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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mercule" data-source="post: 1160451" data-attributes="member: 5100">No.  No.  NO! This is the _last_ thing D&D needs.  Merits and Flaws only work passibly well in a point-based system.  D&D has never been, is not now, and never can be a point-based game system.  It would cease to be D&D if it morphed that far. There might be a way to get M/F to work in a class/level based game, but it would be a completely new mechanic and probably not worth the effort.  Certainly, trying to port in what Hero, GURPS, or Storyteller have is a nonsensical endeavor.  Every attempt I've seen (which is about a half dozen or slightly more) has been about as eligant as a penguin trying judo. What I expect out of 4E: 1) Retain many core mechanics.  4E will probably resemble 3E in the same way that 2E resembled 1E.  We'll keep the d20 branding.  Skills, feats, PrCs, DR, etc. will persist in roughly the same way they do now.  Sure, there may be some tweaking, but not a complete rebuild.  Whatever 4E is, I doubt it'll be as big of an increment from 3.x as 3.0 was from 2E. 2) Reshuffle the classes.  No strong feelings about what form this will take, but it's happened in every revision.  My hunch (and hope) is that the Paladin will become a PrC.  I wouldn't be surprised to see the Barbarian disappear again (or become a PrC).  It really doesn't serve much of a purpose, anyway.  Ranger will, no doubt, be altered again (again, because it has been in every update). 2a) We may see more customizable classes.  The Fighter may be rebuilt to fit tank, swashbuckler, ranger, all equally well.  The Rogue may be buildable to bard, diplomat, thief, etc.  Wizard may fit into both the spontaneous and prepared caster roll.  I'm not holding my breath for it, and I'm not even sure I want to see it happen.  It could be done well, but it could also be horribly mangled. 3) New multiclass rules.  The 3.5 team pretty much stated that 3.x multiclassing doesn't work well for casters.  I think this will be one of the big fixes and will be disappointed if it isn't included.  I'm not sure what form it'll take (if I had an idea I thought was good enough, I would have tried my hand at publishing it), though.  It could be as simple as a Caster Level similar to BAB, or it could be much more significant." 4) Vancian magic will start to fade.  This may be wishful thinking on my part, but we'll see.  With the release of alternate magic rules in Unearthed Arcana, WotC will have quite some time to see how they are received.  If it goes well, I think we'll see variant rules in the DMG, or maybe even the PH, for mana points or skill-based casting.  I think the Vancian system will still be the core system for spells, but I wouldn't be at all surprised if some modifications were made to "soften" the effects of slots.   5) Monster Manual races will be even more like PC races.  This is close in 3.5, but I think almost anything in the MM will be immediately playable as a PC in 4E. Can't think of too much else "of note" that I expect to see in 4E.</blockquote>

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