4e is CHAINMAIL+d&d

[cooper]

Encounter power (once per turn/10 rounds)

*Fearsome Charge: [W+1]. Shifts all enemies within 10' at the end of the charge 1 1/2 moves in opposite direction provides flanking bonus to attacking enemies and target cannot attack (save ends).


What's that? That is practically verbatim mix of the charging rules from CHAINMAIL with the 1x turn limitation from Ad&d using 4e speak? Why yes it is.

What does this look like in CHAINMAIL? Absolutely by the book?

Hero
Att/def: AF
hits: 4s
dmg: 4d6/5-6

vs.
5 units of goblins
att/def: HF
hits: 1c
dmg: 1d6/6

round 1: Hero unit charges using in his "encounter power" and rolls 5d6/5-6 dmg 3, 2, 1, 5, 5. Two units of goblins are killed and 3 units of goblins are "shifted" 1 1/2 moves. The parties 5 units of "light foot" is nearby and takes advantage of the flanking bonus from the power they would normally roll:

5d6/6 to attack the goblins, but instead they rolls 5d6/5-6 because of the +1 per die flank bonus.


Lets look at this using 0d&d

4th level fighter
AC 2
Thac0: 17
hit points: 14
dmg: 1d6 (4 attacks per round vs 1-1 hd foes)

He uses his encounter power embiggening charge: [2W] Burst. Shifts the remaining goblins into the thief's (5th level light foot hero) area thief attacks with a +1.

[cooper]

Want me to do wizards now?
level....spells
1...........1
2...........2
4...........3
6...........4
7...........5
8...........6
11........7-8

4th level "hero" in CHAINMAIL. Default starting level in 4e is "hero" even though it says level 1. There really are no level 1-3 characters in 4e.

Ok our "4th level" wizard in 4e has 3 spells. 1 daily, 1 encounter, 1 at will. If you wish to start your 0d&d character at 1st level. He starts with a single "daily". At second he will have an encounter power and one daily. At fourth level he recieves his first at will. Just like fireball in CHAINMAIL can shift dragons and such. So too spells in 4e have the power to shift enemy units and what not.

daily spells cannot be higher than 1st level. Complexity of spells able to be cast by a wizard is 1/2 your level rounded up (4th level magician can cast spells with a complexity of 1-2 aka 1st or 2nd level spells).

4th level wizard will have 1 daily (magic missile), 1 encounter (sleep? detect magic?) and 1 daily (probably his 2nd level/complexity spell). I can see why they added "utility power" 'cause who wants their encounter power to be detect magic amirite?


POWER LEVELS
1-3.........normal man (does not exist in 4e ergo disgruntled grognards for good reason!)
4-7.........heroic Tier
8-12.......paragon tier
13+........epic tier

You know, if WotC had done the following:
1) used less colorful names for powers.
2) including options to start before "hero" aka apprentice and veteran like every other friggen edition of the game before hand (calling it "1st level" doesn't make it so)
3) explained to their audience how they were bringing the CHAINMAIL back into the D&D

They might have had a positive launch, certainly from grognards. The essentials line coming out? I donno...The orr. redbox/basic worked so well because it started the players before they were heroes. Can you imagine how hard it would have been to start with expert or blue box?

[vito]

Needs moar jousting!

[cooper]

Balrog:
Att/def: heavy horse
hits: 3c
dmg: 6d6* (2d6+4d6) (fire aura)
-------------
AC -2
Thac0: 11
hit points: 35 (9HD or 3HH)
dmg: 2d6 (flaming sword) +fire aura 4d6

Balrog does 2d6 damage per round. Each round there is a 1-4 d6 chance that an enemy unit within 5 squares will be lashed by his whip of fire and be shifted into the balrogs space and take an additional 4d6 fire damage per round (save/rally ends)

[blackbarn]

Interesting concept. I agree with the similarity, however, I also feel the modern terminology somehow sucks the life out of it. It may be more precisely defined, but I don't think that's a good thing when dealing with fantasy. Part of the reason we dropped 4E, actually.

[Finarvyn]

Jul 20, 2010 23:18:21 GMT -6 blackbarn said:

I agree with the similarity, however, I also feel the modern terminology somehow sucks the life out of it.

Indeed, the modern terminology changes the whole feel of the experience. To me it's not just what they say or how they say it, but how much of it they say.

In OD&D a spell was a name and a short paragraph.

For 4E it's a stat block. We have to have "flavor text" (as you utter the mystic words and make the proper gestures a little glowy red-and-blue sphere called "magic" gradually erupts from your middle finger and swirly sparks envelop your foe, setting him/her ablaze with a green fire called "green fire") as well as which of the four defenses, damage if you hit, damage if you "miss", damage if you aren't sure if you hit or not, damage each round after you miss, and so on. The sheer weight of this stuff is staggering.

So, while the guts of 4E can trace back to Chainmail, it certainly is well hidden.