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Old 09-17-2008, 11:43 AM
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Belphanior Belphanior is offline
Duke of Daiklaves
 
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: Dutchland
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Re: [RPG]: Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition Core Rulebook Gift Set, reviewed by Venger

Quote:
Originally Posted by macd21 View Post
True, social interaction can be done freeform (and I prefer minimalist systems for social interaction myself). I was countering the statement that 4ed supports social interaction as much as it does combat.
Uhm... but I didn't even claim that.


Quote:
Originally Posted by macd21 View Post
4ed treats combat and non-combat interaction very differently. They are practically two different games.
No argument here, although I'd call it different subsystems rather than different games really. Though the majority of games also do that.


Quote:
Originally Posted by macd21 View Post
The impression I got from the reviewer was that he found this jarring and would have liked more support for non-combat interaction. I disagreed with the poster who stated that 4ed provides lots of non-combat support.
The impression I got from the reviewer was that he accused 4e of having, and I quote, "no rules social interaction" (emphasis mine). Even though he happily admits ignoring the heftiest subsystem in the game that caters to this.

Are skill challenges perfectly worked out, whether pre- or post errata? No. Not in my opinion.
Could the game benefit from more social utility powers, feats, items, or other options. Yes. I'd welcome such a notion.

But the accusation that 4e has "no rules social interaction" is completely and self-evidently wrong. There are rules, and not particularly light ones either in my book. Whether or not those rules are sufficient is an entirely different tangent you veered into and I never intended to touch upon.

If the reviewer had stated that he wasn't happy with skill challenges I would've agreed with him. I use the fan-made Obsidian system from ENWorld these days myself. If the reviewer had said the amount of social options are sparse compared to 3.x, I also would've agreed. But to say that there aren't any? Sorry, but's a lie I'm calling him on. A review shouldn't be about some quasi-houseruled version of a game. He's inventing problems himself to condemn the game with.
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