Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition – My Final Verdict

I think I’ve made up my mind about the new 4th edition. I think that “out of the box” it’s completely playable but it doesn’t quite suit my needs for a gaming system so here’s what I did…

My first experience with role playing in 1978 was a mix of rules from different systems with the majority of rules coming from the Arduin Grimoire. Now, since that was my intro to this genre, when I started running my own games shortly after that, I used basically the same philosophy. Mix and match what you want to get what you need. There’s a quote from the movie “Big Trouble In Little China” where a man says “It’s like your salad bar: Take what you want and leave the rest”. I’ve done that ever since.

For the 4th edition of Dungeons & Dragons, here’s what I decided after several gaming sequences using the new rule set: I’ve taken the combat, some of the powers and spells, and most of the skills and mixed it with the majority of the Arduin rules set, including the use of “mana” to cast spells. I think it’s ingrained in me to mix and match like that and, honestly, it’s not that big of a deal for me to do that. I enjoy it.

Role playing as it stands is too wide-open to be put into the narrow confines of one system. I believe that the original philosophy of Gary Gygax still holds true: These are GUIDELINES, not rules. I’ve been told, “I spent money on these books and I should be able to run my campaigns with just these.” Well, of course you can, because it’s your choice. I’m not saying that everyone should change things around or mix systems. That works for me, so I do it that way. Just don’t let your imagination be stunted because the player’s handbook doesn’t have the race you always like to play now. To me that’s an open door of opportunity, but to some it’s a wall they can’t get over.

I know I haven’t gone into great detail on how I integrated everything into the system I’m using now. I may do that in a future post. Just remember that if you’re reading this and plan on running your own games or are doing so now, keep your mind open as much as possible. Everyone will benefit.