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<blockquote data-quote="D'karr" data-source="post: 4497102" data-attributes="member: 336">4e is definitely doing it for my group and I.I've been running 3.X since it came out.&nbsp; And I would consider myself to have a pretty good degree of system mastery.&nbsp; Even with a good degree of system mastery the preparation time as you go up in level gets longer and longer.&nbsp; That is not just an opinion, that is real life experience.&nbsp; This past weekend I ran a pre-written module (3.X) for a group of friends.&nbsp; The module is designed for 10-12 level characters and it included several encounters at those levels.&nbsp; The adventure provides all the stat blocks for the creatures printed right in there so I don't have to use the book.&nbsp; The module is also designed to run in about a 4-5 hour time frame.My preparation time for the 5 hours of game time was about 4 hours.&nbsp; I had to look up specific feats for creatures.&nbsp; Each creature had multiple feats that are not described in their stat block.&nbsp; I had to look up specific spells for clerics, druids, and wizards.&nbsp; None of those are described in their stat block.&nbsp; Then I had to look up specific spells that are spell-like abilities of a creature, also not explained on the stat block.&nbsp; On top of that I had to look up how a specific maneuver works (sundering) and then I had to look up in a completely different location to find out how (sundering a magical item) works.&nbsp; I had to do all this to be able to run the game without constantly having to look these things up during play.I had a great time running the game, when we played.&nbsp; But I had absolutely no fun while I was doing all this &quot;research&quot;.&nbsp; The previous weekend I ran a 4e game for a different group.&nbsp; The adventure was also pre-written and designed to run in a 4-5 hour time frame.&nbsp; Once again all the stat blocks are provided in the adventure.My preparation time for that 4e game was about 40 minutes (Total).&nbsp; I read the adventure, 40 minutes, that's it.&nbsp; When we played, I had the following things with me:&nbsp; the adventure, my PHB, the DM's Screen and the Monster Manual.&nbsp; I did not have to look in the PHB, or MM once to find out what the creatures did.&nbsp; It was clearly written in the stat block.&nbsp; I did not have to ever look in the PHB, every single thing that I needed was right on the DM's Screen.&nbsp;&nbsp; At one time I decided to add two additional creatures to an encounter that was turning into a cake-walk for the party.&nbsp; I opened up the MM and ran the additional creatures right from the book without additional preparation.The game was a lot of fun, but what was best was that I did not have to spend an inordinate amount of time figuring out how to run the encounters.Both groups had fun playing, and I had fun running both games.&nbsp; But the 3e game took a lot more of my time in preparation, whereas the 4e game did not.&nbsp; So yes, 4e is definitely doing it for me.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="D'karr, post: 4497102, member: 336"] 4e is definitely doing it for my group and I. I've been running 3.X since it came out. And I would consider myself to have a pretty good degree of system mastery. Even with a good degree of system mastery the preparation time as you go up in level gets longer and longer. That is not just an opinion, that is real life experience. This past weekend I ran a pre-written module (3.X) for a group of friends. The module is designed for 10-12 level characters and it included several encounters at those levels. The adventure provides all the stat blocks for the creatures printed right in there so I don't have to use the book. The module is also designed to run in about a 4-5 hour time frame. My preparation time for the 5 hours of game time was about 4 hours. I had to look up specific feats for creatures. Each creature had multiple feats that are not described in their stat block. I had to look up specific spells for clerics, druids, and wizards. None of those are described in their stat block. Then I had to look up specific spells that are spell-like abilities of a creature, also not explained on the stat block. On top of that I had to look up how a specific maneuver works (sundering) and then I had to look up in a completely different location to find out how (sundering a magical item) works. I had to do all this to be able to run the game without constantly having to look these things up during play. I had a great time running the game, when we played. But I had absolutely no fun while I was doing all this "research". The previous weekend I ran a 4e game for a different group. The adventure was also pre-written and designed to run in a 4-5 hour time frame. Once again all the stat blocks are provided in the adventure. My preparation time for that 4e game was about 40 minutes (Total). I read the adventure, 40 minutes, that's it. When we played, I had the following things with me: the adventure, my PHB, the DM's Screen and the Monster Manual. I did not have to look in the PHB, or MM once to find out what the creatures did. It was clearly written in the stat block. I did not have to ever look in the PHB, every single thing that I needed was right on the DM's Screen. At one time I decided to add two additional creatures to an encounter that was turning into a cake-walk for the party. I opened up the MM and ran the additional creatures right from the book without additional preparation. The game was a lot of fun, but what was best was that I did not have to spend an inordinate amount of time figuring out how to run the encounters. Both groups had fun playing, and I had fun running both games. But the 3e game took a lot more of my time in preparation, whereas the 4e game did not. So yes, 4e is definitely doing it for me. [/QUOTE]

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