My order has arrived :)

[bitterwind]

First impression of first page opened: "standard" aboleth overseer has more hp than Aboothachk did?!

2nd impression: 27hp level 1 kobolds?! 1 ... yes "1" ... hp ogres?! *boogle* (I'm going to eventually look at the player's handbook and see what in the world is going on with these hp - ah, 1 hp "minions" - cinematic style critters that are

Comments

[themage]

I tried it out yesterday at the WW D&D day, and it was fun. Although, your assessment of a mutation/update into a mini's game isn't all wrong, I'm not finding it all that bad. The tabletop gave a solid context for combat to occur in, and provides for tactics to employ in a more collaborative way (since you all see the same situation). And giving employment to the minis and cards is a great tie-in.

I did pick up some minis packs a few weeks back thinking it would be nice to amass a collection for 4e encounters. Oddly, that was the part I found disappointing, as the payoff for the cost of a booster was small. It wan't even the big baddies, it's just that after $50 sunk I have 1 kobold and 1 goblin... need more common dudes per booster!!

But I look forwards to getting back in with 4e. I never grasped the 3e rules (mostly for lack of trying). The sessions we payed were home brew rules relying mostly on story (always good!) so mechanics weren't an issue. However, I find them nice to fall back on for a good dust-up with some

[bitterwind]

How long did a combat take to play out? How large a board to need to let people move around? (or does everyone generally glom together pretty quickly?) How was the game overall - that is, what was the ratio to combat/non-combat during the game

[themage]

It was a 2 hour dungeon crawl focused on the mechanics, no purely combat-driven. The map comfortably fit on a kitchen table for the scenario.
I have to say that it was fun to charge (albeit unwisely) into combat with a lvl 1 wizard. 23 hp!! After some weak melee attempts, I read my character sheet and learned that I could fire 1 magic missile per round, among other things. No more auto-hit, but I'll take it! I left the melee and the damage to the fighter, who between the healing surges and the cleric's aid, soaked up over 100hp damage before dying in the final battle. Ouch.
Anyway, I may try to keep an eye on eBay for sets, or collections of little dudes to use, but plan on otherwise avoiding the booster approach. Hopefully, someone will create fixed packs of standard monsters to fill out the armies most used.

[bitterwind]

I am glad to hear the enthusiasm and joy in your experience.