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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Hellcow" data-source="post: 4122653" data-attributes="member: 15800">This was certainly true for me. From the very begining, the things I liked about 3E were things like:<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The fact that all abilities followed the same modifier/penalty structure. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The fact that all classes used the same experience structure.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The way in which BAB and saving throws simplified multiclassing. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">BAB and saving throws chucking all the separate tables for each class out the window. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">The fact that feats allowed me to make two fighters feel different from one another.</li> </ul>(... and more, of course, but that's a starting point.)I never particularly liked 3E's combat system. It felt to me as if it had been designed by an entirely separate team - that one person had actively set out to streamline character generation, while someone else had sought to add layers and layers of complexity to combat.  I liked NPC classes (and still do), not because I wanted an accurate way to simulate the life of the farmer, but because for me they call out the fact that PCs are special and superior to NPCs - that 90%+ of NPCs are commoners, and that there's no expectation that the bartender is going to be a 10th level fighter. Essentially, NPC classes showed me that a PC IS a unique snowflake... because he's a rogue, not an expert. Hence any Eberron product I worked on emphasizing significant use of NPC classes by NPCs. 4E keeps the things I like. Abilities use the same modifier structure, and actually, abilities are now more broadly useful than they used to be; every character has something to gain from Charisma aside from just skill modifiers. There are still ways to differentiate characters from each other, and while multiclassing is very different in its effect, it is easy to use. It's just that now, for me, combat and character generation feel as though they follow the same philosophy. And personally, I'm just not going to miss dealing with the Shifter Monk 1/Ranger 2/Barbarian 1/Fighter 2/Frenzied Berserker 2/Warshaper 3 characters. Yes, the multiclassing/prestige class system can be seen as allowing you a tremendous amount of personalization. However, it's also a game balance nightmare... and more than that, if I want a game where I can have absolute personalization, I'll play Hero (and I do!). The "roles" of 4E are essentially the same basic principle of fighter-rogue-magic user-cleric we had all the way back in 1E, even if we might have a warlord in our group instead of a cleric or a ranger instead of a rogue; I'm content with a D&D system choosing to cleave to those roles. 4E provides me with enough versatilty that we can have two paladins in the party and have them feel unique, with different options and abilities (something 1E had trouble with). But if I want ultimate versatility, I'll play Fantasy Hero; it's not what I expect from D&D. You can't make the ranger 1/paladin 1/monk 1 who (aside from initial skill points) has absolute equal weight towards all of these classes; at the heart, you're going to be a ranger or a fighter or whatever. But you can certainly add unique flavor and options to your character - and you can still be a ranger-paladin, it just has a different meaning than it used to. Paragon paths are more limited than prestige classes, but that also means that they're going to be far easier to balance - no more "If you combine one level of this with one level of this with one level of this, you get the crazy combo no designer ever intended or considered" - and they still serve the purpose of providing unique flavor to each character. It's true, 4E doesn't provide as many options. But I don't need 4E to become GURPS or Hero - because I've got GURPS and Hero already. Instead, it takes the fighter-rogue-cleric-MU roles that have always been part of D&D and embraces them.</blockquote>

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