D&D Heroes Forums

[Will]

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/columns/writersroom/8115-Complete-Mike-Mearls-D-D-4th-Edition-Essentials-Interview

The real thing starts on page 3.

It's interesting that Mike almost seems to think 4e went too far, and that Essentials is really more of a 3.75 than a 4.5...I'm interested.

For my part, DMing is still the hardest part of this game. I think after this campaign is done - and I would very much like to actually complete a campaign - I may be finished DMing, at least for a good while. Unless future versions of D&D make it way easier.

I think the main problem is encounter balance. I'd rather just come up with crazy-ass situations to put PCs in, and then see how the players get through them, without worrying about challenge ratings and encounter levels and encounter templates and treasure and all that. Or, if the game could just make it super-easy to take any random situation or fight and turn it into a balanced encounter with treasure and blah blah blah, that'd be ok too.

Anyway, read and discuss!

-Will

[Glammo]

I think screw balance and make PCs use tactics like bottlenecking, divide and conquer, and running the fuck away if things are too rough. As is, our party kinda just always runs into a full encounter and use tactics with no real strategy other than KILL IT WITH FIRE.

Idunno. It might be more fun as a DM to think of encounters that are interesting or just fun and not worry about the "theory" the DMG or MM wants to impose. I mean, they mostly do away with worrying about micromanaging by having monsters use a different, simpler generation rules, but then they confine each into a role.

I'm not saying anything about your DMing, just the impression that I get that 4e tries too hard to parcel everything out and maybe streamlines everything to the point of being robotic. Like it polishes D&D until the paint is all gone.

[Glammo]