Ya, I was feeling silly and needed something unimportant to occupy myself. ^*^

We like 4th Edition so much better. It's very nicely designed and streamlined. We have this huge stack of 3.0 and 3.5 books that go largely unused because we're so glad to be done with them. (We still occasionally use them for creative reference, such as the dungeon maps and battle tactics, but not the actual mechanics.)

That's a combination of two playable monsters from the 4E Monster Manual; there are 16 monsters that have been given playable stat blocks like the one I made above. I wanted to create the perfect parkour character, which would involve a character based around the Acrobatics, Athletics, and Streetwise skills. The Githzerai have +2 Acrobatics and +2 Athletics, which are skills based on Dexterity and Strength; the Bugbears have +2 Strength and +2 Dexterity, so I decided to combine the two in a way I think is balanced. I would have just picked the Githzerai, since the +2 skill bonuses are more important than the +1 ability modifiers, but I couldn't create a satisfying stat block from their +2 Dexterity and +2 Wisdom.

That's one thing I like at the new game; you may optionally roll dice for your stats, but you don't have to any more. You can simply take the basic stat block of 16, 14, 13, 12, 11, 10, or you can take a base of 10, 10, 10, 10, 10, 8 and spend 22 points to increase those scores. Raising any score from 8 through 13 costs one point; 14, 15, and 16 each cost two points on top of that; 17 costs an extra three from there; and 18 costs an extra four points over 17. So to get an 18 from a 10 costs 16 of those 22 points, meaning you could get a stat block of 18, 12, 12, 10, 10, 10. Then you add your racial abilities, which are usually +2 to two different abilities, like Strength and Dexterity for Bugbears. (Humans get to pick any one ability to add +2.)

Edited at 2008-09-03 12:07 am (UTC)

They unfortunately do not yet have rules for bards or celestials. There are four kinds of angel in the Monster Manual which could hypothetically be reverse-engineered to create a stat block. I dislike what they've done with them story-wise; they are effectively ruthless mercenaries of the Astral Sea, beholden to no one but looking to sell themselves for power and profit to whatever deity has need.

There are currently no aasimar or anything. They will be releasing new books and have mentioned things like barbarians and druids, I believe, but nothing yet. We have clerics, fighters, paladins, rangers, rogues, warlocks, warlords, and wizards; we have dragonborn, dwarves, eladrin, elves, half-elves, halflings, humans, and tieflings. That's basically 2.5 elves (eladrin are elves of the Feywild); a slight overabundance, I think.

I did create a race of half-celestials/angelic people to counter the tieflings for a game set in the Diablo universe.

ANGLASEI Average Height: 5'6" - 6'2" Average Weight: 130-210 lb. Ability Scores: +2 Wisdom, +2 Charisma Size: Medium Speed: 7 squares Vision: normal Languages: Common, choice of one other Skill Bonuses: +2 Acrobatics, +2 Insight Angelic Weapon Proficiency: You gain proficiency with the longsword and the greatsword. Radiant Resistance: You have resist radiant 5 + one-half your level. Group Insight: You grant non-angelic allies within 5 squares of you a +1 racial bonus to Insight checks. Divine Blessing: You can use divine blessing as an encounter power. Divine Blessing Anglasei Racial Power You maneuver into an advantageous position and strike your foe with ruthless determination. Encounter Immediate Interrupt Close burst 5 Effect: If an enemy that you attacked last turn attacks an ally, you may immediately grant that ally an AC bonus equal to your Charisma modifier against that enemy's attacks until the end of your next turn.

Edited at 2008-09-03 02:01 am (UTC)

Ya, there's no such thing as Performance any more. There also isn't an unlimited number of stats for crafting, knowledge, etc. There are Acrobatics, Arcana, Athletics, Bluff, Diplomacy, Dungeoneering, Endurance, Heal, History, Insight, Intimidate, Nature, Perception, Religion, Stealth, Streetwise, and Thievery. Every skill your character can perform is based on one or more of those. A bard could certainly use things like Bluff, Diplomacy, History, Insight, Perception, Religion, etc., but I'm not sure what might be used for musical performance. It would be easy enough to create a bard class, in terms of creating powers and such, but I'm not certain how performing arts would count in this edition. Hopefully we'll get a good load of more specific information with the next series of books.

One thing that is nice about the new edition is the simple layout of the books and the tables. Powers are also much more simple to follow; there are new powers at virtually every level, so you simply select a new power from your new level (except on the few levels where you don't get a new power). You are also allowed, every level, to swap one power for a different one of the same level or lower, or to swap any one feat for any other feat for which you qualify. This way if the character you created seems ineffectual, you aren't stuck with your decisions.

They've also separated the game into tiers: levels 1 through 10 are the Heroic tier; levels 11 through 20 are the Paragon tier; and levels 21 through 30 are the Epic tier (after which your character retires). Instead of prestige classes, you have Paragon Paths and Epic Destinies for the advanced tiers of the game. Multiclassing has been simplified quite a bit, which is more limiting but also much simpler. You can take a Multiclass Feat in whichever second class you'd like to dabble. You cannot multiclass in your existing class, and you can only take one secondary class. Each Multiclass Feat gives you a skill, feature and/or power from that class and makes you qualify for any of that class's feats or paragon paths. You can also take further feats to swap existing powers for new powers from the second class, and you can later choose to take powers from the second class instead of taking a paragon path if you've taken all four feats (the initial feat plus Novice Power, Acolyte Power, and Adept Power).

The Paragon Paths themselves don't involve swapping; you just get a few extra powers and features in addition to your normal array of powers and feats. All character classes follow the same progression of powers; at 11th level, you will have two at-will powers, four encounter attack powers, three daily attack powers, and three utility powers unless, of course, your race, class features, or feats add to this. An 11th-level cleric, for instance, may choose one of four paragon paths—Angelic Avenger, Divine Oracle, Radiant Servant, or Warpriest.

Every paragon path involves an action-point bonus of some sort at 11th level. Action points are points you can spend to gain extra actions during an encounter, so you might be able to attack twice in a single round or move an extra 30 feet (described in terms of squares, each square being five feet). You normally have one action point, until spent, but can gain new action points through Milestones, reached by completing two encounters without an extended rest. The Angelic Avenger, for instance, gains Angelic Action at 11th level: "When you spend an action point to take an extra action, you also gain a +4 bonus to attack rolls until the start of your next turn." (The wording is important, of course, because the attack bonus will still apply to opportunity attacks after the end of your current turn but before the start of the next one.)

The Angelic Avenger, in particular, also gains Astral Vibrance (11th level)—"Choose an energy form when you gain this feature: lightning, radiant, or thunder. When a bloodied enemy is within 5 squares of you at the start of its turn, it takes energy damage of your chosen type equal to your Charisma modifier."—Weapon Training (11th level)—"You are proficient with one heavy blade of your choice."—and Blood and Radiance (16th level)—"An enemy that bloodies you with an attack is outlined with holy radiance, granting combat advantage to you and your allies until the end of its next turn." Bloodied is the state when a creature has been reduced to half their hit points or fewer. The Angelic Avenger, along with most paragon paths, gets three new powers at 11th, 12th, and 20th level, which are usuall pretty nice. These are all in addition to whatever normal cleric powers you gain.

There are currently four Epic Destinies—Archmage (21st-level wizard), Deadly Trickster (21st level; Dexterity 21 or Charisma 21; training in Acrobatics, Bluff, Stealth, or Thievery), Demigod (21st level), and Eternal Seeker (21st level). These grant insanely powerful features and powers in addition to your normal class features and powers. The Archmage, for instance, gains Arcane Spirit (21st level):

Once per day, when you die, you can detach your spirit from your body. In arcane spirit form, you heal to maximum hit points and gain the insubstantial and phasing qualities. You can cast encounter spells and at-will spells while in arcane spirit form, but you can't cast daily spells, activate magic items, or perform rituals. If you die in arcane spirit form, you're dead.

At the end of the encounter, after a short rest, your arcane spirit rejoins your body, if your body is still present. Your current hit point total is unchanged, but you no longer experience the other benefits and drawbacks of being in arcane spirit form.

If your body is missing, you will need other magic to return to life, but can continue adventuring in arcane spirit form if you like.

Edited at 2008-09-03 04:02 pm (UTC)

Spells are a kind of power. Every character gets powers, and for a wizard those powers may be spells or cantrips, for a cleric they may be prayers, but they're all called powers regardless of what else they may be. These powers have different sources, such as arcane, divine, or martial. You no longer have a spells-per-day limit. Instead you have at-will, encounter and daily powers, all of which are either attack or utility powers.

All characters start at first level with two at-will powers, one encounter power, one daily power and no utility powers, plus any additional powers gained through feats or class features. A first-level wizard, for instance, starts with four cantrips as one of their class features—ghost sound, light, mage hand, and prestidigitation. In addition to this, they get two at-will attack spells from a list of five, one encounter attack from a list of five, and one daily power from a list of four. These are the only spells the character knows how to perform, not simply the spell list prepared for the day.

Daily powers are just as they seem; you can use them once a day. A day is considered the time between an extended rest; an extended rest is any undisturbed sleep of at least six hours, with the exception of races which do not require normal sleep. You must be doing nothing for at least six hours to recharge daily powers. Utility powers may be daily, encounter, or at-will powers, but they are essentially any non-attack power. Encounter powers are usable once per encounter and recharge after a short rest, which is five minutes or more; there are a few special exceptions that can be used twice per encounter, such as the cleric's healing word. At-will powers have unlimited use and are usually minor attack powers, with the exception of the wizard cantrips above.

Yes, it is very much streamlined and redesigned to attract the World of Warcraft crowd but, even though I don't like World of Warcraft myself, I enjoy 4th Edition much more than I did 3rd.

In total, a first-level wizard has 14 spells to choose from and four cantrips they get by default, not including powers gained through feats. Like I said, Multiclass Feats might gain you new powers; if you multiclass as a cleric, you'll gain healing word. If you are a cleric, you can take Channel Divinity feats to gain new powers from deities who match your alignment. (Unaligned would give you the most options there; your choices are Lawful Good, Good, Unaligned, Evil, and Chaotic Evil.)

Mage hand here is a basic arcane conjuration that can hold or carry objects up to 20 pounds and can be sustained with a minor action. There are currently no necromancers, though I created a warlock pact for that. Warlocks start by choosing one of three pacts—Fey, Infernal, or Star. I created a Death pact so my friend could create a necromancer. Each pact involves a pact boon of some kind, all of which modify your Warlock's Curse—the curse grants you extra damage once per round against a cursed enemy. The Star pact, for instance, includes Fate of the Void; this boon gains you a +1 bonus to any single d20 roll before the end of your next turn for each cursed enemy that dies. If two enemies die in one round, you get +2; if you take the Improved Fate of the Void feat, you gain +2 each.

They've basically balanced all the classes, so each one gets the same amount of powers from which to choose. This means that spell-casters have had their individual power selections limited, while martial characters have had their powers increased to match. This balances the game nicely. It does mean a wizard has fewer total spells from which to choose, but they also have no limit on the amount of spells they can cast per day. It's a bit of a trade-off, but I like the system overall. There's still plenty of room for specialization and the creation of unique characters. Each class, in fact, includes two suggested "builds" for a character of that class. The wizard, for instances, might be a Control Wizard or a War Wizard; these involve different ability distributions, feats, skills, and power selections.

It does mean you can no longer have a 20th-level character that's multiclassed in 10 different classes, at least at this point in the game, but it also means characters are far more manageable and their abilities far more easy to track and remember.