4E and me: combat complaints
I am young in my D&D 4E life, but I am already developing complaints about the system. This does not mean I do not like it. Complaints are easy — it is easier to tear down than build up. Perhaps that’s why I do it. In the first of my complaints, I look at the combat system.
Keeping in mind that I have skipped the third (and third-and-a-half) edition, I find that the fourth edition of Dungeons and Dragons has introduced something which throws off the way I like to run combat: The threat of character death.
When running a game, I like combat to create a feeling of danger. D&D used to be good at this. A first level character would average less than 8 hit points. One strike of a longsword, and they could be down and out. A goblin would also average less than 8 hit points, and suffer accordingly. Every player would know that the next hit they took could be their last. Any player who rolled well, but their enemy did not fall, would feel worried.
As they increased in levels, power increased accordingly. A fireball would do 1-6 points of damage per level of the caster. The heartiest character class would have an average of 6 hit points per level. A lucky roll on a fireball could bring them down. At the highest levels, spells such as disintegrate, finger of death and prismatic sphere continued to ensure that death could occur in the next round of combat with just a little bit of bad luck. For the non-wizards, weapons get more powerful — a vorpal weapon merely needs a good roll to roll a head.
In fourth edition, this is gone. Characters start with approximately three times the hit points, ensuring that they can survive three rounds of combat. Fireballs arrive at fifth level (as before) but are limited to 3-18 points of damage. Disintegrate no longer destroys your opponent outright. It is merely a (very) damaging spell. Fingers of death? Gone. Vorpal weapons? Extra damage, not death.
Monsters behave similarly — the base damage is unchanged. Deadly damage is replaced with severe damage. Hit points are higher.
All of this feeds into the increased tactical feel of combat in fourth edition. Combat grids and miniatures are necessary. The terrain and positioning is important. Combats have become drawn out, increasingly tactical and dependent on teamwork and the intelligent use of your character’s powers.
None of this is in itself bad — I have played Squad Leader and Blitzkerig, and enjoyed them both. But there is a reason why I have played neither of these games in almost thirty years, but I am still playing Dungeons and Dragons — the tactical combat exercise therein is not what I look for. In my games, I want combat to be personal. The board, the miniatures, and the tactical approach all violate this.
The fourth edition rules, as written, do not permit it. Combat is not dangerous or immediate. Victory does not lurk behind the next roll of the dice. Nor does defeat. More tactics await, and the game is less about playing roles than it is about the tactical advantages that can be achieved. The personal impact of the combat — the immediacy — is gone.
There are ways around this — effects that require saving throws or they continue. Increasing the damage opponents can inflict, while reducing their hit points. The trick is to do this consistently, and I’m still learning the ropes. But I am determined that my game’s combat will have the emotional, cinematic impact that I’m going for.
Related articles:
Maybe it’s time to give a 3.5-compatible game a try. When Wizards of the Coast abandoned version 3.5, the Open Game License allowed Paizo to pick it up and run with it. Pathfinder RPG was the result, and it’s basically D&D 3.6 (under a different name for legal reasons, naturally).
I’ve enjoyed 3.5 quite a bit, and had the same problems with 4E that you’ve had (among others). Pathfinder RPG has, for me, proven even better than 3.5. It fixes some minor problems with the 3.5 rules, unifies some systems that were too cluttered-feeling, and simplifies some of the bookkeeping without sacrificing the flexibility of the system.
If you go to paizo.com you can get a free download of the beta test version of the Pathfinder RPG rules. If there’s anything important you find missing, you can get it from the D&D 3.5 System Reference Document, available for free from places like d20srd.org. This August, the release version of PRPG will become available at GenCon — after that, you’ll be able to buy the hardcover. Before that date, the free PDF download of the beta gives you a great way to familiarize yourself with the game and see how well you like it.
For more death threatening combat you should try using mobs 3-4 levels higher than the pcs…the DM Guide encourages it and one of those mobs have a decent chance of killing a PC in one hit (as our Cleric found out).
We’ve also done combat without a grid, it works well, it’s less “accurate” but you can still push someone back or slide someone in between other characters or off a tower. The various tactical things lend themselves to great descriptions.
I agree though on how overall there’s less imminent threat (though again, our level 1 cleric was eaten by a level 4 crocodile in the first session) and the tactical combat is only really fun in certain situations (which is why we forgo it for the most part).