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| Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 |
kniedzw
|
11:08p |
Lively? What the hell? OK. Google has gone bonkers. They just released a virtual chatroom ... thing called Lively. Create an avatar, create a room, and enter and chat with your friends there! Sort of like Second Life, but far more limited. (Only runs on Windows. Feh.) I refuse to put this on my work computer, so I task my friends to play with it and make derisive comments. Or admit to their secret shame of liking it. One critic's take here. Thoughts? |
kniedzw
|
6:59p |
|
greensilk
|
12:49p |
|
sarcastibich
|
9:45a |
WELL!
I'm probably going to stick out my contract at Lilly, as that will help my current department a lot and will let me claim unemployment for the three weeks between jobs. Between the unemployment checks and the check I'll get for my unused vacation time Mike and I should be okay.
Next step is to contact a realtor (I have a name already, she helped my friend Nick find his house and was awesome) and start figuring out what one must do to own a home. I have no clue how the whole "getting a loan" thing works, so I'm counting on her to help me figure it out. We'll find out what we can afford (and whether it would be better or worse for us to get married before we buy a home, combining our credit records) and start looking around.
Then we'll figure out wedding stuff. I want to get married sooner rather than later, I hate the waiting, but I also want a warm-weather wedding date and we might have to wait for next year so I can have that. Who knows how that will work out. |
| Monday, July 7th, 2008 |
prosewitch
|
10:10p |
quick local peeps ping
Friday July 18th... okay time for a housewarming party?
I return to L.A. for 2 weeks starting the 22nd, so that'll be my last available weekend night until August (next Saturday, July 19th, my troupe is dancing at the Roller Derby, so that night is out, and this upcoming weekend is already booked like five different ways). |
unforth
|
1:34p |
The Interweb Fails?
In Amsterdam, I saw this painting I really, really loved. They didn't have any books or postcards of it there, so I made a mental note that the name was something like "Dragoon" and looked it up when I had internet. And couldn't find it. Thus, when my mother went to Amsterdam a couple weeks later, I asked her kindly to check the artist name and the full name of the painting for me so that I could track it down. And she did - "Dragoon on Watch" by Rene Pierre Charles Princeteau. Armed with this information, I went to try to find a picture of the painting. And I still can't find anything. Internet, why have you failed me?
Apparently, Rene Princeteau was a deaf-mute painter who was a friend of the Toulouse-Lautrec family, taught Henri to paint. He liked to paint animals and military subjects. And the only painting of his I can find pictures of is a portrait of Toulouse-Lautrec. Damn you Van Gogh Museum for not allowing me to take pictures!! |
sarcastibich
|
9:56a |
Do not taunt the Lion
SUMMER SAFETY TIPS: HOW TO AVOID A LION ATTACK.
Do not goad a lion, even in summer's informal atmosphere. Do not call a lion "Lionel" or "Mr. Richie," or start singing "Hello." He has heard the joke before.
A lion does not care that it has margarita salt or blood on its upper lip. Do not point it out.
It is well established that drowning deaths increase in summer, but a little known fact is that 25 percent of these fatalities happen when humans sunbathe too close to lion watering holes and are nudged into the drink by thirsty cats. Steer clear of ponds with picked-clean water-buffalo skeletons nearby.
Although warmer months invite romantic flings and may have put you in the habit of making more eye contact than usual, avoid going iris to iris with a lion. This is interpreted as human flirtation. Lions are extremely socially conservative, and see the mixing of species as against natural law.
Even after a few beers at a clambake, do not be tempted into political debate with a lion. When cornered, they will simply smite you with a sepsis-tinged claw.
Do not limbo in the presence of lions. Your exposed belly will make you seem weak.
Never come between a lion and its cubs, at the pool or anywhere else. This includes giving unsolicited parenting advice. "Are those cubs really old enough to be left by themselves in that clump of rushes while you're out hunting zebra all night?" is the sort of statement that can result in your instant death.
At a kill or a Fourth of July buffet, let the lion get its fill before you step in.
If you encounter a lion in a hotel-resort elevator, keep silent. No matter how nervous you are, do not make small talk. Smallness reminds a lion of its traditional prey. The smaller your talk, the more vulnerable you seem. Discuss the weather and you might as well be a Thomson's gazelle.
At the beach, do not be too old, too young, or too sickly, and, especially, do not stray too far from the herd. The lion's favorite target is the iconoclast.
If you return to your time-share and find a lion sleeping in your assigned parking spot, do not disturb it. It will depart by nightfall.
Do you see a lion waiting at the bottom of a water-park slide? Do not use the slide.
Even in the convivial atmosphere of a sophisticated international vacation destination, do not try to speak "lion." Roars and grumbles are part of a complicated tonal language, and your efforts may result in unintended insults.
If your name is Hemingway, do not have it embroidered on your beach towel.
When riding with a lion in a water-ski boat, do not ask "Do you know the MGM lion?" or "What's up, Aslan?" More than anything, lions despise celebrities and anthropomorphized sellouts. This, combined with the fact that you are making small talk, will cause the lion to devour you on the spot.
If, after a few wine spritzers on Labor Day weekend, a lion calls itself a big "pussy," do not think it is confessing to being a wimp. Lions have reclaimed the term, much as the gay community has reclaimed "queer" or feminists "bitch." Make no mistake: "pussy" means killer. |
sapphohestia
|
7:36a |
Update
This was a very nice weekend back in IN. Though I'd have rather not brought back so many bug bites.
Ack.
Proper update when I'm not late for work. |
| Sunday, July 6th, 2008 |
kniedzw
|
4:28p |
Consolodated Movie Reviews My summary opinions of The Incredible Hulk, Charlie Wilson's War, and Hancock: Not as bad as I'd feared, not as good as the book (but still quite good), and vaguely enjoyable non-adapted superheroic fare. ( Slightly more spoilerish thoughts behind a cut... ) |
kniedzw
|
4:02p |
R.I.P. Thomas Disch Apparently, writer and poet Thomas Disch committed suicide this weekend. I'd normally let this pass without comment, save for the fact that I'd corresponded with him a couple years ago in order to try to get his OK to republish a poem of his for the Strange Horizons series of articles on the Rhysling award, specifically this piece. (As a side note, Mr. Disch refused to allow the piece to be reprinted for The Alchemy of Stars, either. My understanding is that he had been at odds with the SFPA for a while.) Patrick Nielson-Hayden has posted on this, as have others, but Disch struck me in my limited interaction with him as an immensely sad - and very talented - man. I'm quite sorry I've not read more by him, which is a sentiment that I'm sure is echoed by many. In honor of this neglected writer, I am making a vow that I shall do my utmost to read something by an author that I've never read before each month from now until the end of the year. I'm not particularly good at keeping resolutions in the long term, but if it means that even once I can interact with someone I'd have otherwise not read and say, "You know, I read a piece of yours in F&SF a year or two ago, and I rather liked it," or even do the slightly-more-informed verbal dance of, "How do I not tell this person I didn't like her novel?" then I'll consider this a victory. Heck, I might even end up keeping the resolution in the longer-term. My hat is off to Mr. Disch. May he find peace in death that he clearly could not find in life, and may I, at the very least, be slightly better-read as a result of the kick in the pants his passing has given me. ETA: I note that, in a somewhat chilling prelude to his suicide, Mr. Disch suggested writing letters to dead writers in his LiveJournal just a few days ago. Reading some of his earlier posts does make me wish I had been more conversant with his work when I corresponded with him two years ago. |
| Saturday, July 5th, 2008 |
prosewitch
|
7:13p |
belated & bemused
That "3 things" meme went around a week back, and I'm finally getting around to doing it...
The Challenge:
* Post 3 things you've done in your lifetime that you don't think anybody else on your friends list has done.
* See if anybody else responds with "I've done that." If they have, you need to add another! (2.b., 2.c., etc...)
* Have your friends cut & paste this into their journal to see what unique things they've done in their life.
1. Belly danced to live Celtic music at an Irish pub on St. Patrick's Day in Berkeley.
2. Removed my underwear from under a skirt while driving on the highway for the purpose of keeping myself awake (hello adrenaline!).
3. Had sex in a parked car... in a lot belonging to the hotel where I was attending an academic conference.
...and here I thought I was being all edgy ;p
3a. Eaten at the French Laundry |
erdedrache
|
7:00p |
Killer robots! http://robots.pandemonium.de/2006/11/15/samsungs-sentry-robot/I imagine that at some point, this spawned a conversation that went something like this: "Hey guys, I have an awesome idea! Let's deploy a bunch of killer robots to guard the borders of nations that are infamous on teh intarweb as hackers. It'll be hilarious!" Current Mood:  amused |
kendokamel
|
5:40p |
I'm just in it for the fashion. I saw a bunch of girls walking around in some seriously tasseled-out bellydance garb, yesterday. When I ran into one them in the elevator, I asked if she did ATS. They gave me a blank look. "American tribal style?" I explained. "Oh!" one said. "I don't bellydance. I just like the outfits!" The doors opened, and they pranced away. Ah well, perhaps I can get them to try some moves with me if I see them, again. Current Mood:  amused |
kendokamel
|
5:37p |
I would be remiss if I did not mention this... Happy birthday, ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) idahoswede and jennlms! HAPpy happy happy BIRTHday!
HAPpy happy happy BIRTHday!
HAPpy happy happy BIRTHday
To YOUs to YOUs to YOUs!
(Ole!) |
kendokamel
|
2:18p |
ooooEEEEEoooooo!
On my walkabout break, I had to go visit the theremin people.
And, of course, the first thing I had to do was to try and play the theme from Dr. Who.
I learned that I need more practice playing a theremin. |
kendokamel
|
1:26p |
LOL-reg and electromagnetic instruments
My registration assistant showed up, this morning, wearing a tshirt that says, in ur cons, reggin' ur badges.
I determined (and the '09 conchair agrees) that if I do a kendo session again, next year, it will be in the afternoon, and NOT half an hour after registration opens. Because, really, I was out of commission for the entire morning. I got things set up, but then had to run to get my kendo stuff. I even shortened my talk because the Starfleet meeting ran long. (I waited until 10 on the dot, and then gathered the crowd that was waiting to see my session and brought all my stuff in to give them the hint...) Afterwards, I of course had to go take a shower, because I was blue, and turning anything and everyone I touched a similar shade of blue.
We dressed a very small child in my spare hakama and gi and put my armor on him, though. There was much teehee-ing.
Someone is up on the mezzanine with a bubble machine. The little children in the lobby are squealing and dancing around in the shower of effervescent prismatic spheres. Part of me wants to join them with unabashed glee (it's a freaking shower of bubbles!!!!)... but the other part of me (the risk-management part) is wondering how long that's going to be allowed to continue, before the hotel says it's too much of a slipping risk.
There's someone walking around in a rock element costume. For a time, there were some folks with the baseball group sitting in the lobby, and every time the rock costume walked past, a wee little tyke in the lobby sitting group began to sob in utter terror. After the requisite Schadenfreude giggle, I asked the rock creature's friend (a wizard in a giant blue pointy hat) if he could possibly have his buddy move to the other side of a brick pillar, safely out of sight of the terrified tot.
Oh, and there's a couple with a theremin, upstairs!!! I have decided that every convention needs a theremin. |
kendokamel
|
12:42p |
Harbinger?
My morning began with registration setup, while the lobby music played an unspeakably bad (seriously, it sounded like two drunk frat guys at a party) acoustic cover of "Baby One More Time".
o_O |
| Friday, July 4th, 2008 |
islemay
|
3:12p |
yay! Im in bloomington for the weekend! |
d_c_m
|
6:35a |
Happy 4th of July & Harry and the Potters! Happy Birthday America!!
232 years old today and that is mighty, mighty, good!!!
As usual I am hosting a patriotic bash, details here.
Now for some more good news: Wizard Rock is coming to Bloomington!!!! Harry and the Potters are playing on Sunday, August 3rd, 6 pm, at Rhino's in Bloomington!! YES!!! BE THERE!!! Fret not, I am helping with this event so more details will be coming your way!!! I LOVE FREEDOM!!!!! |
| Thursday, July 3rd, 2008 |
sarcastibich
|
2:24p |
|
sarcastibich
|
1:28p |
While looking for something else in my email today, I found this message that I sent to the EtM changeling STs back in May of 2006. As best as I can recall and put together, this was after Shanna announced that she was going to be running a tabletop Changeling/Hunter game set in Los Angeles during the time period where Lucifer had that city as his base of operations. At Chili's after the game a few of us thought it would be hilarious if Dale Deering were kidnapped by the Morning Star, who would of course want to marry her and impregnate her. Dale would then be rescued, but would have to decide what to do with her baby...aka the Anti-Christ. The next day I rethought that idea, and wrote this email to the STs. ( We must have been smoking crack to think it was a good idea )The emails that went forth over the next couple days pretty much said "We don't think we'll be having Dale kidnapped, although it was fun to discuss it at dinner." Alison wrote "This is getting a bit complicated and will do a bit too much to limit Shanna's options for her upcoming game. Thus, I'm for simply killing this concept for a plotline and leave it as a "what-if" scene for the out-takes reel. On the other hand, I'm 100% for scorching lazers, airborne demons/cherubs, and fireballs coming at the silver kestrel before it departs LA, if Shanna has any ideas in that direction. *grin*"Thus, that long lost letter is now part of the "what-if" gag reel of the EtM Changeling. |
d_c_m
|
10:11a |
Ah Bad Bosses - Karma Will Be Thine + Bye Bye Speakers Howdy! So a long time ago I used for Satan's/Sauron's mother at the Governor's Commission for A Drug-Free Indiana. Her boss was this guy: Jerry McCory. You can learn more about his activities here. Snicker. And bother. My computer speakers that were 13 years old have finally died. Today. If you were planning to dance at my 4th party - you might want to bring CDs as that player is working. I go now to get new speakers and hope that my sound board didn't die in my computer. |
kendokamel
|
10:34a |
Losing time
Is anyone else missing journal entries from the past several days?
I am.
I'm also missing huge chunks of entries on my friends list.
In one of the missing (for me, at least) entries, I asked why we can't ever get gentle, steady rain, and not this "end of the world storms or months of drought" pattern.
I think the weather decided to oblige me, for once. It has been raining gently and steadily all morning. I have the windows open, and there is a pleasant breeze blowing into my apartment, carrying with it the scents of pine sap, wet ground, and earthworms.
Soeaking of enjoying my apartment... in other news, by some miraculous feat, I finished my reports at work and began my weekend at 10. Well, since I'll have a work laptop with me, this weekend, I could, in theory, put in a half an hour here or there, to appease my bank account. (And certain international conference registrants who are freaked out that our office might actually close for an American federal holiday...)
In other other news, someone dialed my work number by mistake, this morning, and refused to believe that he could have possibly misdialed. (He even recited the number he thought he was calling, and I confirmed that no, this was not it.)
I was accused of, "stealing [their] phone call," and was ordered to reimburse him for the cost.
(Though, at least it wasn't some crazy jealous girlfriend who was snooping on her boyfriend's cellphone and found my work number in the missed calls list (because the boyfriend was apparently one of my conference registrants), and called to accuse me of trying to steal her man, and threatened to "come up [here] and get all up in [my] business".)
I was actually curious to see where that discussion would go, but alas, someone rang in on the other line... |
| Wednesday, July 2nd, 2008 |
d_c_m
|
5:07p |
Oh yeah.. There's more room in my living room. I am a self-proclaimed, self-confessed trash monkey. In other words I hoard more than all of the dragons in deadmanwade's and ancientwisdom's PCs and NPCs combined. But today I have liberated some of my living room. In fact, I have two extra feet of space so hey belly dancers - more practice area!!! Whooo hooo!! So those of you coming to my July 4th Party will have more room to move, eat, party, play, and dance in. And for those of you who didn't know or forgot about the party - hey, read the above link and you and yours are invited!!! |
drake_rocket
|
2:19p |
4th ED
So I have completed my read through of the 4th edition of dungeons and dragons player's handbook and monster's manual. Don't have the DMG just yet, but I'll get around to that eventually as well. So I figure I might as well write a review because uhhh...I am arrogant enough to think that I am fit to judge wholesale a system hundreds of people put thousands of hours into or something? Who knows! But I'm going to anyways. Understand as you read on (if you choose to read on) that I did come into this with a bias against 4th ed: I felt it was released too soon after 3.5 and I feel it is short-changing me in getting to play in 3.5 games (as I have mostly spent my time running them). Despite this, however, I still hoped I would be proven wrong. I'd much rather 4th ed be something good than something bad.
So let's start off with what I think are the pros of 4th ed:
1. Fighter/Ranger/Paladin/Rogue power set: While I am perhaps one of the few people who did not actually think anything was wrong with how these classes played in combat, I must admit a number of things about their power set look more interesting now. The flavor they added to the more mundane martial fighting stuff is pretty cool and it does add a number of neat stylized abilities. I think that special techniques and superpowers could add a lot and make fighters, rangers, etc more fun to play...if that's what you want out of your fighter. It gives them more of an anime feel rather than a gruff soldier feel. I dunno, part of me likes fighters and the like specifically *because* they are simple and straight forward. Over-all I would call it a positive step, though I am perhaps not as enthralled as some.
2. Faster actions and more rounds: It is hard to say for sure without playtesting, but I get the feeling that this system will allow for less lethality in any given round of combat due to an overall increase in character survivability and a decrease in damage output for both players and monsters. Limiting the number of attacks/actions that occur in one round speeds things up, which allow for every PC and monster to have more turns in a combat. I like this. I like quick combat rounds that are more numerous. I feel it is a major flaw of 3.5 that fights do not often last more than 4 rounds. I prefer combats more in the range of 10-15 rounds.
3. Consistent spell casting: I approve of the notion of wizards/warlocks getting to have a few consistent powers they can activate every round. I always took care of this with wands when I played spell casters, but I guess it's not bad to have it built-in, particularly at lower levels.
4. Increased lower-level starting abilities: I approve of people coming out of the gate stronger than you have in previous editions. 1st level is more interesting than it used to be and that is a very positive shift.
5. Stream-lining stats, attack rolls, defenses and AC: I *think* I like the shift in this regard as a general trend. Using intelligence as your stat for hitting things with magic strikes me as a good idea. Wisdom is also more usable than before but of all the things they could have junk'd, this really should have been on the top of the list. What I am not sure I feel great about is the single-need stat. I can't decide whether I like that rogues, for example, can flip their middle fingers to strength and still hit hard or not. The part of me that likes dexy fighters slashing up a storm says cool, the part of me that likes more interesting and less-traditional combinations (I have a love of orc rogues with greataxes) says boo.
6. Eladrin, elves and dwarves: I like the shifts they made to these races. I would have liked it more if they called them high elves and sylvan elves, or left eladrin as the people with the term "elf" as they are more what I think of as elves...but that's a minor matter. I'm not sure how I feel about the dwarven history (I do not like the idea of them as an oppressed slave race at all, I much prefer them as an ancient and powerful people), but I do like the shift to being prettier, especially for the women.
7. Artwork: The books iz prettier.
8. Monster variants: I strongly approve of the fact that most every monster now comes in more than one flavor and have some pre-generated tactical groups. I like this a lot, though there isn't much to elaborate beyond that.
Cons:
1. Fundamental dislike of the new philosophy: Many of the cons that follow are based around the fact that there is a shift in the way this game works that I strongly dislike, so I will try my best to lay out the general theme and move on to specific examples. In essence, D&D has shifted from a role playing game into a thing that is much more heavily influenced by minis gaming and, to a lesser extent, MMORPGs. And while I like both minis gaming and MMORPGs, I have *zero* desire to play either when I am trying to play a table top RPG. Wizards might have its reasons. The commercial success of MMOs and the ass-raping addictive sell-all synergy of minis gaming both have the potential to rake in more monies. That doesn't mean I don't hate it, however. Table top RPG is a very separate genre from minis and MMOs and, in my opinion, is a funner one. Incorporating elements of the other two degrades table-top gaming. They are more simplistic and base, lower on the pyramid of cool than table tops. It feels like trying using cheeze whiz to enhance your sushi. There might be some freakish moments in which that is beneficial, but mostly it's just a bad idea.
2. Magic: Is dead and uninteresting. Gone are the days where you could focus on doing neat out-of-combat things with your spell casting or heaven forbid seek to effect the field in ways that did not involve explicit damage, penalties or bonuses. Summoning is gone, which is lame as all hell, and most things that are called summons are just damage or debuff spells in disguise. Illusions, complex enchantment, real necromancy, mind-control, RP-spells, non-combat magic urrgg...it's all gone or hollowed down to virtually nothing. As a wizard you kill shit, as a warlock you kill shit. The ritual magic could have made up for it, but most of it is anemic, uninteresting and so clearly not a core part of your power set it's bordering on an after-thought. Where as before you had hundreds of spells to choose from, could specialize in numerous different styles of casting and effects (damaging spells, summoning, buffing, crippling debuffs, confusion, mind-control and numerous variants in between not even counting non-combat magic) now you are shunted into the role of kill lots of little things or kill one thing and maybe debuffing it. But even debuffs lost so much of their life because they are no longer really very strong, but instead all exist as hybrids of damage and debuffing. For all that they might have made fighters and rangers more interesting, they really sucked the life out of magic-users
3. Healing: Fuck healing surges. Seriously. Alright, so that's probably not a useful way to convince people. Still, I can appreciate the desire to exist without a healer, but not only do I not share it, but I am annoyed as hell they put in a mechanic that so strongly trumps having an actual healer, the role is all but dead. Playing healer was not for everyone, but I *liked* it and a lot of other people did as well. There was no reason to remove it and it pisses me off that they did. Before anyone even begins to make the argument that healing is still a useful thing, stop it. The only reason that healer was interesting is because you could help others in ways they could not help themselves. You are no longer the core of people's healing ability of you play a healer: you only augment it.
4. Everyone hits things!: No really. You do. Even when you're a "healer". Forget the days of spending your time as anything other than someone who rolls a die and deals damage. Everyone does it now. Some people just also make your allies better when you hit things or make your enemies worse. I know that many people like doing damage and hitting things, but eliminating any other alternatives? Big time suck.
5. The Grey Song of Balance: Returning for a moment to a broader "meta-design" point, 4th ed is a much more balanced system than 3.5. Why is this a con? Because balance does not make an interesting RPG. Because balance, unless you are a game-designer with god-like talent, requires homogenization. You cannot balance the ability to fly against the ability to swing a sword *really* well against the ability to raise the dead against the ability to see the future. Certain things are simply better in certain situations, certain individuals are better for some problems than others, more potent in certain campaign settings, weaker in others. Some might see this as a problem, but I strongly disagree. Why? Because 4th ed has the only solution: make everyone the same. Sure your flavor text is different, yes your abilities are not identical...but the differences in the mechanics between a fighter and a wizard are soooooo much less than they were in 3.5. Balance is something that is critical in minis games and MMORPGs. It is not something that is required in table tops to nearly the same degree. By doing what they have done, they have copped out of trying to make a game with a vast landscape of unique. They have hollowed-out magic because lots of unique abilities is a hard thing to balance. They have hollowed out multi-classing and removed any chance of finding interesting synergy between multiple classes, instead just allowing you to have a trick or two from another power set. They have jack-hammered people into four roles with no real chance to (and I hate this term) "think outside the box". And even within those roles, you aren't really all that special or unique.
6. The failure of Leader and the mostly-failure of Tank: If they had decided to actually take a lesson from MMORPGs they would understand that tanks must be *much* tougher compared to other classes than they are presented and more capable of "holding agro" as well. It's good that they put in some abilities for the latter: it's something D&D was probably missing. But it's just not enough and tanks are still not tough enough to take the full brunt of enemy attacks, or even a greatly disproportionate amount. Leader, however, just falls flat. Aside from the base stupidity of making such a strongly social and RP-oriented thing into a class feature (yeah yeah I know leaders don't have to be party leaders, but it's still stupid... "Oh I'm A leader but I'm not THE leader), they just didn't do enough with it. Because everything must be balanced (and therefor homogenized) they just don't do enough to make them interesting. Their buffs are too entwined with hitting things (yay more hitting things) and do not do without on their own. And to try to join the roles of "healer" and "leader" just makes it even clunkier and less appropriate. The two things have nothing to do with each other.
7. The abandonment of any notion of combat simulation: Forget it. Forget trying to give any credit to emulating actual combat in any way shape or form. You see the whole map. You know every stat your ally has, you know every stat you have and you see the world in squares. Combat is a minis game, flat and simple. All of the rules are balanced around this. Most of the players hand book is a description of a very complex miniatures game. There are plenty who would state that D&D was already that: I never found it nearly so blatant and oppressively so as it is now. D&D combat has devolved into Hero Quest with more bells and whistles.
8. Racial Changes (Dragonborn and Tieflings): These races anger me because they appeal so much to the lowest common denominator of ZOMG DRAGONZ ARE KEWL and ZOMG DEMONZ ARE SO KEWL. Urg. "I'm a dwagon and my zword is infused with ELEMENTAL POWERZ". It's such pandering to people who think Dragons are very exciting (because everything is more exciting if it involves DRAGONS just like if it involves Fire because Fire is very exciting). Further the fucking things replaced half-orcs as a core race. Because you couldn't possibly hope that people would RP a strong brutish primitive race...no that wouldn't be popular enough because orcs aren't pretty and don't involve BEING A DRAGON. Tieflings ended up bothering me less than I thought they would (partially because they have a cool backstory), but they still suffer from the syndrome of something being cool if one person does it, but stupid if lots of people do it. Alright, there is something interesting about the one hero who has a tainted past and must wrestle with a hard legacy yada yada. But my lord is that less interesting by the time the third tiefling joins your party. Don't get me wrong. There will be well-played dragonborn. There will be well-played tieflings. Both of them will spawn perfectly interesting and worth while characters. But that does not change the reason why they were put in.
9. Diminished RP: This system focuses even less on RP-oriented things than prior D&D did. The sharper contrast between the combat in the game and "realistic" combat, the further narrowing of already narrow skills, the diminished ability to customize characters (and yes, your path is much more set for you in this edition, even if some classes have more powers to choose from), the reduction of magic, the stylization of all monsters through the lens of what to do to kill them and how they fight rather than their culture or ecology, the push for almost all character abilities to be useful in combat, a lessened ability to adjust stats for vanity (many more stats do absolutely nothing for certain classes than was the case before), the lack of more generous multi-classing, the over-all pervasiveness of the fighting system...sure there is more flavor text for some classes and more ways for fighters to differentiate between their sword swings...but I really think this system is less conducive to RP than prior D&D and much more focused on battle balance.
10. Diminished customization: I cannot speak fully on this point because I have not read the DMG, in which might be contained the secret lore of customization and house rules. But as it stands, I think this system is much less capable of absorbing changes than 3.5 was. The balance is much more rigid and precise. Things are based not on principle (a spell of this level does this much damage) but on what wizards of the coast says you can and cannot do. The balance is also so key and so delicate that it is much harder to remove things you do not like without fucking up a great number of other things (a more fluid movement system, for example, would really drastically alter tons of powers).
Over all: After reading it and trying my best to give an honest shot, I do not think I care for 4th ed. More-over, I really a saddened I don't think I'd enjoy *running* 4th ed. It's so strangling from a DM's perspective...and that makes me sad as running is something I enjoy a lot. I am not averse to playing it...but I do think it has a lot less life and variety in it than 3.5 (though it does make an excellent show of providing the illusion that it has more). I think that I would, if I were playing in a game of it, like to do it progressing at the rate of 1 level every 2 games, in a game played once a week. Not lingering too long on any part, but seeing how it all plays out over the entire course of it in about a year. You are of course free to think as you wish, but do think on what I have said all you 4th ed lovers out there: don't just dismiss it because the new system has a few new shiny bits you've been longing for. |
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