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Both excellent games so it should work out great either way.

Maybe that is why D&D's combat system is not built on the assumption of battle axe between eyes. Even though the system does remove that fragility it does not remove heroism, IME.

I don't think Gygax hated critical hits, as far as a method for additional HP depletion. I think his distaste was more for Critical Hit charts with added complications/wounds/etc. I saw many of those subsystems appear in alternate publications, house rules, etc. They always became a hassle...

Though I have run parts of a dungeon crawl as a Skill Challenge, I would recommend you take a look at Frylock's dungeon crawl system as a very worthy alternative. We played the entirety of Against the Giants with large portions of the adventures adjusted in this manner and we had a blast.

Each of them has to be looked at individually and assessed that way. All of them had some great ideas within, but were poorly executed, or not executed at all. Some of them have some of the most boring execution and linearity of all (Assault on Nightwyrm Fortress). After these adventures, I...

For me, as a DM, 4, 5 & 6 are really the crux of the balance issue. However 4 is a wash because only in particular games is violence the "go to" conflict resolver. Roll initiative is a shorthand for get ready for combat, but with experience the DM can try to avoid that as the single outcome...

What are you looking for in online resources?

Sure, and he'll be just as plain average in the exploration and interaction pillars as has already been stated by others. Saying the DM can fix it if he wants to, or optional components can cover this doesn't do much to change the criticism.

Except in games that don't allow the optional component of feats.

One of the interesting things about the fighter is that during the playtest period there was one podcast in which Mike Mearls specifically mentioned some of the mechanics of the fighter (I believe he was talking about expertise dice at the time) would be able to do double duty into the...

Nobody said it's the fighter's fault. That would be adding insult to injury. Like saying to the kid without a bike, it's too bad your parents just don't love you enough to get you one. It is actually a system fault for using assumptions that in normal play don't pan out. Like giving the...

Except the mythical adventuring day of 5-8 encounters is entirely variable. I have several groups playing, with one group running since the closed playtest. To date this 5-8 encounter day has possibly happened twice in over 2 years of weekly/bi-weekly play. An adventuring day of about 3-5...

Sucks pretty hard is more like it. However, because the stay is so short at level 1 it is just bearable.

Would love to see it!

As I keep running more sessions of 4e I keep finding other things that really stand out as great in the system. Exciting combats that can be easily tweaked/expanded/contracted. Several weeks ago the characters had a combat with a Hobgoblin Commander (leveled up), his pet black dragon (leveled...

Penalizing the player with the loss of the action is counterproductive. It just reinforces the analysis paralysis, since they don't want to be penalized and they take a lot longer analyzing their options. Letting that stuff slide, and even providing an incentive for taking quick turns (bonus...

I forgot, but Reavers of Harkenwold is also very good. A small mini campaign to get the game started. If you feel ambitious you can convert Red Hand of Doom and do all the integration between the Iron Circle and the Red Hand and create a much more expansive "war has come to the vale" type of...

I have stolen from many 4e adventures but never used one in its entirety. Except Keep on the Shadowfell, which I altered so much that in the end it was simply a framework with all my changes tacked on. Thematically I thought all the adventures had a lot to spark good ideas, but within the...

What is part of the rules, changing a spell? What are the guidelines for that? Like I said before, no more serious or self correcting than changing a spell in 5e. This argument of balance is an additional red-herring. Yes, 4e is more balanced, as a whole, than most other forms of D&D. But...

I agree with the first paragraph and completely disagree with the second paragraph. I have made extensive additions and modifications to the game with little effort, and have heard of many in these forums that have done something similar. Creating a class in any game is a chore, if you try to...