

Wights don’t scare us anymore…

We recently had a commenter in our discussions section lamenting that the removal of level draining abilities has taken the dread out of the undead. I find myself forced to agree with him to an extent, I remember when players were terrified of battling a level draining monster or even better, one they couldn’t quite remember if it had the power to level drain. These days an undead opponent might be a menace or a tough fight but there is no longer the fear there once was. However this problem is not limited to the undead or even limited to fourth edition.

Where We Have Gone

Taken as a whole the entire history of Dungeons & Dragons has been one of moving towards the heroic. As each edition passed the player got more control over his character. The character himself grew more potent and the peak of power he could reach became higher. Lastly, the world around them became more merciful.

What We Have Lost

Monsters, Monsters Everywhere: Cloakers, mimics, earseekers, do you remember these monsters? They are just a few of the monsters that populated a classic dungeon crawl. Together with many other fearsome cousins they ensured that no adventurer would feel safe during any activity. A chest, door, floor or any other item could potentially be a deadly monster. Not all of them would be, just enough that they would crop up when you finally started feeling safe again.

Necklace of Strangulation: Before you could figure out an item with a just few moments peace, there was a lot of expense, time and hassle associated with a magical item. Of course, if you were feeling bold you could simply put it on. However, you might find that your shiny new hat eats your brains, your weapon stabs your allies instead or your boots put a song in your heart and in your feet. Good luck getting rid of a cursed item before it gets rid of you!

Search Every Inch: The click under his feet may well be the last thing your character hears. Whirling blades, spiked pits and blasts of fire are just the beginning of the traps that sprang from the minds of devious DMs. Unlike the traps of this edition, which will mostly just wear a group down, old school traps dished out massive damage if not outright death to the slow or clumsy.

Cling to it all: These days the assumption among players is that once they earn something it will be theirs forever. A single encounter with a level draining undead or a rust monster would shatter this delusion very quickly.

What Does It All Mean?

To sum it up, we have lost paranoia. PCs were once trying to hold on long enough to make it through each dungeon and spend their rewards. Now they feel they can take on the world, nothing will be thrown at them that they aren’t equipped to handle. I don’t mean this as a condemnation. It is not a failure of the new editions, simply a slow transition to a new feel. I enjoy a good epic tale as much as anyone else but I also enjoy being afraid, having to rely solely on my wits to defeat monsters that can cripple me in one blow. For my purposes I use different editions and different systems all together. However, some people just want the old days of great fear but greater reward. If that’s the feeling you crave I understand why you feel betrayed with each new edition, D&D has left you behind.

GD Star Rating

loading...