Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition from 2008 (includes Essentials)
25
votes
9answers
5k views
What set of books makes a complete game?
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 ...
16
votes
5answers
2k 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 ...
23
votes
3answers
19k 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 ...
41
votes
12answers
1k 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 ...
21
votes
7answers
2k 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 ...
7
votes
2answers
385 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 their movement. Monster Manual 1 states:
...
10
votes
2answers
301 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 ...
41
votes
11answers
4k 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 ...
15
votes
3answers
834 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 ...
19
votes
4answers
997 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 ...
17
votes
2answers
1k 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 ...
12
votes
3answers
332 views
Non-combat objective: Delay larger enemy force
I'm re-writing the "Battle of Albridge" encounters from The DM-kit's Reavers of Harkenwold. As supplied they are mostly just a rehash of earlier fight-to-the-death skirmishes on re-used maps. Instead ...
35
votes
13answers
2k 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 ...
11
votes
2answers
458 views
Enemies knocking players unconscious instead of killing them
In D&D 4th Ed., can a monster choose to knock the player he is killing unconscious instead of killing him, thereby not giving him a chance to roll death saving throws to get back on his own and ...
11
votes
4answers
1k 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 ...
8
votes
2answers
2k 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 ...
15
votes
2answers
498 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 ...
12
votes
2answers
743 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 ...
10
votes
2answers
697 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 ...
10
votes
2answers
1k 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?
6
votes
1answer
337 views
Attacks of Opportunity from moving within a threatened area?
I'm curious about moving in threatened squares, say I'm a fighter and I'm already in a square fighting a monster with normal melee range and I move to the opposite side of him so that an ally can move ...
4
votes
2answers
242 views
Looking for help on expanding my campaign concept while avoiding railroading
I have split this into two more specific questions:
How can I represent the use of fire being misrepresented in a campaign? and How to make rituals a part of everyday life.
Below is the broad-strokes ...
21
votes
6answers
682 views
What GM tasks can be delegated to players to speed up encounters?
My party's encounters (D&D4e - 13th level) take on average 3-4 hours. We chit chat a lot and are pretty easily distracted, and it's not a huge deal because we're all having fun. But lately we've ...
25
votes
11answers
1k 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 ...
26
votes
8answers
1k 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 ...
14
votes
1answer
773 views
Can a Revenant Assassin be used where a high-damage striker is needed?
The Revenant racials, as a whole, seem to be focused on survivability/durability, granting the ability to stay in the fight even at zero HP. The Assassin class, while technically a Striker, seems to ...
18
votes
5answers
364 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 ...
17
votes
7answers
1k 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 ...
13
votes
7answers
1k views
Does it make sense to give characters free weapons expertise?
A player I know suggested that when playing 4th ed, it made sense to give characters the Weapons Expertise feat for free at 5th level. I don't have much experience with 4.0, so I don't know whether I ...
9
votes
2answers
536 views
How to update a monster using the D&D4 Monster Builder?
I'm new to Monster Builder (part of Adventure Tools) and I'm hoping there is a good way to update pre MM3 monsters to the latest standards (in the errata).
As an example, I'm trying to update the ...
13
votes
2answers
806 views
Convert a D&D 4e adventure to another level
How can I easily port an adventure to another level? Say take Keep on the Shadowfell and instead of it being 1st to 4th level it becames 6th to 9th level.
9
votes
1answer
1k views
Is there a limit to racial - magic item - feats - powers you can stack on a single standard action attack?
In a number of questions here in this forum people are asking can X or Y stack, or why does it stack or why doesn't it stack. My question is - Is there a limit in the rules on stacking in D&D 4e? ...
6
votes
3answers
3k 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.
17
votes
6answers
755 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 ...
15
votes
8answers
705 views
My necromancer keeps dying (and can't raise himself)!
Sometimes in the course of running an adventure you will run into an encounter that calls for a summoner to bring on a horde of undead (often minions).
I have a simple problem: My summoners die in ...
15
votes
3answers
366 views
How does Come and Get it work with forced movement reduction
The L7 fighter Power Come and Get It specifies that you can pull enemies in a burst 3 up to 2 squares, but mandates that they become adjacent to you.
How does this interact with creatures that can ...
15
votes
5answers
2k views
What action type is switching two items between main hand and off-hand?
Here are two related questions, actually.
1st: What action type (time) does it take to pass an item from one hand to another (assuming the other hand is free)?
2nd: I know that retrieving or stowing ...
15
votes
9answers
738 views
How does a DM deal with characters leveling up too quickly for the module, due to side-quests/ random encounters?
My group and I are playing the Thunderspire Labryinth adventure for 4th edition, levels 4-6, and our DM added in a lot cool side-quests and random encounters. The only problem is that now we are ...
14
votes
2answers
429 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 ...
13
votes
1answer
303 views
What does “move on an initiative of X” mean?
The Young White Dragon (Monster Vault page 67) has the following trait:
Instinctive Rampage
On an initiative
of 10 + the dragon's initiative check,
the dragon can move up to its speed as
...
11
votes
3answers
424 views
Cheating on rolls as a DM to adjust the difficulty on the fly (or other means to adjust difficulty)
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 ...
10
votes
2answers
316 views
Best way to convert creatures from 3.x to 4E?
I've reccently discovered a load of monsters I created for 3.x D&D and would love to convert them to 4E.
Do any guides exist for this? Or could someone give me the most important points to ...
9
votes
2answers
231 views
How does the disease recovery mechanic work?
Currently DMing a campaign - I set up an easy encounter with a twist: a creature that could infect the players with the Abyssal plague. I was planning for the 4th level characters to struggle to deal ...
9
votes
1answer
2k views
What is the best first adventure to run in D&D 4e?
I am very new to Dungeons and Dragons 4e. I recently picked all the necessary books and surprisingly low priced pound of dice from eBay. I have also coaxed my friends into giving it a shot while I ...
8
votes
1answer
427 views
After Essentials, what material do I need?
On launch, I bought all the D&D 4E Essentials books (except the Starter set). I'm currently very happy with the content, but I'm noticing more and more frequently stuff that I don't have:
More ...
8
votes
5answers
319 views
How do you involve all players in a skill challenge?
I really liked some of the answers given to the question about enhancing skill challenges particularly the ones related to making it more role-playing based.
So, now the question is, when you get to ...
7
votes
3answers
881 views
Can I convert a 4e D&D character to 3.5e?
I have a character in 4e that I've been using for a while, but I recently met a DM who wants me and a friend to play his 3.5e campaign, since he doesn't like 4e or something... but our characters are ...
7
votes
3answers
335 views
What is the expected average damage for an area of effect power?
I have spent quite a bit of time coming up with an average damage document for my party and for several other characters. However, the one thing I have not been able to represent well is the average ...
4
votes
5answers
774 views
How do I use passive insight checks?
On page 26 of the DMG, it describes a passive insight check and gives an example of using it in a social encounter. Could you help me with it and how to use it? Step by step would be appreciated
20
votes
6answers
3k 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.
