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Message: <blockquote data-quote="graylion" data-source="post: 4550022" data-attributes="member: 6667">History of D&DI agree with firesnakearies having started D&D when these had been my choices (D&D Basic):Cleric (Human)Fighter (Human)Magic-User (Human)Rogue (Human)Elf (Fighter/Magic User)Dwarf (Fighter/Cleric)Halfling (Fighter/Rogue)I am very excited to see Martial Power, Arcane Power and Divine Power as new and exciting choices. I have also ordered the Mongoose Quintessential Wizard hoping they have done a good job adding arcane options.So if you look at the roots and look at the landscape of its history, I see a more complete and fun game today them when I started. Sure if your have one less class or race you may want to take this route and say I have less. But if you compare what each can do like the fighter, in my opinion you have more. I can count the number of time in D&D I have had the urge to play a straight fighter. Once, when I started the game and maybe another 2 or 3 times in the last 20 years. When I set down with 4e I was hesitant and had read all the bad press. I purchased all three books and read them making the comment, "wow it feels different, maybe they are correct". However this has been my hobby for 20 years so I had to touch it and see it play. So much like I did when I started D&D, I made a fighter (this new beginning as a dwarf - cool!) and you know what I found, I found that I had a fun character with options. So each round when the mage was casting, or the priest was healing I could do SOMETHING other than swing/miss or swing/hit. And when I ran out of daily and encounter powers I still had my at-wills which would not leave me but be a part of my defining character style. I thought to myself I can see where this game can go. So I turned my back on the heavy layers of 3.5 without any hesitation. I was ready to jump to pathfinder as it is a better 3.5 option, but I embraced 4th edition.Things I like about 4th edition. Fast and easy character creation. I can now take a new player that has not played D&D and move him through creation very quickly. 4th edition continues the trend that 3rd had correct. d20 laws (high is good, low is bad for all things). AC is easy to execute.I purchased the D&D insider subscription after being on its fence for a while and let me tell you about how I use the compendium. TSR/Wizards has such a bad track record with software and online contant, but again this is my hobby for 20+ years. I like the older modules so I run 4th edition the hard way. I use Merps, Role-aids, rolemaster, D&D Basic, 2nd edition, anything that fits my campaign and world I mold into 4th. I go through a module while logged into the compendium and search for each creature on the compendium. I print out that creature and move on to the next. Sometimes I do not find an exact match but I make do and it is great to have one sheet for my creatures and not open the monster manual. I write one set of hp on this sheet for each monster appearing and scratch up this sheet during combat. I think of when I used to DM in 1st edition going to the library and making photo copies of monsters for game prep, this rocks.I print a character overview and race overview for each player off of the compendium so they can keep with the character as they become more familiar with their character.Oh and magic items. Do you remember handing out magic items as the question rolled in, what does this one do and explain the magic item while players scratched notes in corners of sheets or 4x6 cards. I print one sheet off of the compendium for each magic item, ritual, potion, ect and hand it to the players. The last time I handed out treasure I piled the items in the middle of the table and you should have seen the players dive it. They began reading and trading them around the table and having a great time.We use the <a href="http://www.emass-web.com" target="_blank">Ema's Home Page</a> web site for character creation and keep all characters on the site. This allows us to print out sheets and powers as well. If a player cannot make it this week we always have access to his sheet online. This also gives me a chance to log on and stay familiar with a character as they gain levels and new powers since 4th edition is still fresh I like to be familiar with what they can do.Now I will not say there are things that do not work for my in 4th edition. I am used to keeping individual XP per player in previous editions and I still could but 4th edition not built for this so I have changed my approach. I am still having a problem wrapping my head around milestones and multiple action points. My suggestion is if something if missing google it and add it. If there is something you do not like don’t use it. At the end of the day if you can not wrap yourself around the 4th edition as a whole them by all means stick the 3rd edition or whatever edition/system makes you and your group happy.I could go on for a while but to sum up I feel that each character has a more balanced offering of choices not just races and classes but total character. I was not a bored dwarven fighter, I was excited to see if I should hold off on the dailies and use my encounters now or which power to use before or after the next power. I feel that for the DM that wants the digital choices and do not want to hand write out the creation of characters and monsters we have a whole new world that is growing every day.RegardsGraylion</blockquote>

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