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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mustrum_Ridcully" data-source="post: 4429835" data-attributes="member: 710">A thing I like in principle and applies to both editions:Levels are a a gauge of relative power between different characters and monsters.That might be a given, but it's not - you could have a system where you just compare relative levels inside one class. Earlier D&D editions seem to have done this to some extent, with the idea that high level wizards are more powerful then high level fighters, and characters advance at different rates for the same XP.Of course, no system is perfect at this, and there are lots of variation possible.I think the 4E approach gets it a little better, though it also "detracts" a little from it, in regards to NPCs - they come not only with levels, but Minion, Elite and Solo "qualifiers". But it fits my overall goal I hope from levels - I have tools to gauge the difficulty of the challenges the party faces. What I love is that there's now also a reliable tool for non-combat stuff in 4E. My first RPG was Shadowrun, and it really didn't have such measurement tools - it's a point buy system for the most part, and even if you account for total point buy values or karma point totals, you just don't have a good measure. Not every DM needs this stuff - especially once you know the group and the system, you can get a lot right without such tools. But I still feel more comfortable with this system.In regards to the level measurement system, I also like the "monster roles" denotations. They help guide how you can build _and_ run an encounter. For building it, you can use it as a guideline to create an interesting combat - mixing artillery monsters with soldier monsters to protect them, and stuff like that. And if you run the encounter, you know that those artilleries need protection, and the soldiers are there to give it. It's really a simple idea, but seeing it implemented in the core of the system is still great. Stuff I like specifically from 3E is things like "character builds". I don't mean this in the min-maxing sense, but I like it when I can create a character and use the rules to fit the idea or theme of the character. That's something that usually only point-buy game systems get done really well, and I think 3E is great at this. I admit, I don't want Craft (Calligraphy) to compete with Move Silently in my decision where to distribute skill points, but I sure like a game system that gives me the tools to represent both abilities.</blockquote>

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