Dungeons and Dragons 4th Edition Overview (D&D 4e)

So i came in with 4e about the essentials era. Played in encounters organised store stuff. Loved it. Ran a 4 year campaign. My players refused to go to 5e and wanted to stay. I like you are being fair and pointing out how many 4e influences made it to 5e

I loved 4th ed because it encouraged teamwork. 3.5 invited a lot of players in our group to be the supercharacters with a level in this class, a level in that class, 3 levels here, 2 levels there. Characters with several prestige classes.

It was my favorite edition also.

Love the way you gave 4th edition its due in as unbiased of a way as possible. I recently joined a group that's going to be running 4e, and you've rekindled my excitement for the game after hearing so much hate against it.

Just wanted to make a shout out and say, this is (in my opinion) THE most informed, informative, and interesting video I have ever seen on 4th edition.. Massively appreciative of it, and enjoy the length of the whole thing. Thank you for sharing :-)

And... a couple years later... Very nice breakdown of 4e. Really appreciate the effort and time you put imto this. I skipped 4e at the time because I had tons of ALL editions leading up to it and was particularly enjoying 3.x. Everything I heard and saw led me to believe 4e was very "video-game"-ish, and that was unappealing. Anyway, long story short, I've been in on 5e for a few years, and the recent kerfuffle and lead-in to OneD&D (or 5.5, or whatever the hex they're gonna call it), in addition to my own play experience has led me to consider augmenting some 5e stuff with 4e ideas. Then, magically, I receive the Player's Handbook and Arcane Powers books from a random monthly mailing I get, and now my "desire to know more" is intensifying, and I'm looking at all the things I'd missed in that edition. Oh, I just remembered the biggest reason I said "Nonono" to 4e: That garbage they did to Forgotten Realms. Ugh. Just... NO! Anyway, again... Thanks for this video. It really helps me know what I want to look for and into in my current thought-processes.

One of the best video on YouTube! Thanks!

This is, by far, my favorite edition to both DM and run as a player. The ease of which it takes to come up with a specific DCs, ad hoc things, and go on the fly is just one of it's many values. As a player, I felt that I could have a significant difference even when playing the same class. A dwarven fighter that uses a Warhammer is going to have different methods, feats, exploits, and concepts than say...an elf Fighter with Two-Weapons or a bugbear spear and shield warrior. It's also an Edition where you .more easily explore concepts like monsters without significant nerfing or overly complicated tables, templates, and level adjustments. Want to be a Vampire? Play the vampire class, or take the Vampiric Heritage feats, or maybe just have some vampire remnants in your blood with the Vyrloka race. I remember having a human Berserker with the Pack Outcast theme that showed him he was a werebear when he went all Primal. At 1st level AND wasn't broken.

"Tactical spotlight" is a great way of putting what 4e combat offered that other editions don't. The layered tactics you could employ as you gained party cohesion between manipulating initiative, board position, and laying down auras and status effects gave 4e the true feeling of a seasoned party coordinating to overcome obstacles. My favorite edition. Thanks for giving it a fair and thorough review!

Very late to the party but “Reavers of the Harkenwold” is an amazing sandbox campaign that starts at lvl 1 and is hidden inside the essentials line Dungeon Masters Kit, which came with maps, monster tokens, and a DMs screen and is a great starting point to try 4th edition.

I'll just say this: in 4th, the feeling of being part of a team that works like clockwork against monsters is unrivaled. It is by far the most rewarding combat experience I’ve had (I played every edition since adnd).

Thanks for making this in-depth overview vid. Nobody does this sort of content better! Listening to this has been a Fun way to spend Christmas Eve.

Was an excellent listen, informative and interesting. Was great to see an opinion from someone who plays all the dnd/pathfinders too. Thanks for the vid.

These comprehensive reviews are such a treat for me. I listened to all of the pf2e video and ran a game to great success. Your explanation of a game front to back you can't find elsewhere on YouTube.

4e is my favorite edition of D&D and one of my all time favorite rpgs period. You're overview is the most fair and honest I've ever seen, which is really nice to see. 4e Essentials is probably my least favorite edition of 4e because of how drastically different it is compared to 4e Core, and how much of a middle finger Essentials gave to those who liked 4e Core.

Character builder is the only way to get the extra dragon magazine stuff that I've found. It's a must have running 4e for me

I really don't think it was inspired from WOW as much as it was focused on pushing miniatures, which at the time, WotC were pushing like mad. I had never played with minis before, but when I read 4e it was apparent that minis were necessary. As far as roleplaying is concerned, that is a function of the DM. 4e has all the tools to roleplay to the max, but unlike 5e it also has amazing tactical combat. My play group plays 4e the same as we did 2e, 3.5e and 5e in terms of role[laying. Notwithstanding the unmatched tactical combat, 4e has unmatched classes, monster manuals, DM guide 2 is fantastic, Dungeon Delves might be the best single book WotC has ever put out and 4e has Dark Sun!. Oh, and Hello from Southern Ontario. :))

If the VTT that was designed to go along with 4th edition had actually been produced and released, I think it would have been ahead of it's time and better paved the way for programs like roll20 and Foundry. As tech evolves so do our games. I wouldn't be surprised if the future of D&D looked more like 4e.

I preordered that slipcase with money I got from helping the elder couple across the alley move! Years later once I was an adult my core book set got stolen from my car. 😣 Finally replaced my DMG a couple weeks ago, at least!

THIS is why I love this channel. Great stuff, thanks!