Updates

I've placed a few new links in the sidebar - mostly gaming related. I've been posting mostly about gaming here recently and I realized that a lot of the sites I visit semi-regularly aren't over on the sidebar. So there you go.

EDIT: I can't believe I forgot to add Jeff's Gameblog - the only link in the "Gaming" section that, you know, actually appears in my RSS feed. I plead "senior moment" on this one.

Total. Nerd. Collision.

So I happened to be reading enWorld this evening - checking out the front page as I often do - and I saw some summaries of playtests for the new 4e D&D posted. One of these was from Ari Marmell - a freelance D&D writer whose opinion I've come to respect on enWorld, if not always agree with. He has some interesting things to say about the new edition speaking as a playtester and, if even half of his reports on the new edition hold true it sounds like it will be a great upgrade.

Then I saw the next playtest report. A guy named John Rogers who I've not seen around enWorld. I mean, the name John Rogers is familiar - writers of DC's "Blue Beetle" comic (possibly the best superhero book DC is publishing right now - or at the very least in the top 3), writer of television, and general observer of politics and popular culture over at his blog Kung-fu Monkey. But that's not...

Wait - it IS the same John Rogers?

And that's when my head exploded in a convergence of nerdity. A total nerdshift - a "nerdularity" if you will.

And if even half of Rogers's claims about the system are true then 4e just moved from a "curiosity that I'll need to check out" to a "must upgrade" for me:

Less prep time for the DM, with no loss of versatility in combat, and plenty of added value and unexpected strategies. Monster design is superior for what I need, which is versatility in the service of storytelling. Trap design in particular made me want to kiss Dave Noonan on the mouth. While roleplaying, we had more freedom, because when you actually need a roll in the roleplaying you're working off a cleaner system, rather than page-hunting for one of the independently designed subsystems.

That, combined with my recent perusal of the "Worlds and Monsters" Preview Book now has me officially excited for 4e. Which sucks. Because word just came out that Wizards is taking over Heroscape and will be releasing the highly anticipated next wave of figures in ... June. And since Wizards is targetting the small game stores they probably WILL hit the shelves in June too - unlike previous Waves which took a while to move from distribution to the shelves at Target.

Budgets suck. But I'm certainly not going to complain that a game company is selling "too much fun", so I'l just have to budget my fun in accordingly. At least this summer won't be boring.

D&D Fourth Edition - Elves

So apparently during the Christmas holiday Wizards posted an article about the new 4e Elves over on their website. Since that link requires an account, here's a brief summary of what the new elves look like:

Elf - Racial Traits
Average Height: 5' 7"-6' 0"
Average Weight: 100-130 lb.
Ability Scores: +2 Dexterity, +2 Wisdom
Size: Medium
Speed: 7 squares
Vision: Low-light

Languages: Common, Elven
Skill Bonuses: +2 Nature, +2 Perception

Elven Weapon Training: You gain proficiency with the longbow and the shortbow.
Wild Step: You ignore difficult terrain when you shift (even if you have a power that allows you to shift multiple squares).
Group Awareness: You grant non-elf allies within 5 squares a +1 racial bonus to Perception checks.
Elven Accuracy: You can use elven accuracy as an encounter power. Reroll an attack roll. Use the second roll, even if it's lower.

Wild Step, Group Awareness, and Elven Accuracy made me think "hey - they're making the game more like Heroscape." This impression is only enhanced by the Speed being given in "squares" instead of feet. Generally, I like the approach though it slides D&D one step closer towards being a "miniatures game with roleplaying" instead of a "roleplaying game with miniatures". As I've said before, I have no intention of jumping to 4e anytime soon, but these previews do pique my interest.

(Also I quite like the fact that they've eliminated racial penalties for attributes. As long as they balance things appropriately this is a good thing. I'm curious to see what kinds of perks the humans get since they don't generally get ability bonuses though.)