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I appreciate that you're playing at 16th level and I'm not, and I'm not trying to say that there isn't an issue here. You aren't the first poster I've seen who's experienced problems with PC damage output, among other things. But what I am saying is that I'm also seeing posts decrying how easy...

I agree with just about everything you point out in your post. I'm not suggesting that 4e wanting a certain level of optimization from players is a problem, but rather that because this expectation is there, players who don't meet it are a problem. I'm not sure I think it's a "great thing" all...

Yes, but... Your base-line, single character numbers aren't actually "typical" because that's not how characters actually function in the game. You have to find a way to count the contributions of other party members, maneuvering / terrain, power effects (both innate and magic items), etc...

Cloakers! I'm still waiting for the Owlbearnomicon, but this just might be a monster book I need to buy!

Well, first of all, talk to the other players about it. You can prompt them to focus on the game various ways, but at some point it comes down to wanting to focus and get more done vs. wanting to socialize. I've been in some games where the DM was very harsh about this, skipping players' turns...

IMO no they are not necessary. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that publishing them was a bit of a mistake, because it makes them seem necessary (since, IMO, they where a reaction to the outcry over the math being "wrong"). However: 1) Players will tend to want them to be available, and will...

One Monk Miniatures There's also a bunch of reasonably-priced options on RPGNow.com (go to enworld.rpgnow.com and support ENWorld). Paizo also has some for Pathfinder that are pretty cool looking.

Runestate isn't a class feature, tho. It's part of the Runic keyword, in the glossary section at the back of PHB3.

Thanks for the advice. I was kind of trying to low-ball the power level, I guess I went a bit too far on some things. I had thought about changing the racial ability bonuses (to Con or Cha, as you suggested), but I'm still concerned that they might end up being a bit too perfect for an Artful...

Changes & additions to the Kobold in the MM, for use as a PC (kind of off the top of my head): Shifty: make Shifty an Encounter power. In addition to the normal effects, you may designate one enemy that you are adjacent to either before or after the shift, and that enemy grants you combat...

Personally, I'd really like to see improvements in both the Character Builder and the Monster Builder before WotC presses on to new projects. For Character Builder in particular I feel like there's a lot that could be done to make it more user-friendly. My biggest specific gripe would be the way...

I'd personally prefer to see Shifty as an encounter power become "shift + other bonus", possibly "shift 1 square and choose one enemy you are adjacent to either before or after the shift. That enemy grants you combat advantage until the end of your next turn". This example would also open up the...

I was reading "stuff every DM should know", so yeah, it was intended as advice... That's certainly not bad advice, and can definitely open up your options a lot when planning encounters. I think stripping that down to the core idea, you get: be aware of what your monsters can do and how they...

Let the players do their cool stuff. Provoke OAs and Combat Challenge from the Fighter, give the Wizard a bunch of minions to blow down, etc. You don't want to destroy the challenge for the players, but you can design / modify encounters that meet both those goals. "No two games of D&D are the...

Actually, WotC is just putting out three books per setting (not per setting per year). And, yes, they've been doing one setting per year. Personally I like this, one of the main reasons I was never very interested in previous versions of FR was that there was just too much stuff to keep up with...

This. I find it easiest to simply disallow the Expertise feats and tell the players that I am fixing it on my side. No hassles with the character builder, no having to remember what does and doesn't get a bonus.

I think this should actually work. There might be some odd problems, like what shape close blasts should be, but otherwise I don't see why not. One thing to consider is that a lot of 4e powers aren't just attacks. They include anything from extra movement to defensive bonuses to just about...

I've wanted to do a bit of the opposite for a while now: set the new game just far enough before the end of the previous one so that the PCs get to see the results from a different perspective. Unfortunately I ended up getting this idea only after I stopped running the kind of campaign I could...

The rules presented there assume that you're still using magic items (or something else, like the boons, etc. also in DMG2), for properties, crit bonuses, etc. The enhancement bonuses wouldn't stack, of course. Standard crit damage would be +1d6 per point of enhancement bonus, I'd say go with...

Maybe "shouldn't" is the wrong term, my apologies. It was my experience that three thugs versus a costumed adventurer-type where three very KO'ed thugs. Having serious problems with them is not a result I would expect.