Ok, so I've had enough time to go through about 90% of it and so far there's only three quibbles I have about the system. Otherwise I'm pretty happy, and even excited about it. Because the things I dislike are what I consider to be fairly minor, I decided to go with "Love it".
Stand Outs
- Advantage/disadvantage system. So simple and yet so damned cool. What I love most about it isn't just the simplicity and wide-ranging potential of the mechanic but rather that it will result in a much higher frequency of both critical hits and fumbles, two things which I think capture the essence of D&D
- Backgrounds & Themes. I really like the idea of mix'n'matching races, classes, themes and backgrounds to create exciting and interesting characters. I also think this will be a fairly easy system to balance. I can't wait to see character creation!
Black Marks
- Surprise. I really don't like the whole concept of a "-20" to someone's surprise roll if they're surprised. I get why they did it, but I disagree with it being used in this way. It's just so damned arbitrary and clunky. I'd much prefer the now common standard of, "Are they surprised?" and if so, everyone who isn't surprised gets a free action before initiative starts.
- Spell descriptions. I LOVE flowery prose and descriptions for spells. However, I LOATHE having the minutia of rules interspersed amongst that prose. Separate the two. There's simply no need for them to be amalgamated and no need for it to be either/or; you can have both and still run a clear and clean game.
- Resistance/Vulnerability. Ugh... halving/doubling. No thanks. Would much prefer static values.