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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Herremann the Wise" data-source="post: 4529279" data-attributes="member: 11300">Hello Everyone,The half-level bonus is applied to most of the major stats for a 4E character:• Initiative• Ability Checks• Defenses (AC, Fort, Ref, Will)• Attacks• Skill ChecksAt first, I thought this an excellent relative scaling effect. It seemed to allow for a well-defined relationship between the party and the encounters they faced. After suffering through 3.x at high levels where modifier + d20 vs. DC became hit and miss, almost never finding the sweetspot, turning to a system like this seemed elegant, natural and well conceived. And in all of the 4E play I've been exposed to, this seems to have been borne out (with perhaps the exception of skills but that I think was a different issue).However the more I think about it, the more I'm starting to see the shortcomings, even if they are on a theoretical/flavour level. In the end, I don't like that the mechanic seems to reward everyone for everything. For example, after a bit of adventuring, a wizard becomes quite the defensive expert, can perform acrobatic and athletics on par with less exposed but highly dextrous or strong characters, and can all of a sudden attack better with a weapon than a 1st level fighter hero who's been doing it since they were young (even without having ever picked up a sword). In terms of gameplay, this doesn't seem to come up much and if it does, it most likely gets glossed over in the milieu (I mean wizards are going to magic their opponents into oblivion rather than beat them to death).Still, what the figures seem to engender is a case where the PCs are either good at something or average. They are no longer poor at anything. It is almost like the PCs have all become class: adventurer first, and then their chosen class (be it wizard, fighter or rogue) second. There is precious little mechanically-speaking to differentiate the characters aside from the powers they choose. Even using different weaponry or implements seems to matter little (or at least less than I thought it would and should).So, I suppose while at first I thought the half-level bonus was brilliant, it's now losing its gloss for me. Is it the best mechanic for the job or is there something out there that's better? What do you think of the half-level bonus, Angel or Devil or somewhere in between?Best RegardsHerremann the Wise</blockquote>

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