4e increased my DM prep time...

[LostSoul]

Terrain Power
Light in the Darkness
A brazier full of hot coals begs for fuel to spark into life - and blind the deep gnomes trying to murder you.
Standard Action
Requirement: You have to throw some fuel (most likely oil) into the brazier.
Check: Basic ranged attack against AC 10, unless you're right next to it.
Success: The brazier springs to life.
Target: All creatures who rely on vision in burst 10.
Attack: +6 vs. Fort.
Hit: The target is Blinded (save ends).
Special: Characters who are forewarned can close their eyes as an Immediate Interrupt.

 

[Ariosto]

I spend a lot of time thinking about the non-mechanical things: characterization of NPC's, motives, setting fluff, short but effective descriptions of things, heck, the language I'm going to use in the session in general (because in the end the campaign world is not made from rules, charts, or random tables. It's made from the words I exchange with my players on game night).

No amount of streamlining the rules is going to help me with that.

Yeah, some people are really good at 'improv' -- and others (and their players) don't mind more rough around the edges. My experience both as a ref and as a player, though, suggests that -- however one accomplishes it -- being able to bring the world "to life" for players, and communicate clearly the situations with which they deal, is a wisely chosen priority.