrous creatures like the otyough or carrot-nosed trolls look like true monsters again.
May 8th, 2009 at 5:54 pm
DM Matt says:
I have some similar opinions, although I prefer many parts of 3.5 to 4th. I don’t like the new magic items listings, but I especially like the new monster stats format. That said, it’s really a toss-up for me between the two.
May 22nd, 2009 at 6:52 pm
sean connors says:
I represent a group that has been running games for over 25 years we are big d&d fans have bought every incarnation.
However we all collectively agree that forth edition plays very dull. As an experienced designer of games myself i found it so difficult to write quality stories around this rule set because there is no magical flexibility within its rules.
I think if you do some internet digging this rule set has seriously damaged my favorite game and created a division.
Lets look at the facts how many print runs has it had two so far or to put that into context at this stage 3.5 was going into its sixth. There are approximately six million d&d players world wide and only a few hundred thousand have converted over thats shocking. As for bringing in new players dont make me laugh the whole point of a new system is to appeal to the dm first and he will find your players they have clearly forgotten this. If you look around web sites that offer players for players to hook up how many forth edition games are being run. Look around thats telling.
Anyway the big question is what happens next. For me i will be buying paizo games products because they better represent what i want.
Sorry one final thing it was clear they wanted to take forth edition on line so players from all over the world could play. What happened?
June 10th, 2009 at 3:37 am
Nef_D says:
Being a so called “purist” I dislike 4th edition for two very valid reasons. Firstly there is no point in playing anything other than the class the race you decide to play was meant for. Why play a halfling paladin when a dragonborn one works better for example, ok so humans work well in any class but that’s the point of humans, and secondly it doesn’t matter what class you play; there all the same. Do you want to play a fighter or a rogue? It doesn’t matter, there is no real difference. Ok so the wizard has easier aoe than any other class but it’s only effective against minions. It matters as to which book (PH1 or PH2) you choose to pick your class from, their styles are very different, but that’s as far as it goes.
For me, a 20 year gamer, there just isn’t enough here to spark my imagination. I’ll give it another go in a year or so when they have more out there for the game but for now I’m sticking with my 3.5 collection.
Now as a DM I love the game with a passion. An entire months worth of adventures were ready to be played in about an hour, and I include treasure and traps there!
A player even dropped out after two weeks and that didn’t matter, just recalculated the XP cost of an encounter and took out a couple of treasure packages and the game was back on track. Wonderfully simple. Just how a DM likes it and how players hate it.
October 3rd, 2009 at 8:07 pm
Adam Payton Covington says:
I like Dungeons and dragons, (Im 13 so I never played 3.5 or whatever) but I have the starter set and Im geting the core rulebooks, dungeon delves, forgotten realms (player and campaign guide), player hand book 2 and dungeon master’s guide 2, all the dungeon tiles and some pre made dungeon maps. also Im getting the “Mouse guard” rpg, and mabye some other rpgs. Im also making a paper and pen rpg. so far it hitting the 90 page mark.
November 28th, 2009 at 3:11 pm
Saturncancer says:
Press shift on the keyboard and you will get $th edition instead of 4th.
That says a lot.
Ive been dming for 21 years, and ran 3.0-3.5 for most of the last decade. I bought the 4th ed triple set, played it for about 5 sessions and found out it was too different from classic D&D.
It’s like playing Rolemaster or Runequest or some other fantasy game which is 4th ed DnD is in name only.
Chasing rules changes is like chasing a rainbow – no perfect game exists.
To use another analogy
1st ed AD&D = Traditional English Cricket
2nd Ed – Australian One day Games (still Cricket)
3-3.5 ed – Indoor Cricket (still feels a little like Cricket)
4th ed – Baseball or Softball. It has balls and bats and bowlers/pitchers, etc but its just too different.
4th ed is another fantasy superhero game, like Marvel Superheroes RPG but its not real D&D.
I’ve taken my group back to 3.5 ed and its fun playing D&D again!
January 12th, 2010 at 10:38 am
Coop says:
@Saturn: Press shift on the keyboard and 3.5 befores #>%. In other words, it doesn’t actually say a lot.
January 12th, 2010 at 7:56 pm