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Circular AOE aren't too hard to figure out, but cones, in general, are a bit wonky when they're not aimed at right angles (e.g., exactly N, S, E, or W). Cones fired from a corner at say, 30 or 60 degree angles tend to be a little weird.

No, mainly because other classes don't get enough feats. But that's a different topic entirely...

It's all relative. Your view is valid, as is the view that non-casters are not powerful enough.

Take Close-Quarters Fighting (mostly for melee types) from the Complete Warrior. Basically, you get an AoO when a creature attempts to grapple, even if the creature has Improved Grapple or an ability that lets its start a grapple without an AoO. If you cause damage on your AoO, the Grapple...

I think you're allowed to use your Escape Artist check in lieu of a grapple check to escape a pin/grapple, with a standard action. Nothing exists for the initial grapple, though.

This is part of a joke, but:

I personally find no reason not to go into a full casting PrC as a Wizard. Take the Loremaster from the DMG, for example. You only really gain by going into this PrC as opposed to being a straight Wizard... all the bonus feats you would normally get as a Wizard can be obtained through the...

You're the DM. Just because a splat book exists doesn't mean that you should automatically allow your players to use everything in them. As a DM, I would allow people to use things in books that I'm familiar with, and allow things that haven't been tested on a sort of probationary period. If it...

I disagree. The chaingun tripper has been known as a 'battlefield controller' build long before 'controllers' 4th edition roles were ever announced. Besides, it fulfills nearly all the points that have been used to describe the controller.

This is not just affecting Dragon magazine. Newspapers, in particular, are having a hard time competing with online news sources. A lot of print media is dying a slow, agonizing death.

I'm guessing from what I've read that most monsters will try and have some ability or set of abilities that sets them apart from other monsters. I'm sure that monsters will share abilities, but I'm guessing they're really trying to make a gnoll feel like a gnoll, and not just a CR 2 humanoid...

3rd edition already has it. Enter the DM nightmare known as the spiked chain tripper.

I would expect an assassin to be a rogue that focuses more on subterfuge skills, perhaps with some poison abilities and emphasis on delayed single target damage. It's not really as combat friendly as many people would want an assassin to be; many times I find designers create prestige classes...

I remember reading on Sage Advice that Grapple is still exists in 4th edition (as it should), but it's been modified to be simpler. This leads me to hypothesize that Bullrush also will make an appearance.

I can't tell if you hope that they include unarmed combat rules or not -- but it's my guess that they'll probably touch upon it at a very basic level, but nothing like you might expect if they were going to introduce the monk class in the core.

As stated, monsters no longer follow the same rules as player characters -- which greatly simplifies the procedure for creating a monster and also allows for some nifty, unique abilities. The bugbear example given doesn't really bother me. A DM can rationalize this anyway they wish; maybe...

Just think of my surprise when I realized that my cleric shouldn't have been able to wield a lucerne hammer, which was in fact, not a hammer at all (back when clerics could only use bludgeoning weapons).

While it doesn't fit with the current 4e artwork style, I miss seeing Erol Otus' work that was pretty common in 1st edition. It's not a standard Elmore-like style, but it's interesting.

Which you shall surely get, once 4th Edition is officially launched and available. After all, how can the game be "the best that it can be" and have "real rules" when it isn't even finished yet? Alternatively, you can wait a month for the reports back from the public playtest -- although I...

In Derren's defense, published adventures don't have this luxury. The numbers have to work, or else the consumers will complain. So a lot of NPCs will benefit from 4th edition since they won't have to have as much a dependence on magic items. But you're right, you can always fudge the numbers...