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Message: <blockquote data-quote="FireLance" data-source="post: 5208524" data-attributes="member: 3424">In my view, the mechanics of the game have changed significantly, but the adventure, problem-solving and roleplaying elements (things which the rules can at best give guidelines for) have remained the same. Some of what I would consider to be the key mechanical changes are as follows. Powers: In addition to abilities that can be used at will (such as a normal attack with a weapon) and abilities that are regained after a night's rest (such as prepared spells in 3e and earlier editions) 4E has encounter abilities that are regained after a short 5-minute rest. In addition, all characters have at-will, encounter and daily abilities: fighters have at-will, encounter and daily weapon attacks, and wizards have at-will, encounter and daily spells. Uniform Advancement: PCs tend to advance at the same rate. Unlike previous editions, where a fighter's attack bonus or THACO would improve faster than a wizard's, 4E PCs gain bonuses to attacks, defenses and skill checks at the same rate. In addition, most PCs gain additional encounter and daily powers at the same rate too. Do note that in spite of the uniform rate of advancement, many PCs start with advantages (proficiencies, complementary ability scores, bonuses from their class, etc.) which allow them to maintain a relative advantage in the areas which they are supposed to be good at compared to the other PCs. Character Toughness: Low-level characters in 4E tend to be hardier than low-level characters in earlier editions, in the sense that it usually takes more than a single lucky hit from a monster to put them down, and once down, it is relatively easier for them to come back up, either during the fight or after it. It does not mean that individual fights are easier to win (that really depends on the relative strrength between the PCs and their opponents), but it does make chance less of a factor in determining the outcome of the fights. Character Complexity: At the same time, low-level characters in 4E tend to be more complex than low-level characters in earlier editions. A typical 1st-level character will have access to two at-will powers, one encounter power and one daily power from his class, and another power from his race, in addition to "standard" options such as making a basic attack, making a charge attack, taking a second wind, and spending an action point (if he has one available). </blockquote>

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