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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tun Kai Poh" data-source="post: 6255691" data-attributes="member: 6761960">My players love the flexibility in character creation. I've seen player character concepts such as a stranded astronaut from an advanced gnome civilisation, a wizard who had her name eaten by a rogue spellbook, a one-armed dwarven dual-wielding expert (juggles two axes at once), a rock guitarist bard version of Slash from Guns N' Roses...and those are just quick concepts made from pre-gen templates! I've seen Backgrounds used to simulate things such as a personal butler (who does all the trivial work), sky piracy, political commissar training, and abstract religious concepts.The game also provides a pretty quick-flowing d20 combat engine with math that scales up well and allows for decisive strikes to change the battle quite fast - critical hits matter a lot and can take down a character or monster surprisingly fast. Some of my players would say it's a bit too swingy, but in practice it's not all that random. However, some 4th Edition veterans complain that the melee classes aren't sticky enough to keep enemy combatants from getting through to the casters, and I would say that this is as valid a complaint as it might be in earlier editions of D&D - if you're spoiled by the awesomeness of 4th Edition Defenders, you should be aware that this game doesn't have the same level of detail in tactical combat, not the same amount of battlefield control (though it does have some).Spellcasters have plenty of options in and out of combat, with a sort-of-Vancian casting system that also includes the option to fill some spell slots with at-will powers. Ritual casting is pretty freeform - you negotiate a non-combat effect with the GM, sacrifice the necessary spell from a slot, and roll to see how well you accomplish your ritual effect. So in some ways it's more flexible than in 4th Edition, but also more malleable and subjective compared with 3rd Edition.As a GM, this game challenges me more than other d20 games, because of the Icon Relationship story guide rolls. I have to keep on my toes and introduce opportunities and benefits that match the story guide rolls, instead of being lazy and laying out a pre-planned story on autopilot. So it's more tricky to GM, but I think it adds enough spice, randomness and player input to make it worthwhile.</blockquote>

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