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I agree with most of the responses here; 4e's changes to the skill system were quite welcome. But I think OP is trying to get at something a little different, which is that (along with all the downsides) having lots of tiny little options allows for finer-grained differentiation of characters...

It's a different way of achieving a similar effect, but to make dragons a bit scarier I've sometimes given them an additional power: Deep Inhalation (encounter) minor action: the dragon grants CA until the start of its next turn. At the start of its next turn, it automatically recharges Breath...

A level 13 thief can easily achieve a +25 vs AC attack (+5 Dex, +6 level, +3 prof, +3 enh, +2 expertise, +1 Talent, +2 CA, +3 backstab) that deals 6d6+17 (1d6 shortsword + 2d6 SA + 3d6 backstab + 3 finesse + 5 Dex + 3 enh + 2 expertise + 4 acrobat's trick) on a hit. That attack bonus should hit...

As people have said, there are "double" weapons in 4e, and you may be interested in the double sword or the double scimitar. That said, these are often not the greatest options for a Ranger. Generally the point of double weapons in 4e is that most of them are "defensive" (grant +1 AC/Ref) and...

And Observe Portal doesn't have the severe time limitation to frustrate random scrying attempts. It's there because WOTC assumes that the players are smart, e.g. they've done some scouting and know the BBEG's lieutenant reports at dinnertime, thus they time the ritual so they can hear about the...

Sometimes you need to open something delicate (i.e. smashing is not an option), and there's nobody with Thievery around. Knock also pretty specifically mentions that it can used to unlatch bars you can't actually reach! That's not something just any Rogue can do.

Maybe I'm misremembering how this works, but as a ranged 5 power, doesn't the cleric need to stay within 5 of the solo to keep it neutered when sustaining Astral Condemnation? Or is this only necessary for conjurations? It seems like if I were a BBEG and some uppity bastard laid Astral...

I actually like characters having an extra option right from the beginning. Level 1 characters have to slog through about 10 battles to hit level 2, and they do all this with two at-wills, one encounter, and a daily. IME many characters have one "preferred" at-will, so 3 out of 4 encounters...

You're wrong. The automatically granted powers scale with level. You power-swap to gain additional theme powers. The automatically granted "freebie" theme powers, however, are still generally not very powerful, with one exception (Gladiator). Poisoned Strike? 1[W]+5 poison damage is less...

I don't know where the original ethnic info is, but the Wikipedia page actually lists them: Balic - Greek (or I've seen some say Roman) Draj - Aztec Gulg - African Nibenay - Angkor (1000 years ago was a huge urban sprawl in what is now Cambodia) Raam - Egyptian Tyr - Tyre (major trading city...

If you want a trap that's easy to actively spot but not just automatically detected passively, then you can always be liberal with granting significant "circumstance" bonuses, especially if the rogue looks in the "right place". Example: there's a covered pit in the middle of the hallway, DC...

This isn't quite exact but it's very close: Easy DCs are about 8+(1/2)*level. You can get the exact numbers by counting epic levels as one being one level higher than they actually are. Medium DCs are about 12+(2/3)*level. The actual numbers are a little slower during heroic, but I don't...

It really depends on the setting and how picky the DM is about light sources, but I find myself using Dark Light (FRPG) all the time. It's basically a stealthy light source that lasts all day for 30 gp. Phantom Steed's always a staple. With your +19 Arcana you've got a 50/50 shot at...

The ability to reroll attacks is generally a VERY GOOD option. There's a reason Elven Accuracy is considered one of the strongest racial powers. Daily arcane powers tend to be powerful things themselves (sleep, anyone?). Half surge value in damage is 1/8 or less of your hp total; the party's...

I'm not going to disagree that themes are power creep, but the Gladiator power is a bit unusual in that it's the only one which does two dice of damage. It'll usually deal about the same damage as Wasteland Fury (1[W] + twice primary ability modifier if you have CA), and Gladiator is supposed...

Yes, Slash and Pummel is only 1[W] with the primary, and 3+Str on the followup. Also, because the followup requires another attack roll AND only triggers if the first attack hits, the DPR for the whole thing can as low as a basic attack if the monster's defenses are high enough. The problem is...

Honestly, brawler DPS is pretty poor (especially for a Fighter). Spiked gauntlets are only +2 prof with d6 damage (Brutal Brawler increases this to d8). But damage isn't really the point of the Brawler build; it's really about a kind of melee "control". You'll have numerous attacks which...

I think the Battlemind, for better or for worse, has more of it's "defenderness" tied up in class powers, like the aforementioned Lightning Rush. There are also many utility powers that are basically "follow the mark". So to me, the Battlemind's niche is that rather than making the monsters...

As written it appears rather ambiguous. But given the "Vengeful" in the name, I'd guess the intent was that the DC was meant to happen after the triggering attack resolves. If it happened before the trigger, it could potentially deal a rather crazy amount of automatic damage over an...

I think they're decent in their own way, but I thought that pre-errata too. I do think their mark/punish mechanic takes a bit to get used to. It's sort of in-between the swordmage's "mark-and-forget" and the paladin's "mano-el-mano", in that there's a little bit of range and multi-marking...