Category Archives: Reviews & Culture

Online Character Builder review

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As of Tuesday, November 16, the new online Character Builder is live.  Fortunately for me, I did not get a chance to try it on the day that it came out – from everything I’ve heard, there were some serious server problems at launch, perhaps because every DDI subscriber on the Internet tried to use the program at once.

Now that I’ve had a chance to see it in action, here are my thoughts.

The good things:

  • It looks pretty
  • It has Heroes of the Fallen Lands and Dark Sun
  • It’s good at recovering a character you were working on in case you accidentally close the program or it crashes
  • I have access to my saved characters at any computer
  • It has real potential for the future

The not-so-good things:

  • The character sheets can’t be customized at all
  • It’s a little slower than the downloadable Character Builder, at least on my computer
  • You can’t export characters to send to your DM or to archive on your own computer
  • The scroll wheel on my mouse does not work with the program
  • I won’t be able to play around with it on the plane tomorrow and Saturday when I leave for a business trip because it requires internet access
  • Did I mention that you can’t customize your character sheet?

I think my original impression of the program based on the initial announcement was about right.  One thing I hadn’t realized was that I wouldn’t be able to customize the character sheet as I can in the current Character Builder.  I LOVE to be able to get my character sheet down to one page, with separate pages for my power cards (I’m one of those people who likes to cut out the cards and flip over my expended powers when I use them).  That won’t work here.

For the short run, I’m sticking with the downloadable Character Builder that I happily still have installed on my computer.  It’s just a better program.  If I want to build an Essentials character, I’ll give the online program a shot at it.  But the Essentials character that I’m most interested in building is the Hunter Ranger from Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms – which isn’t in the Builder yet.  Sigh.

To be fair to Wizards of the Coast, I fully expect that the export function, customizable character sheets, support for house rules and use of the scroll wheel will eventually be added to the program.  But for now, the online Builder is inferior to the downloadable one.

Of course, the big news today is the announcement of the Virtual Table, which, as the Online Dungeon Master, has me excited.  But that’s a topic for another post.

Essentials thoughts: Heroes of the Fallen Lands

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I haven’t posted in over a week, largely because I’ve been out of town for most of that time.  However, the time has not gone to waste from a D&D perspective, as I’ve spent time reading the new Dungeons and Dragons Essentials book, Heroes of the Fallen Lands.

This is really the big new book for Essentials – the one that people who fear 4.5 Edition are really afraid of.  This is where things are changing.

My opinion: I like it!

Here’s what you get in HotFL:

  • Improved support for five basic races (Dwarf, Elf, Eladrin, Halfling, Human)
  • New builds for four classes (Cleric, Fighter, Rogue, Wizard)
  • Some slightly tweaked rules for things like magic items

The fundamentals of D&D 4th Edition are still here, and I don’t see it as a new edition (or half edition). I see it as some rules tweaks and some new options.  It doesn’t feel more revolutionary than the second or third Player’s Handbooks or the Martial/Arcane/Primal Power books for the most part.

Race updates

Every race except human now has stat flexibility – one fixed ability gets a +2 bonus, but there’s a choice of two other abilities to get another +2 bonus.  For instance, the Dwarf still gets +2 Constitution, but instead of being locked into +2 Wisdom for the second boost, the Dwarf can choose either +2 Wisdom or +2 Strength.  Yes, it’s “power creep,” but I don’t care all that much.  I’m strangely feeling inspired to go against type anyway and build “the world’s buffest Wizard” with a big racial bonus to Strength or something like that.

The human still gets +2 to a single stat, but instead of a bonus at-will power the human gets a power that lets you retroactively add 4 to a failed roll to hit or to a failed saving throw.  Fine by me.

So races – no major changes.

Classes

Here is where some people seem to think Wizards of the Coast is making massive changes and that 4th Edition as we know it is gone.  I disagree.

There are five new builds presented in this book.  Two Fighters (the Slayer and the Knight), one Rogue (the Thief), one Cleric (the Warpriest) and one Wizard (the Mage).  The big changes are a departure from the common class structure (no longer does every class get the same lineup of at-will, encounter and daily powers as they level up – some get no dailies at all) and a breakdown of the link between class and role (the Slayer is a striker, but every other Fighter build is a defender).

These new builds are exactly that – new builds.  The Mage is not very different from other Wizard builds, nor is the Warpriest a huge departure from other Clerics.  The Slayer, Knight and Thief are undeniably different from earlier Fighters and Rogues because they focus on melee basic attacks and don’t get daily powers.  They don’t get at-will attack powers, either – they get either stances (for the Fighter builds) or tricks (special moves for the Thief).

I see the new Fighter and Rogue builds as, well, new builds.  They seem like they might even be fun for some players!  I imagine that I would personally get bored with the same few options forever as I played one of these characters up to level 20 or 30, but a player who wanted to keep things simple would probably greatly enjoy these builds.  The same goes for the Warpriest, just because you don’t have to make a lot of choices as you level up.  I personally LIKE making choices as I level up, but I respect that not everybody feels that way.

Rule changes, etc.

Magic items are now either common, uncommon or rare, and players by default can only buy common items (the others are awarded in treasure hauls as the DM sees fit).  Fine by me, as both a player and a DM.

Feats have been organized by what you want to do (have more toughness, be better at skills, wear cooler armor, etc.).  There are some feats here that I really like, such as Master at Arms (+1 to attacks with weapons, and you can use a minor action to simultaneously sheathe one weapon and draw another).  These feats work just fine with existing classes, and the new builds are allowed to take existing feats.

I’ll admit that I was confused by the table on page 344 of the book that talks about magic armor.  I haven’t played any characters above level 4 yet, so this hasn’t come into play, but apparently once you get to level 6 the inherent bonus of your armor gets better (in addition to the enhancement bonus).  I think this is a reference to masterwork armor, though I’ll admit I’m confused.  I thought plate armor was always +8 to AC, with magic plate armor adding something from 1 to 5 on top of that.  Apparently magic plate armor at level 6 is +9, and if it’s +1 armor that’s a total of +10 to AC.  I have so much to learn!

On another note, I love the “fluff” in this book – that is, the stuff that’s not pure rules “crunch”.  Races now get six full pages to help you understand what it’s like to BE a member of that race so that you can play it more effectively.  Classes get some ridiculously awesome artwork.  I’m not an artwork guy, so if I notice the art it must be pretty good.  I LOVE the elf rogue who shows up on the back cover and on page 170.  The elf knight on page 125 is way cool, too.  (I apparently have a thing for elf chicks.)  The halfling thief on page 172 is also badass (see, it’s not just elf chicks).  Good stuff.

Summary

I like Heroes of the Fallen Lands.  I could see myself playing around with some of these characters (somehow the Sun Warpriest seems like a lot of fun).  I could see using them to introduce new players to the game.  I can also see them existing merrily alongside the classes we know and love, with more options now available to those classes (feats, powers, racial abilities).  It’s good for the game, in my opinion, and I have no qualms about the direction of 4th Edition.  Essentials looks like fun to me!

Are you in the RPG closet?

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Here’s a question for the role-playing game community: Do you hide your hobby from your non-gamer friends / colleagues?

Friends who play games – well, obviously they know that you play D&D or Pathfinder or whatever might be your RPG of choice since you probably play alongside them.  Close family members (those who live with you) will almost certainly know as well.  But what about friends or family members whom you don’t see regularly?  What about colleagues at school or at work?

I work for a large financial services company, and I’m a well-respected, somewhat senior person.  I manage a team of nine employees.  Personally, I’ve never discussed my RPG hobby with any of my colleagues.  It’s entirely possible that some of them play RPGs, though I doubt it.  Would it ruin my career to talk about it?  Probably not, though I’m sure it might affect some of their opinions of me.  I already get gentle ribbing about the fact that I’m in a bowling league, and no non-bowler has the mistaken impression that bowling involves devil worship (well, at least I don’t think so).

I try to be a very open, honest person, which makes me feel a little bad about myself for not talking to colleagues about my gaming.  I’m not that close to these people – I’m not friends with them on Facebook, for instance.  But I would definitely feel weird knowing that they thought of me as a guy who plays D&D, let alone a guy who blogs about it.

What’s your experience?  Do your co-workers know you enjoy role-playing games, particularly if you work in an industry that might look unfavorably on such a hobby? Is it wrong to essentially hide your hobby from casual acquaintances like these?