Going rogue in 4E
Filed under D&D 4E Preview on February 26, 2008
Keywords: 4E, classes, hit points, rogues, skills
I decided to take some time to digest the latest 4E revelation. The preview of the Rogue class entry in the 4E Player’s Handbook shows some pretty radical changes to the class system, but again, we only have a part of the picture. This makes it difficult to assess the value of the changes. I’m also a little biased toward the rogue, it being my favorite class.
The first change (ignoring the format/layout of the entry), is the addition of Strength as a key ability. This has to do with 4E’s “build” concept. Each class has more than one way it can be structured, providing a little variation between characters. Rogues appear to have two builds: the Brawny and the Trickster.
As we move down the entry, it seems that Armor and Weapon proficiency are no longer skills, but Class traits. Without a full list of skills or feats, though, it’s hard to tell how this restricts a character from using equipment not listed in their class description.
Perhaps the most radical change to me is the calculation of Hit Points. There appears to be no more dice rolling. A rogue starts with a base of 12 HP plus their Constitution bonus. That’s double the amount from 3E. The number of Hit Points gained per level is a flat 5. And there appears to be a new mechanic called Healing Surges. Does this replace the amount of HP healed per day, or is it a new combat mechanic?
I like the fact that a class comes with Trained skills rather than the old mechanic of class/cross-class skills. I’m also in favor of a smaller list of total skills, and I’m guessing things like Athletics and Acrobatics are combinations of 3E skills.
Finally, the class features have been reduced in number to 4, and there are now class powers. If you want to follow a build template, the entry recommends certain powers, but the player has ultimate control over which powers they wish.
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February 27th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
I think there are so many differences in how things work it’s going to take a lot of getting used to. Remember how long it took us to adapt to 3rd edition when it came out, Kam? I remember long discussions of the ruleset on the Nexus IRC, and mock battles and such. Heh, back then I knew most of the rules up and down, and rarely needed to look anything up (of course, 3.5 changed a lot of what I knew). Ah, good times!
I think the transition to the 4th ed ruleset will be similar, just as exciting, compelling, and difficult. Gotta take the good with the bad!
By the way, what’s up with EW? Haven’t had an update in a while. And were you still interested in me doing a bit of artwork for you?
February 27th, 2008 at 3:05 pm
EW is . . . making progress. Frustratingly slow progress, but I keep having to remind myself that everyone is working on this part-time. Doesn’t help that I’m very cognizant of our dwindling funds.
I’ve seen a demo of the website, and it’s pretty sweet. There are some PHP-based issues on the server that have prevented us from going live with it yet. And little things keep cropping up with some of the server software related to multiplayer gameplay. Chris is pretty busy with his new job, and right now, he’s the only guy with the expertise to tinker.
What was it I had asked from you?
I’m going to have to go back and look.
February 27th, 2008 at 3:09 pm
As to the 4E changes, I agree. Perhaps that’s the biggest adjustment for me. When I heard they were sticking with the d20 system, I translated that to mean minor tweaks to class/race features, fine-tuning of skills and feats, etc.–a progression more similar to what we saw between 3E and 3.5. The changes are much more drastic than that; this is like going from 2E to 3E.