Olgar Shiverstone
Legend
One of the stated goals of 4E is to make play faster & more fun, in part by simplifying preparation & work by the DM.
But that doesn't necessarily mean that 4E will actually be a simpler system. I'd posit that 4E is actually increasing in complexity, but achieving simpler play by shifting some of the complexity from the DM to the players, and then by further shifting some of that complexity from in-play to out-of-play activities.
For example, take a look at characters created using Bo9S. Although these are ostensibly fighter-type characters, they are much more involved to create. There are significantly more options the player much explore, and the character has more choices and different mechanics at each level than ever before -- in addition to feats and skills, you have maneuvers and stances which have their own allocation and mechanics. But most of that reserach and choice by the character is done out of game. When the player comes to the table, there are a manageable few choices for the player to make, and the player is the one keeping up with the mechanics rather than the DM. The system itself is more complex, but the play is simpler.
It's kind of like why one of my players played a sorcerer rather than a wizard: he had weeks between game sessions to decide on what spell choices to make; in game there were a relatively small number of spells to choose from so decisions were much easier. he'd off-loaded game complexoty from in-game to out-of-game.
But that doesn't necessarily mean that 4E will actually be a simpler system. I'd posit that 4E is actually increasing in complexity, but achieving simpler play by shifting some of the complexity from the DM to the players, and then by further shifting some of that complexity from in-play to out-of-play activities.
For example, take a look at characters created using Bo9S. Although these are ostensibly fighter-type characters, they are much more involved to create. There are significantly more options the player much explore, and the character has more choices and different mechanics at each level than ever before -- in addition to feats and skills, you have maneuvers and stances which have their own allocation and mechanics. But most of that reserach and choice by the character is done out of game. When the player comes to the table, there are a manageable few choices for the player to make, and the player is the one keeping up with the mechanics rather than the DM. The system itself is more complex, but the play is simpler.
It's kind of like why one of my players played a sorcerer rather than a wizard: he had weeks between game sessions to decide on what spell choices to make; in game there were a relatively small number of spells to choose from so decisions were much easier. he'd off-loaded game complexoty from in-game to out-of-game.