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    The GSL in Common Language

    Awesome read, and it looks to be accurate (at least as far as this non-lawyer can tell). That's pretty much how it would work. You can bring your product line into GSL, but if you do, you can't go back to OGL. (If they hadn't done this, then it'd be pretty easy to get around the GSL by...
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    Rogue Weapon Talent Use/Abuse?

    4e's not written as a binding legal document (or a Magic: the Gathering rules compendium). If someone wants to break it by reinterpreting words to mean different things, and they can convince their group, then they can break it. I forget the exact quote, but someone on the design team mentioned...
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    Challenge! I want to convert your concept!

    I'm thinking that almost all of the spells in the 3.x PHB that aren't strictly combat-oriented could be made into rituals. Hey, they covered Scry and Teleport, which were the ones that gave people the most issues it seems, so make any effect you're worried might be "game-breaking" as...
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    D&D 4E How does 4E hold up on verisimilitude?

    I was going to argue with you but then I realized you were right. You didn't say "It's impossible to roleplay with the 4e rules" -- that's an insupportable statement without defining what exactly "roleplay" means, and that's a nasty can of worms. You said "My group and I find the 4e rules...
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    Ranger & TWF vs. Archery Powers

    I agree -- as it is, if you're creating a archery ranger but don't expect the campaign to go past 10th level, there is no reason to take the archery path. Providing a tangible benefit to having that path prior to Paragon tier would help do something about that issue. When I first read the...
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    When you get a Twice-per-Encounter Power once per day...

    Here's a separate question: Assuming you are a cleric, how does healing word interact with paragon or epic abilities that allow you to regain an encounter power? Since healing word is a class feature, I have no idea, personally. :) I'd probably rule "Encounter powers gained from levels can be...
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    When you get a Twice-per-Encounter Power once per day...

    I agree. The feat that gives you access to the power doesn't give you the power. It allows you to use that power once per day. In other words, that "activated" part of the feat can be used 1/day. That's the interpretation I'd go with. I see how legalistic readings could lead to either...
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    D&D 4E How does 4E hold up on verisimilitude?

    I think it's reasonable to say, in a game where the PHB says "You decide how to describe the appearance of the use of your powers", that if you honestly can't describe the effects of a power in a way you're happy with, you probably don't want to take the power in the first place.
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    What CAN'T you do with 4e?

    Honest answer: I can't think of a single roleplaying game I've ever played or run where I didn't have to do this. It's just something you don't notice you do, most of the time. Converting attack -> damage -> description in any RPG, for example. We've internalized it so we don't think about it...
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    Marketing criticisms miss the point

    Hey, to be fair, a poll is proof of something. It proves that x% of people who decided to push the button pushed button 1, and y% pushed button 2. :) (I've been puttering around here quite a bit and this was the first I heard of the poll.)
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    D&D 4E How does 4E hold up on verisimilitude?

    There are a number of roleplaying games that actually do include those kinds of effects. (e.g. in The Shadow of Yesterday, you might play out a debate essentially as a combat, with damage affecting your social abilities similar to how physical combat affects your physical abilities.) I think 4e...
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    D&D 4E How does 4E hold up on verisimilitude?

    This is exactly how I view the issue (and more clearly written than I've managed). There is nothing inherent to roleplaying games that says that the rules have to describe *both* the mechanical effect of actions and the "in-fiction" effect of those actions. As we're seeing with the hit points...
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    Long Distance Teleport Rituals?

    It's kinda wonky, yeah -- but compare with something like the cost of healing potions as you go up in level. It's assumed that the value of an individual gold piece scales downward pretty quickly as the PCs level up. I also think it's one of the things that's easiest to change for a given...
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    D&D 4E 4E, Healing, and Suspension of Disbelief

    I think you're on to something. I imagine third parties will jump in on this; it seems like a great fit.
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    D&D 4E Fixing 4e

    Well, if you do, say the change in base attack bonus, then you're looking at a +5 difference in to-hits at level 10. That's a large enough difference that the magical guys with all those neat spells either will never land them, or that fighters will not really have to worry about ever missing...
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    D&D 4E Fixing 4e

    Sometimes it's a matter of relative effort -- if you only like a few elements of 4e, and would want to change a ton of other stuff, it's probably just plain easier to instead take a system that does most of what you want, and incorporate some of the 4e stuff you like into that. So it's not "You...
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    How do you take another classes paragon path?

    That's correct. If you've taken a multiclass feat, you're eligible for either classes' paragon paths. There are a couple of exceptions; for instance, several of the Warlock and Ranger paragon paths focus on improving elements of their base class features, and you don't get those features from...
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    Challenge! I want to convert your concept!

    Not to get off topic, but I had an idea: Maybe if we can't come up with a good way to express a character concept in 4e, but you can think of another game it might work for, mention that? For example, that Clark Ashton Smith style swords&sorcery campaign mentioned above -- personally I'd run...
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    Challenge! I want to convert your concept!

    Remember, the theme of the thread is "Stump the converters". If your concept isn't doable in 4e to your own personal satisfaction, maybe just gloat quietly to yourself? :) This thread's about brainstorming, not advocacy. We know a lot of concepts might not fit into 4e as a PC -- that's kind of...
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    Where did my options go? - The New Paradigm

    I hate to say "me too", but this one had bits where I said "Hey, I was trying to say this, and failed", so I'm definately bookmarking it. I think there's a definate element of "system mastery" in 3.x, which is very different in 4e. You can still create optimized builds, but the different...
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