The other day I got to play 4e for the first time in a while. I am
currently DMing a 2e/1e hybrid game. The last 4e I played was running a
playtest of material from my zine
4e Forever and
wrapping up my long-running 4e
campaign. Many of the ideas that I present here on my blog came out of that campaign. I did my best to keep the players focused on the story, and while combat was
frequent, I was careful to end it before it became a slog. We had
sessions where no combat occurred. We had short one round skirmishes. We
had lots of exploration and encounters that never led to combat. So, I
had become used to my own way of playing 4e...a way that is closer to OSR
games, and one that rejects the usual structure of many 4e
adventures. Nestled in my own private universe of houserules, I had completely forgotten how bad 4e can really be.
Now let me say that I don't fault the DM that ran the game. He is
a fun person to game with, engaging and intelligent, and I have
played with him a number of times. I also don't fault the players, as
they were really just playing 4e as designed, with
cherry-picked magic items and optimized characters that are honestly encouraged by the rules as written. I can't really blame someone
for playing the game the way it was designed to be played.
The adventure was typical LFR fare: a bit of
roleplay at the beginning, then a three encounter combat slog, like
something from the "Dungeon Delve" book. The first encounter was
basically a joke; the monsters stood no chance against us. Almost
immediately, the flow of combat degenerated into a string of soulless reactions
and interrupts, moving at a snail's pace. An hour in and we were just
going through the motions, as any monster with even a modicum of
intelligence would have fled or surrendered by now. I was groaning to
myself, hurrying through my turns, disengaged, checking to see what the
wife was watching on TV.
The second encounter was another big set-piece deal,
with some creatures that would basically rise again after you killed
them. After the first round of combat (another 40 minute-plus slog of
reactions and interrupts and synergistic charop approved item powers) we realized this. The party began to make its way to a door on the other
side of the room to escape. This took another hour or so. As my
character stood there in the center of the room, soaking up damage, I had
a breakthrough. I was in trouble, no doubt, but I could have escaped
by using a combo of my second wind, a heal spell, and another round of
*shudder* combat. Yet I knew this would take at least another 30
minutes, likely much longer. We were already hours into this grueling thing. I couldn't take it anymore. I told them to just go ahead and run and let
my PC die. I gave a half-hearted attempt at roleplaying it. "I'll hold
them off! Get out of here!" I thanked the DM and wished everyone well and
dropped out. You know a game is bad when you really WANT to die...when
character death is a blessing, like cool water to a dry mouth.
I had to reflect a little bit after the game. I mean, I run a
site that is mostly dedicated to 4e. I own every book. I have defended it hundreds and hundreds of times. Hell, I put out a 4e zine! Was it possible
that I had been kidding myself all of this time? After all, I have
houseruled every part of the game, from items, to combat and monsters,
to traps, to diseases, to skill challenges, to rituals, and on and on. Is it possible that I actually hate 4e?
The answer is yes. I loathe it. I despise it. But,
that isn't the only question. The other question is, "Is
4e worth saving?" And I think it is. Underneath the garbage, 4e has a lot of
wonderful potential. Lots of creative and fun character options. A
simple skill system that can get out of the way if you let it. Easily
hackable design. Clear, understandable rules. There is good in the game,
enough good that, perhaps against all logic and reason, I press on trying
to perfect it.
Now, I want to say that if you like things
about the game that I don't, that is fine and dandy. I am not trying to
convince anyone that my way is best. I just wanted to share what I had
gone through recently as a way of getting it off of my chest. I don't
want this post to end on a negative note; rather, I encourage everyone out there to
make the games you play your own. Be honest with yourself about what
you like and dislike, and adjust accordingly. I realize now that playing
in casual, traditional 4e games is really not something I enjoy. On the
other hand, I love tinkering with the game and running it as something
wholly different from what was apparently originally intended.
So,
enlightenment came through suffering. Isn't that like a Zen koan or something?
