DnD4 Countdown 15 - Quoting Bon Jovi

We are halfway there, living on a prayer. My countdown is now halfway through. We have seen some interesting stuff the last couple of days. The most intersting must have been the Keep of the Shadowfell. In addition to that, today the character sheet of 4th ed is available for download.

So far my impression of the game can be summed up in the following points

• There is much more emphasis on movement around the table. I expect the battles to be much more flowing and dynamic due to this. Many different attacks give extra movement, either to you or your allies.
• Group dynamic is much more important. In 3.5 coorperation was an option, in 4th ed it seems like it's almost mandatory. Just as with movement, there are many feats that not only affect you, but also helps your allies.
  
• The exception-based framework allows for an almost infinite expansion of the game. Just add more powers, paths or epic destinies. This held true for 3.5, but my impression is that it's even more so for 4th ed.

While I look forward to the game, there are also a few things that make me worried

• It seems like much of the fun stuff is combat or encounter based. This could mark a move towards more tactical gaming and less roleplaying.
  
• The potential for infinite expansion could mean that all future expansions focus on just adding more powers, paths or epic destinies. Hopefully they will also add interesting rule-packages like sea combat as well.
• I have a slight fear that characters can end up looking a lot like each other, especially at lower levels. To some extent it depends a lot on the number of powers available to you at chargen, but on the other hand it can get a bit boring if that's the only differentiating factor as well.

With those random thoughts, I'll sign of for today. See you tomorrow.