Tuesday, February 19, 2013

Let's Clear Up A Few 4e Myths

Howdy. I had a few disparate blog ideas running thru the head, and I realized they all could be used to dispel a few 4e myths, so I have combined them together. First off, don't get me wrong, 4e isn't perfect and I don't claim it to be. Readers of this blog know that I constantly tinker with 4e to make it something I like more. That's sort of the essence of D&D after all: making the game your own. But I am undoubtedly a huge fan of 4e. Anyway, here are some common 4e myths and my response:





"It is difficult to convert old modules to 4e"

I don't now who started this one, but it simply isn't true. I've mentioned before that I drop Skill Challenges from my games. One of the reasons for this is that, on its own, the 4e skill system is very smooth, intuitive, and covers pretty much anything that comes up (and if something else comes up, you can roll with Ability Checks). Anyway, in my experience the 4e skill system works like a charm in updated adventures. I updated Ravenloft (I6) for 4e. There are all kinds of roleplay moments, exploration, etc where skills came up. I just rolled with it if the players wanted to use one, or called for a check if it was really needed. So there is really no conversion necessary for an old modules' out-of-combat material. It can be handled on the fly quite easily.

The monster conversion is where the real challenges would appear to begin. Now, I am not going to say converting monsters from 1e to 4e is as easy as 1e to B/X or 2e, because it isn't. But 4e does have a strength that those games lack: 4e monsters have specific formulas to work from. This can help DMs determine difficulty fairly accurately, but more importantly, it is very easy to make 4e monsters.

Confronted with the need to convert a monster in an old module, the first step I would encourage is to see if there is a 4e version within your party's level range. If so, check the source and see if it is post MM3. If it isn't, try these tips to upgrade old crappy monsters on the fly. If the monster isn't in your party's range, it is fairly straightforward to adjust. The design remains the same, you just plug in different numbers. Make sure you are using the DMG errata though.

If you can't find the monster in a 4e source, or if you don't like what 4e did the monster, build your own. This doesn't have to be laborious. Use this guide to make quick 4e monsters. Try to distill the essence of the original monster and keep it simple.



The last step is to make sure the adventure doesn't run like a sloggy mess. There are several ways to do this. You could drop the wandering monsters from an adventure and just run the prepared encounters, or you could drop a lot of planned encounters and instead just use the wandering monster tables. Or you could drop a little of both. This isn't just in response to 4e combat length (more on that below); the fact is, some old modules feel like a grind to begin with. You should also use Morale and Reaction Tables. If you are using an old module that has Morale scores, just port them over. Otherwise you can check my 4e Morale rules. Ok, so that leads us to the next myth.

"Combat was fast in old editions, never approaching 4e length"

This is simply not true. It is true that classic edition combat COULD be quicker, but it wasn't always. I know this because I DM and play old editions. At even moderate levels, old edition spellcasters could have a ton of choices, and adjudicating their effects was often not a cut and dried proposition. A typical PC's percentage chance to hit was often lower, so there are more misses. There were also huge throngs of monsters in old adventures, like all the time. I am reminded of one of my faves, Descent Into the Depth of the Earth, which was a combo module of D1-D2. There are like 20 Drow here, 40 Kuo-Toa there, 30 Troglodytes here. Heck, even in the Village of Hommlet, you will have 16 or more enemy combatants!

Now I KNOW combat can drag in 4e. I have tried to provide some tips and ideas to help with that. Simplifying monsters, using groups of the same monsters, using Morale, lowering hit points-all of this helps. But it is simply disingenuous to act like old combat couldn't take a while, especially when casters had some actual spells to cast. This has also been true of my experience with 5e so far. We had a two hour combat last week and we just hit level 2. Combat often takes an hour or more at level 1. I am not saying it isn't fun, or that this is too long, I am just saying that combat length can drag in multiple editions; it isn't only a 4e phenomenon.

"It is harder to houserule 4e than other editions"

I am tempted just to say "read my blog" as a response to this one, because there are dozens of houserule examples on here, but just to expound on it a bit, 4e is no different from any other edition of D&D. You can houserule it and make it your own with ease. The difference between 4e and classic editions is that the mechanics in 4e are "on display". The math is predictable and easy to grasp. This is already sort of covered above with monsters. This makes houseruling and homebrewing very easy. Since you have clear expectations for damage, defenses, DCs, etc at all levels, it becomes very easy to slide the scale towards "easy" or "hard". See Fourthcore. I have tweaked monster design, traps, disease, combat, and on and on, and I have only scratched the surface of the possibilities. 4e does not deviate from D&D's proud history of homebrewing and houseruling, it embraces it as much as any other edition.

That's all I have for you today. As always, I welcome comments! Take it easy!

11 comments:

  1. One problem with using old maps as-is is that sometimes the rooms are too cramped for 4E combat. One of the first skills I learned when first starting to GM 4E was expanding room size to allow for more movement options and make certain effects and terrain more meaningful.

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    1. Could be the scale; old maps were generally 1 square=10 feet, so you typically have to adjust them for 4e.

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    2. I am sure you knew that already. I think that is a good tip-to make sure there is room for movement options, etc. In some cases, it is enough to simply convert the scale. In other cases, like the entrance chamber to the Temple of Tharizdun, it makes a lot of sense to open it up some. Thanks for checking in, Brian!

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    3. Yeah, it definitely depends on the map in question, and it really pays to develop an eye for whether or not a location will be big enough regardless of the 10 or 5 ft scale. Personally I've had to enlarge a lot of the maps I've used, though admittedly more of them are just random maps from the internet than from official products.

      It also bears mentioning that I was used to making more cramped maps when I ran 3.5, so I had to make sure I got into the habit of drawing my own maps big enough if they were drawn for 4E.

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  2. I hate 4e...

    Now, here we go.
    "It is difficult to convert old modules to 4e"

    You are so right, I could run any system and any game with a Old School Module. Gimme a good Monster guide and to be truthful I could wing it.

    "Combat was fast in old editions, never approaching 4e length"

    To me its the "Pushing Minis" that drags the game. Any game that uses minis, new, old, Savage Worlds SSSOOOOO dragged the other day...ugh.

    Then again, it may just be a GM that is intimate with the rules along with players that know their chracters and a game can scuttle along just fine...

    "It is harder to houserule 4e than other editions"

    Its just work, and when it came down to it, 3.x was just as much, but then again, building a setting for a game is work, ugh Ive been working on my homebrewed for Eons...it's all about how much you love the game I guess...I don't love 4e.

    Now don't get me wrong, I have been a member of the Edition Wars, but like all war, and this is coming from a real war veteran, Wars suck and they get old and you forget why you even started it in the first place.

    So I decided to follow your blog, heres this guy that just loves D&D and well, why not see what he's up too?

    Still I don't like 4e, and truth be told, I am not excited about 5e, but it may just be that I don't like WotC, and my irrational dislike...hhhhmmm hate, for 4e has alot more to do with that...

    And yes I have played 4e, toyed with it, tried to like it, but I just can't you know...same old story, Guy falls in love, Girl turns out to be a total spaz, guy leaves girl for his high school sweetie.

    You know I love Palladium's Rifts, but UGH that rule set....same with 4e I would guess...

    Anyway Thanks!

    Great Blog, I hope to learn more!

    ERIC!



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  3. You make some excellent points. I was kind of hoping you would address the 4e is a computer game myth.

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    1. Funny you should mention that; the last article I posted on my own blog covered that very topic.

      http://thechamberofmazarbuldnd.blogspot.com/2013/02/making-sense-of-argument-its-like-mmo.html

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  4. Great article and blog. Thrilled to hear you're a 4E fan too. I love this edition of D&D and don't plan on switching to D&D Next (as I don't want to buy all the news stuff).

    If you have any recos on older modules being converted to D&D, I would love to see those. I'm on a bit of a collecting kick for that material right now.

    First time reader here so I have a lot to catch up on:)

    - Ben

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    1. Ben, thanks for the post! I am def a fan of your blog...the stuff you do with terrain is truly awe-inspiring. Unreal even. It is flattering that you like my site. As for old school adventures, I am a huge collector and it is hard to nail things down to one or two recommendations, but I will say that the "Desert of Desolation" series has long been calling for me to give it the 4e treatment; that would also have some AWESOME content for you to recreate with your arsenal of toys (Egyptian-style stuff). Thanks again for the post!

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  5. I found your blog by mere luck and it's great to see other 4e lovers. Downloading your magazine right now, and a question: did you upload your Ravenloft convertion?

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    1. Thank you for the kind words Ocampo. I hope you enjoy the magazine. If you like it, you can check out some news on the upcoming issue #2 at this link: http://frothsof4e.blogspot.com/2013/10/4e-forever-issue-2-updates-ddi-news-and_25.html.

      As for my Ravenloft conversion, I ran that online, so I never really put anything down on paper; I really just ran it as-is, I only changed the monsters. That said, I did put up a version of Starhd last year. Runs pretty well with 6-8 bat minions and/or a slave or two. You can check it out here: http://frothsof4e.blogspot.com/2012/10/dragon-416-is-compiled-plus-froth-does.html.

      Thanks again for checking out my blog!

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