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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Foundry of Decay" data-source="post: 4104867" data-attributes="member: 846">I'm mostly a lurker, but I'll add my toss of the copper.First and foremost I'm noticing one rather glaring error in some arguments stating that having a character who can do 'x' power at will all the time during an encounter.  They forget that players can actually be *quite* clever if given the basic rules of any editions combat.I don't know if its simply that I've been blessed with some incredibly clever players, or that perhaps 'I'm doing it wrong' in some sense but I rarely run into the "Oh, I just cast whatever again." problem.For example I'll use the 4e fighter to illustrate something one of my players actually DID do in game (though on a 3.5 character).  you are given the general powers and basic rules of the fighter.  He likes to hit things, he likes to do damage, he can do 'x' power at-will. Now, said fighter is standing on the deck of an airship, Cleaving this and Tide of Ironing that, when he suddenly spies a smaller pirate craft that's been making strafing runs at the group and the ship the whole battle.  So he decides that if that blighter gets close enough.. Well, he's going to jump on the craft and toss the pilot right overboard so he can give a whirl at piloting this contraption.I'd happily rule on the fly that he could do so if he wished, and take it from there.  See?  He didn't use cleave, or wasn't confined to any of his x-powers a day/encounter/at-will, and the results could be pretty spectacular (They certainly were for the encounter where this did actually take place).Mages casting magic missile over and over.  Well, considering its at least more cinematic than a character resorting to a hideously ineffective attack such as a crossbow, or dagger just to feel like they're doing something in the group, I don't really understand the problem here.  In a purely cinematic sense when was the last time you saw Harry Potter suddenly take out a crossbow when he had a perfectly good wand in his hand?  And nowhere in the rules does it state that a mage couldn't suddenly cast a magic missile at the large chandelier hanging over a mob of minions below and have it fall on them.  Or say, blast a bridge plank out from under some poor sod trying to cross a bridge towards him.Any edition is only as good as the players and the DM I find.  Yes, every encounter might not be some whirlwind Raiders of the Lost Ark style explosion-fest, but it sure would be boring as Hades if every encounter was just another room, with just another pack of things waiting to die attacking the party.My suggestion is look beyond all of this.  If you enjoy 3.5's way of combat, fantastic!  You've found something that works!  If (like myself, admittedly) you can see some insane potential for 4e's rules then.. Well, I'm going with it.  Fiddly points like 'realistic HP's' or 'At-will' powers don't mean a damnable thing to me to be quite honest.  The biggest selling point for me will be the fact that they don't have to worry about powers but can resort to them if they need to.  (Plus anything that lessens book keeping and DM-prep time is a godsend to me).I've already run two sessions with the 4e preview materials, and am already making more encounters up in my head knowing that I won't have to worry about the 'oh.. I just cast magic missile again' trap with this lot.</blockquote>

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