Krust, What are your thoughts on...

[Pssthpok]

Well, I think you've fully answered my question. You can stop selling it so hard.
When it comes to the disassociated mechanics of 4E, you drain it all down with a tall glass of "still better than 3rd". While that position is largely unassailable, the burden of bad design still weighs heavily over these elements of 4E.

I was hoping you'd help these elements make sense in situ, but all you've actually managed to do is exaggerate my comments and take them in the wrong context.

Designing monsters and encounters in 4E is intuitive and easy and fun. Explaining marks and why my fighter can only enter a stance once per day is not. These are sloppy mechanics, regardless of how bad 3E is by comparison.

 

[Upper_Krust]

Hello again mate!

What if, Martial Powers (Re: the Fighter) are Ki based and involve samurai-like levels of concentration. Does that satisfy you, and if not, why not?

 

[Pssthpok]

I can come up with some placebo-like explanation, too. Like Grit, or Martial Endurance, but a little bit of dress-up also doesn't change the fact that I have an issue with stances, as well as other Martial powers, being limited the same way spells are.

That's like trying to pour A1 Steak Sauce over cube steak and call it sirloin.

Like I said, though: I came here to discover your philosophy on these issues. Now that I have it, I'll take what you've said into consideration.

 

[S'mon]

My experience of playing 4e was that my Fighter's Encounter and Daily powers acted as narrative pacing mechanics, allowing me to control the flow of the action almost as if I had Directorial authority. My Fighter gets Dazed by the BBEG, who then runs off cackling - I charge him, spend an Action Point, spend a Daily, and splat the little ****er all over the landscape.