Warlords and Dragons and Devils, Oh My!

Beyond the core changes, every edition has its quirks, the changes to basic options that define the feel of that edition. These are important to recognize, as they are likely to shift the baseline perception of fantasy gaming for this generation of gamers.

Warlords are a new class that focus on bringing out the best from other characters. Dragonkin are a new core race that puts the dragons back in Dungeons & Dragons. Tieflings are another new core race with demonic origins.

To make room for these additions, druids, monks, gnomes and a few other classes and races from previous editions are out. At least for now -- D&D makes its money on putting out new books, so expect all the old content to be back soon.

The core books are not set in a particular setting like previous books have with Greyhawk, but instead are in a generic "points of light" setting. The basic structure is defined -- a few small civilized clusters surrounded by danger on all sides -- but the DM is intended to fill in the details and make the world his own. This is a good example of a simplified game world built to serve the needs of the player. The story is in the service of the gameplay.

The setting and the core content are good to know, but aren't really suggested topics for thievery. Deriving content without understanding the underlying logic is too easy. And coming up with new settings is generally well worth the effort. But keep an eye out for games with an abundance of dragon-people and devil-people for no good reason, as it's a good sign that they might be jumping on the newest fantasy bandwagons.

Focused Content

The previous edition of D&D approached many problems from a simulationist perspective. It tried to come up with coherent rules for the game universe and apply them consistently. So if players gained class levels, then monsters and NPCs should do the same.

This can create interesting situations, but at the cost of added complexity. Creating an interesting encounter in 3^rd edition can take hours, as the DM has to choose creatures, adjust their level and class, and research different spell-like abilities spread across multiple books, with no guarantee of ending up with something fun. Simulation gets in the way of gameplay.

So 4E throws the simulation idea out the window -- to create a new type of monster, just set the base values as determined by the math, and create a few unique powers. Or even better, take those powers from other monsters and reskin them with a new appearance. Don't worry about non-combat abilities for most monsters -- only design the parts of the monsters and NPCs that matter.

Since most monsters are on-screen only long enough to take a few swings at the players and then die, that's what they should be designed to do. Unless it's the big boss, just give each monster two or three interesting attacks at most. Leave the non-combat design to the individual DM's world.

Fourth edition really focuses on designing content to do what it needs to, and nothing else. Develop a clear vision for each piece of content, then cut away everything that doesn't serve that goal.