Facts / Rumors
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Character Changes
Game play Changes
Spells/Magic
Skills
Powers/Prestige Classes
Feats
Monsters
Races
Classes
D&D Insider
Speculation
Product Release Dates
Worlds and Monsters (4th edition preview) (New Page)
Character Changes
Characters will go to 30 levels in the PHB rather than 20.
These 30 levels are organized into three tiers. 1-10 is called the “Heroic” tier, which is similar to 3e at low to mid levels. 11-20 is called the “Paragon” tier, where characters become more powerful and can begin to take on greater threats (small dragons, etc.) - it’s similar to low to mid teens in 3e. 21-30 is the “Epic” tier, where characters now tackle issues of planary and cosmic importance. One thing WotC mentioned was that the game will play similarly at all tiers, it’s just that the scope of the stories will change.
Talent trees will be used.
Fighters will play differently based on their primary weapon choice. Examples include swords being allowed to make multiple attacks at lower levels (3rd at highest), hammers being more effective based on Con score, and spears being able to “go past AC” (probably ignoring certain types of AC bonuses).
Vancian magic system (Spell slots of the current system) will be dramatically changed. A wizard who casts all his spells will only be at 80% power. A wizard will never completely run out of spells. They can run out of their “mordenkainen’s sword, however”. Most spells will will be divided into are to be sorted into at will, per encounter and per day.
As people have said, the importance of magic items will be reduced. While they’ll still be nice to have, WotC says that what makes a 28th level fighter cool will be the fact that he’s a 28th level fighter.
Character Building: Less feat trees, easier for characters to swap out abilities much easier and try different things out. Each level from 1 – 30 each character will have interesting character development options to choose.
Personalizing and specializing your character is amped up, it’s one of the most powerful things about 4th edition. If you’re a barbarian, you’re not a frenzied berserker. If you’re a barbarian, you’re a barbarian for your entire career. The frenzied berserker and bear warrior will be at the very end.
Even at 1st level, a fighter who uses an axe has a different power selection than a fighter who relies on a flail or a rapier or a pick. In the long run, fighters can diversify and master powers related to a few different weapons, but most will opt to focus on the weapon that suits their personal style, helps their interactions with the rest of the PCs in the group, and carries all the magical oomph they’ve managed to acquire.