Questions tagged [dnd-4e]

For questions about the 4th edition of Dungeons & Dragons, published in 2008. This tag also covers the D&D Essentials line that debuted in September 2010.

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13 answers
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What set of books makes a complete starter set for 4e?

I've asked several questions about 4th Edition D&D because I may be able to start a game. However, I'd need to purchase (some) materials. I am aware of the 4 book set (core) and the expected ...
Tobiasopdenbrouw's user avatar
42 votes
9 answers
16k views

How do I run a game for a larger group?

I am currently running a Dungeons and Dragons 4 campaign for a group of 9 players. Whittling the group down to a more manageable size is not really an option since they are all family. When we do ...
digitaljoel's user avatar
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46 votes
5 answers
71k views

What are the differences between D&D 3.5 and D&D 4th edition?

I have a small group of players who don't play often and we've been playing D&D 3.5. I wanted to know if there are any significant differences between D&D 3.5 and D&D 4e? Do they use a ...
Heather's user avatar
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100 votes
13 answers
33k views

3d6 vs a d20: What is the effect of a different probability curve?

What is the effect on game play of replacing d20 rolls with 3d6 rolls in a D&D 4e campaign? I started thinking about this after reading this question where the example was given of playing a d20 ...
yhw42's user avatar
  • 6,764
81 votes
17 answers
7k views

How can I help my PCs remember clues that they found?

I'm a new DM running my first adventure in D&D 4e. I've heard of the "three clue rule", that there should be at least three independent pointers to any plot element you want the PCs to take note ...
Snowbody's user avatar
  • 3,564
45 votes
14 answers
5k views

Can D&D Fourth Edition be played effectively in a non-gamist manner?

I'd like to ask a question that's been brewing for a while. A lot of the answers and comments on this site seem to be from people who play 4e and are insistent that the right way/only way/best way to ...
mxyzplk's user avatar
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25 votes
4 answers
2k views

I have read the D&D PHB but am still having trouble grasping some of the basics, how can I learn more?

With credit to one of the more experienced members on the site, mxyzplk, I thought I'd ask where noobs like me should ask or find answers to basic questions about Dungeons & Dragons mechanics if ...
Cat's user avatar
  • 3,862
25 votes
4 answers
3k views

What about character death should be included in a social contract?

For a D&D (4e, primarily) game what about player-character death should be included in a group's social contract? What are some options for best reaching consensus about the possibility of death ...
user avatar
23 votes
6 answers
9k views

What is the optimal way to design a well balanced party

Confession - I just TPK'd my group....again. One of the reasons that has been identified is that while the party is composed of 5 pretty well optimized characters, as a party they just aren't in sync....
Pat Ludwig's user avatar
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23 votes
7 answers
7k views

Readying an action before combat

Suppose the party suspects that combat is imminent, and some of the PCs ready actions (attack nearest hostile creature, attack first thing that moves). Then combat erupts. Some of the PCs are ...
Snowbody's user avatar
  • 3,564
13 votes
2 answers
3k views

Does a falling creature provoke Opportunity Attacks on the way down?

I'm in a D&D4e game right now, and in the current combat there are some flying creatures which may soon be knocked prone by PC #1. As part of being knocked prone, a flying creature falls to the ...
Iszi's user avatar
  • 6,245
25 votes
8 answers
6k views

How can I encourage my D&D Encounters group to do more role playing?

I'm a new player to D&D 4e. I've been participating in D&D Encounters since Season 1 and have even run a couple of sessions in Season 3 when the regular DM couldn't attend. I don't play in ...
ChrisP's user avatar
  • 1,145
22 votes
3 answers
4k views

What updates should be done to older monsters to bring them in line with MM3 era monsters?

I know that to better balance paragon and epic level players against similar level monsters, WotC changed the math used for monsters for MM3, and I believe that they changed some of the types of ...
Simon Withers's user avatar
19 votes
2 answers
647 views

How do marks interact with dual attacks?

The specific example from last night involved a Demon ManipulatorDDI using his Deceptive Attack to attack both my paladin and an ally. Would this violate the mark and trigger Divine ChallengeDDI? My ...
Pat Ludwig's user avatar
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12 votes
3 answers
2k views

How does resist all apply to an attack that deals two types of (non-combined) damage?

Resist all applies to all damage types (including untyped damage), reducing the damage by the resist amount. What happens when a single attack deals two different kinds of damage? Not combined damage, ...
Oblivious Sage's user avatar
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11 votes
2 answers
3k views

How compatible are D&D 4th Edition and Essentials? Can you use Essentials encounters with 4th edition characters?

I've seen posts about how (un)convertable D&D Essentials characters are to 4th edition. This is a question about monsters/encounters/adventures. People have been raving about the Essentials ...
F. Randall Farmer's user avatar
50 votes
13 answers
5k views

How do I make skill checks more than just sequences of die chucking?

I think I don't get skill challenges. As I understand it at some point I break the narrative by proclaiming: "This is a skill challenge. You need 5 victories before you reach 3 failures. Go" And then ...
Boris Callens's user avatar
41 votes
13 answers
9k views

Playing 4th Ed D&D for the first time, what should I read to avoid holding everyone back?

I've been invited to join a new game of D&D 4th edition this weekend, but haven't played proper D&D before. Are there any resources I ought to read or get before I turn up, so that I'm not a ...
Andrew M's user avatar
  • 765
36 votes
1 answer
5k views

Why did Ed Greenwood and R.A. Salvatore dislike the Spellplague arc? [closed]

The Forgotten Realms campaign setting includes an world-changing event called the Spellplague, which provided lore reasons for many of the mechanical changes introduced by Dungeons & Dragons 4e. ...
Thunderforge's user avatar
  • 15.8k
32 votes
8 answers
19k views

How do I get started playing Dungeons and Dragons 4th edition by myself?

I've been wanting to start playing D&D for some time, and I was wondering how I could get started by myself with relative ease. I own the first two player handbooks, and a set of dice.
Jake's user avatar
  • 321
28 votes
7 answers
4k views

How to encourage a player's creativity without breaking the game?

I've just started a new D&D 4e campaign with a new group of players. One of my players came straight from 2nd edition, and has never played 4e before. She doesn't seem to grasp the layer of ...
thatgirldm's user avatar
  • 22.4k
27 votes
8 answers
6k views

How do I use Passive Perception to have some characters notice parts of the environment?

I'm new to DM'ing and have an issue I'm not sure how to deal with. The situation is this: It's pitch black outside and the PC is walking, with a lantern in hand, toward a building. A bird is ...
Lechlerfan's user avatar
  • 1,301
24 votes
6 answers
34k views

What to do in the first session of a campaign?

The first session of my new D&D 4e campaign is coming up pretty soon and I'm not quite sure how to go about the introduction into this new campaign. I have the geography and landmarks and things ...
ajani-greatmane's user avatar
23 votes
3 answers
5k views

Can players use crafting to improve beloved magic items instead of churning gear?

I'm all about the story, and as such, I've always been a fan of long-term attachment between players/characters and their special (usually magic) items. But with D&D 4th edition, it seems the ...
F. Randall Farmer's user avatar
22 votes
6 answers
10k views

I'm fairly new to D&D but want to GM; where do I go from here?

I'm a 16-year-old male, and I have been interested in tabletop RPGs for a long time, especially D&D. I sorta dove into D&D really fast and hard by buying the Red box, Dungeon Master Kit, ...
John's user avatar
  • 1,044
20 votes
1 answer
10k views

What are the planes of D&D 4e? Where did they come from, and how are they connected?

I understand that in D&D 4e's default setting there are planes, and I know a bit about them: the material plane is where the people generally are, and there's a "feywild" where the Eladrin and ...
doppelgreener's user avatar
19 votes
2 answers
3k views

What are the advantages and disadvantages of allowing a player to play a large creature?

We're playing 4e Thunderspire Labyrinth and we've decided to let the tank play a large (2x2) Minotaur. He has all of the stats from the Minotaur player character in the Players Handbook 3, but he's a ...
Kalamane's user avatar
  • 627
17 votes
5 answers
5k views

How much experience should a PC be worth?

Long story short, I'm about to betray my party (by trying to kill them). I'm playing this betrayer on behalf of the GM. Assuming they defeat me, how much experience should they get? I am a level 14 ...
dpatchery's user avatar
  • 17.5k
16 votes
2 answers
6k views

When a creature is invisible, but not hidden, do the enemies know the location of the creature?

When a creature is invisible but not hidden, one could argue that the players still know it's general location. If a creature becomes invisible and not hidden does it remain on the battle-mat?
Mark Rogers's user avatar
  • 6,290
16 votes
6 answers
5k views

How do you rule halfling tossing as a combat action?

The party I am GMing has three characters over 6' tall with 20+ strength as well as a halfling and a kobold, both small and about 3' tall. A couple of times, they have wanted the big characters to ...
Simon Withers's user avatar
15 votes
2 answers
1k views

Can a character in the middle of a move action alter his movement based on a change in his surroundings?

For example: A player (speed 6) moves two squares towards a human bandit (pg. 162 MM) becoming adjacent to him, then proceeds to move around him to the right, provoking an opportunity attack. The ...
Gav's user avatar
  • 151
13 votes
3 answers
2k views

How can I decrease the difficulty of a scene on the fly?

I was a DM for the first time yesterday. It was a lot of fun, and all things considered, I think I've made a pretty darn good first session. It was, however, too difficult. I've based the various ...
Shaamaan's user avatar
  • 1,378
13 votes
4 answers
3k views

What counts as ground for Tenser's Floating Disk?

What counts as ground for this ritual, if you have a 5x5 piece of stone/paper/metal/wood under the disk, and that is moved up, say 10 feet, would the disk phase through that stone, or hover 1 foot ...
Kedearian's user avatar
  • 841
11 votes
2 answers
3k views

Burrowing, Large Creatures, Opportunity Attacks, Drowning, and Z-Axis Movement [closed]

In our D&D 4th Edition campaign, the players have recently encounter Bulettes, monsters with the Burrow movement mode, and we had a few issues dealing with ...
Soulrift's user avatar
  • 10.5k
9 votes
4 answers
2k views

Can a martial character combine a lesser style with greater style, arena training, or other at-will modifying feat?

What level of stacking is possible with at-will modifying feats? Take, for example, the fighter power: "Cleave" At-Will Martial, Weapon Standard Action Melee weapon Targets: One ...
Brian Ballsun-Stanton's user avatar
8 votes
1 answer
581 views

When does a power count as an attack?

I thought it was pretty simple: a power's an attack if it says Attack in the top right. Apparently, it's not that simple. I keep hearing there are other conditions a power must fulfil to count ...
doppelgreener's user avatar
7 votes
3 answers
17k views

Comprehensive list of WOTC D&D 4.0 products?

Is there a list of all the D&D 4.0 books to date, available on the web? Ideally sorted by release date, but I'm not picky.
6 votes
3 answers
3k views

How do I deal with absent players missing out on levels or XP?

If a player is absent and nobody chooses to play this absent character and instead I let it vanish for a while with a suitable reason or excuse, does this missing player gain levels and XP with the ...
Luke Burgin's user avatar
4 votes
1 answer
394 views

Where do I go from the Red box?

Me and my group just finished the essentials red box, and are looking at moving to the full 4e game. I'm doing some preliminary reading of the books and one thing is confusing me a little. The ...
AviateX14's user avatar
  • 207
53 votes
13 answers
9k views

How do you deal with metagaming based on die results?

I ran into this problem in a session I had earlier today. My characters were going through a dungeon and after a fairly lengthy fight with a person who lived there, they decided they would question ...
Mitharlic's user avatar
  • 2,194
31 votes
8 answers
2k views

What are the most important differences for a 1st Edition AD&D Dungeon Master learning to run D&D 4E?

I'm a campaign designer and DM with 20+ years of AD&D 1st edition experience. I've been "retired" from the game for over a decade, assume I don't know anything about 2nd, 3rd, or 3.5. Now I'm co-...
F. Randall Farmer's user avatar
29 votes
3 answers
10k views

Is there a core campaign setting for DnD 4e?

I'm completely new to RPGs in general, so I apologize in advance if this is an odd question. There's such an overwhelming abundance of lore on all the different campaign settings for DnD that I've ...
Mox's user avatar
  • 293
24 votes
9 answers
10k views

What is a "mark" actually supposed to be?

This is probably way too simple of a question, but I just haven't been able to figure it out. In D&D 4th edition, there's the concept of a mark on an enemy creature; a player character in combat ...
Joe's user avatar
  • 17.1k
22 votes
3 answers
12k views

Is 4th edition D&D compatible with 5th edition?

I have all of the hardcover books from D&D 4th edition. I recently bought and am reading the 5th edition players handbook and I must say I like it. I was wondering if 4th edition information (...
Chris S's user avatar
  • 249
21 votes
6 answers
11k views

Does sneak attack damage do max damage on a critical hit?

I have been trying to find an official ruling on this. In our campaign currently the DM says that one of the sneak attack die will do max damage, and I roll for the other one.
Ted Ballou's user avatar
20 votes
13 answers
7k views

How can I speed up combat with a large number of enemies?

I'm DMing for a campaign where the player characters will sometimes face small squads of creatures, most recently six ground troops and two archers helping out. In this setting, these creatures ...
doppelgreener's user avatar
19 votes
5 answers
5k views

How can I GM and play a PC without spoiling the fun?

We're returning to D&D 4E after a long absence from it, coming back from Savage Worlds since we've really missed HP-based battles and videogame-like logic. However, as we talked about our new ...
Aldath Le'Carde's user avatar
16 votes
2 answers
1k views

How often can a creature be damaged in one turn with Wall of Fire?

Question 1: During a creature's movement, he moves into more than one fire space. Does he take the damage for each square? Question 2: Using Forced movement (push/pull/slide) does the creature take ...
Pat Ludwig's user avatar
  • 26.3k
16 votes
2 answers
5k views

Forced movement into danger: is there a saving throw?

Is there a saving throw to stop forced movement (a push, pull, or slide) from forcing you into a square that will damage you? My wizard's tactic lately has been to try to Thunderwave enemies into the ...
yhw42's user avatar
  • 6,764
15 votes
3 answers
19k views

How far does one travel when falling for one round?

How far would you fall in one round assuming you started falling this round, and were high enough that you did not hit anything? Would this follow the math, or is there a rule written somewhere I'm ...
Kedearian's user avatar
  • 841

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