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Message: <blockquote data-quote="pawsplay" data-source="post: 4931836" data-attributes="member: 15538">To a large extent you are correct. Indeed, the shift in the damage/hit points relationship is very similar to what happened with AD&D 2e -> D&D 3e. I would agree as far as character abilities and underlying mechanics. However, in terms of subsystems, 4e is a wholly new creature. The 3e fireball is remarkably similar to to the same spell in AD&D, and quite different from the 4e version. Craft (blacksmithing) is similar to AD&D's non-weapon proficiencies, but dissimilar from any equivalent (if there is one... blacksmithing ritual?) in 4e. And, as pointed out, 4e is the largest shift in assumed world in any edition. And in an RPG, the world is to a great extent the game. You can take any D&D character from OD&D going forward and convert him into an equivalent 3.5 character (allowing for differences between assumed subraces). Converting a 3.5 character, however, often involves changing classes as well as changing the available abilities. The gnome illusionist is the easiest example, but the half-elf fighter-thief-magic-user is another casualty, and many wizards just cannot be easily replicated, even spiritually.</blockquote>