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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Kannik" data-source="post: 9191036" data-attributes="member: 984">The biggest thing for me is that 4e is/was very flavourful.  It might have started out slow, but as further books were released we got a plethora of character classes and character concepts that were neat and evocative and, best of all, were so right from level 1 (rather than being teased for X levels before you felt like you were both competent at your role but also embodied the character you wanted to play).  And this got even better once backgrounds were expanded to come with abilities, and especially with themes.  Between the multiple options within each class, plus different power choices within the class (and with backgrounds/themes as icing on top), the game was not only super flexible but even characters of the same class played, felt, and could be RPed very differently.  It was a delight of character freedom.  In addition, with clear language and effects-based design it was straightforward to re-fluff things.The lore and worlds aspects of the game was also very flavorful, with items designed to be seen and have an impact in play.  Opponents were designed to do things that matched their flavour and place in the world/fiction, and to lead to interesting tactics and surprises.  (Natch, there were misses in the design of certain monsters, and the math at launch needed to be tweaked, so not all were excellent.)  The description of play, the DM advice, the improvisation guidance and tables, were all great to contribute to engaging and creative play.Looking back on it (and playing it again right now as well), there are certainly bits that need cleaning up and could be evolved even further, taking into account the 10-15 years of additional game experience and development.  There's some elements that could be expanded as well, and more rules/guidance given to account for a wider variety of playstyles (I published a few supplements in this vein on drivethrurpg).And, FWIW, I am not on the whole negative to the Essentials classes.  I don't mind playing around with the AEDU framework, and again some of those classes were quite flavorful.  (Not that I am saying all were equally designed well, and/or don't need a second pass to iron out some deficiencies.)</blockquote>

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