elander_ said:
Can't say anything until i play/borrow this game. Sometimes an ugly sounding rpg system may work much better in practice.
Specific changes in moving to the 4th Edition include:
* A new class list in the Player's Handbook: The Warlock and Warlord classes were added. The Barbarian, Bard, Druid, Monk and Sorcerer classes have not been included, they are intended to be included in subsequent PHBs, as are other classes.
* Overhaul of the multi-classing system.
* Increased importance of weapon damage in combat. In previous editions a weapon's damage dice were overshadowed by other damage bonuses for high level characters. Many abilities now increase damage by using multiple dice based on the weapon's size, preserving larger weapons' advantage even at high levels.
* Changes in spells and other per-encounter resourcing, giving all classes a similar number of at-will, per-encounter and per-day power types. (This applies to all classes, in contrast to previous editions where each spell was cast on a daily basis while noncasters were more likely to receive combat and noncombat bonuses than any specific powers.) Some Fighter-class powers also receive bonuses for certain types of weapons. Characters of 11th through 20h level also choose a "paragon path," a specialty within their class that defines some of their new powers.
* Casters no longer prepare their spells at the start of the day, except that Wizards know extra daily and utility spells and choose which to have available in a given day.
* Revision of saving throws and defense values. Fortitude, Reflex and Will are now static defense values which the attacker rolls against like Armor Class. "Saving throws" now refer to rolls made at the end of one's turn in order to end certain ongoing detrimental effects, saving throw rolls generally have no bonus and a target number of 10.
* Standardized level-based bonus increases. Attack rolls, skill checks and defense values all get a bonus equal to 1/2 level, rounded down, rather than increasing at different rates depending on class or skill point investment. This bonus also applies to ability-score checks (such as Strength rolls).
* Revision of the healing system. In addition to the healing powers available to some classes, each character has a number of daily healing surges based on their class and Constitution score. Spending a healing surge usually heals a character for 1/4 of a character's maximum hit points. Generally, characters can only spend one healing surge per encounter, however certain powers allow additional surges to be spent, and characters can spend any number of their healing surges outside of combat. Finally, players recover full hit points after a (once daily) 6 hour 'extended rest'.
* Overhaul and simplification of the grappling rules.
* Revision of feats, generally making feats more varied but less powerful in combat. Characters also gain more feats as they advance, although Fighters no longer receive bonus feats.
* Elimination of skill points. Each skill is either trained (providing a fixed bonus on skill checks, and sometimes allowing more exotic uses for the skills) or untrained, but in either case all characters also receive a bonus to all skill rolls based on level.
* Creation of the skill challenge system, a mechanic for DMs to define noncombat encounters based on multiple skill roles.
* Many non-combat spells (such as Knock, Raise Dead, Tenser's Floating Disc, and Water Breathing) have been replaced by rituals. All rituals have a financial cost in the form of material components, such as herbs and alchemical reagents. Item creation feats are also replaced by rituals.
* Rules for varying power sources (Arcane, Divine, Martial, etc.).
* Extending core rules to level 30 rather than level 20, bringing "Epic Level" play back into the core rules (level 20+ play had last been explicitly written into core rules in the black-covered "Master" rule set of classic D&D).
* Overhaul of races.
o Racial abilities that improve with level.
o Elimination of racial level adjustment.
o All playable races have positive ability score bonuses and a racial power.
o Tieflings and Dragonborn have become core races.
o Halflings are given a river-dwelling background (much like how dwarves are mountain dwellers, and elves come from the forest).
o Gnomes have been removed from the core race selection, but have been included as a playable race in the Monster Manual, much like goblins in the previous edition.
o Half-Orcs have also been removed as a core race.
o Elves are split into three races (excluding Half-Elves) rather than numerous subraces. Eladrin are more civilized and magical, while regular "elves" are agile forest dwellers rather than city builders, and the evil subterranean Drow are largely unchanged. All three elven races are considered Fey.
* Magic items have been redesigned, sharply reducing their power and limiting many effects to daily use plus additionally limiting the number of daily-item powers characters can activate.
* Elimination of Challenge Ratings.
* Monster Manuals officially support leveling monsters down and up to allow for easier encounter design and flexibility. Many monsters have their mechanics redesigned to help differentiate them from others (Gnolls fighting like hyenas and hobgoblins marching like legions). Monsters are also designed to work well in groups fights instead of a solo monster versus players' party.
* Revision of the critical hit system. Confirmation roll to critical hits has been done away with; instead a natural 20 automatically does maximum damage and may cause further damage or effects with certain bonuses (or if a natural still 20 misses, it instead is an automatic ordinary hit).
* The default cosmology has been revised. The planes now consist of the Astral Sea, the Elemental Chaos, the Feywild, the Shadowfell, "the world" (similar to the Material Plane) and the Far Realm. The Great Wheel has been eliminated, with many outer planes converted into astral dominions, although the Abyss is now part of the Elemental Chaos. The Elemental Chaos also incorporates aspects of the Inner Planes of Air, Earth, Fire, and Water with the outer plane of Limbo. Some aspects of the Negative Energy Plane and the Plane of Shadow have been merged into the Shadowfell.
* Alignments are now limited to Lawful Good, Good, Evil, Chaotic Evil, and Unaligned.
* Demons and Devils are restructured with devils being twisted angels organized in a hierarchal society and demons being unorganized beings of destruction.
* XP budget system for encounter design introduced.
* In addition to level, each monster has a power tier. Minions are the weakest tier, they are considered equivalent to roughly 1/4 of a standard monster of the same level, and are designed to be simple to run in large numbers, minions die in one hit, have fixed damage and have few if any special abilities. Elite monsters are considered roughly equivalent to 2 standard monsters of the same level, while Solo monsters are considered roughly equivalent to 5 standard monsters of the same level. Elite and solo monsters generally have more hit points, higher defenses and more powerful and numerous attacks and special abilities than standard monsters of the same level. They also generally have action points and a bonus to saving throws.
* Characters (and some monsters) gain "action points", which can be spent to take an extra action in combat, or to perform some other special tasks granted by certain classes or feats.
* Diagonal movement and range are simplified. Each square of diagonal distance counts as one square of orthogonal distance.
* Subdual damage was eliminated and subdual was simplified. When an NPC loses all hit points, the attacker determines whether the NPC is killed or subdued.
Also according to what I heard 4 ed. FR = Eberron ...
:
NWN3 would be a bit daft I think, things are just starting to get sweet for NWN2.
