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• 8/12/2008 5:09 AM Brian wrote:
  Interesting podcast!
  
  (cross-posted from BGG)
  Lots of stray comments:
  
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  On D&D:
  
  For a while Lisa and I have been wanting out of D&D exactly what 4e is best designed for: a good dungeon crawl mostly-board game. The fact that you CAN do more roleplaying with it is pure bonus. In fact, despite many critics complaints that its 'all a board game' now, I think you can still do anything with it you could in 3.x. It just works better when you're playing it as a board game.
  
  At any rate, when I heard Aldie wanted to run D&D here, I was enthused (Lisa and I almost never get to play in an RPG together - one of us is always running) but figured it wouldn't be all that great. I mean, pregens and a one-shot game just usually isn't a recipe for great RPGs. But it worked great here, and we spent a pretty good chunk of the weekend playing D&D.
  
  (babbling full scale there - sorry)
  
  One of the things that surprises me is Aldie talking about how 4e gives such good advice for 'creative' actions in combat. I thought the advice was pretty lacking. Its got some suggestions for how to come up with damage values, but think special actions intended to just do damage are in the minority. Usually they get more complicated than that. For example, in the 'run your enemy across the bar' example given in the podcast, in 4e terms the fact that you are knocking your enemy prone and sliding them a few squares is the important tactical part, and you won't find advice for that.
  
  Most of the stuff mentioned on the podcast - Ric sneaking in and ambushing the kobolds (wow, I intended the cracks in the walls as flavor and an excuse for having the place be lit - never thought the party would come up with a good use for them!), Aldie falling on his head - came about the same way cool stuff always has in RPGs; the GM/players saying "ooh, that sounds cool!" :p
  
  I think the really strong point of 4e is making for exciting battles even when no one has clever and brilliant ideas.
  
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  On Pandemic:
  
  All the roles are useful, even in combinations of 2 - but some may be less intuitive.
  
  The easiest role for a new player is probably the Scientist...though it also tends to be the weakest role. However, you don't need to worry about any complicated special rules.
  
  The Dispatcher is very useful for meeting and trading cards.
  
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  On Keltis:
  
  We just barely avoided being taught the game with the tiles down, which sounds like it was a very good thing!
  
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  On Tribune:
  
  The play you talk about sounds so much like our first game of Tribune (same weekend) that someone who heard the podcast being recorded though you were talking about us. Lisa got a Tribune 1st turn, then won on the third turn, while the rest of us were still gearing up. Some were complaining that we shouldn't have picked the short game version, but she actually had enough victory conditions to win the long game to!
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