D&D - tips and questions

[ObsidianZ]

So my nerdy little circle of friends decided to start playing D&D a little while ago. We've had a handful of sessions and it's actually really fun. We're breaking all sorts of rules due to ignorance, but we're slowly learning and correcting.

Anyone else here play? Any good DM's savvy with 4E rules? I'm just looking for someone to ask for rules clarifications.

For example: Opportunity actions/attacks. Let's say an enemy moves from a square adjacent to me to another adjacent square, then moves to another adjacent square, then uses a ranged attack all in the same turn. How many opp attacks do I get against him? 1, 2, or 3? The player's guide seems to contradict itself.

Anyways, I'm playing a halfling rogue. I'm flipping all around the room with acrobatics during battle and pickpocketing all the NPC's with hilarious results :cool:. It's cool because our DM has a great imagination.


*ObZ

[LastHand]

I play some 3.5. Haven't got around to playing 4 yet. Need the book and to find a group.

[Thor2axe]

I have tried to learn 4E and it is a terrible quagmire of dumb rules and badly designed literature. Basically the only way to learn how to play the game is to either:

1) Already know how to play.
2) Have someone who knows how to play teach you in a multi-hour teaching session.
3) Read all three books at the same time to understand any of them. (yes, even the monster manual.

But you do know that wizards has their own forums? The people there can answer your questions.

For example: Opportunity actions/attacks. Let's say an enemy moves from a square adjacent to me to another adjacent square, then moves to another adjacent square, then uses a ranged attack all in the same turn. How many opp attacks do I get against him? 1, 2, or 3? The player's guide seems to contradict itself.
*ObZ

Back in 3.5, I was nealry certain that you could only preform one AoO on any given enemy in a round. That could have been a house rule to prevent my acrobat thief from totally breaking the game. I think that she actually got about 9 AoO's per turn. And could fall 70 feet without taking damage.

[Thor2axe]

Now that I actually answered the question at hand, I would like to rant a bit.

The thing I didnt realize I hated about 4E until just recently is what really threw me off in the first place. My friends all hated it before they opened the books, so I tried very had to like it. But I found out quite quickly that the game that started as a way to tell a very interactive story is turning into a PVP WOW server.
Everything is about optimization and DPR (dmg per round) as well as monstrous AC at low levels. These things were present in 3.5, but were not highlighted in the books, and were played off as fun ways to bend the rules in the forums. There is little, if any non-productive thematics to character/race combinations. This is highlighted, above all else, in the fact that you are not allowed to make an evil aligned character. And Paladins dont even have a code of conduct any longer. Or at least not that is possible to break and 'fall.'
This game is just not the same as it used to be. This would be ok, if it progressed in a direction that would be conducive to the past. But it is becoming the exact opposite of where it came from. I dont think that anyone who had worked on the older versions of the games would approve. Well, anyone who liked the game more than money.