Comments on new D&D 4th ed.

I was going on the RPG Bloggers site and ran across Happy Jacks RPG Podcast they were discussing the 4th edition of D&D, I highly recommend listening to the last post it is very insightful and they make some good points about the game and how they think it relates to the younger crowd now.

From all pictures and comments I have seen on this new version of D&D it seems to me as if the game is more of a headache to try to run as combat seems to be very complicated and drawn out. Comparing this to the 2nd edition I think that yes they may have made the game more accessible to the younger audience, but 2nd edition rules while not the best are clear and easy to understand even with the upside down AC. and skill rolls.

I still prefer the classes of 2nd edition where you have some structure and limitations to what races can or cannot do or become. What good is it if in the new edition almost everyone can have some sort of healing power, throw spells? The whole point of D&D to me anyway was having a group that cooperated together, to survive by using the strengths and weaknesses of each other's skills and characters. Not to become these mega-gamers.

In the 4th edition you can regain a life by saving up 500 gp, where is the role-playing for that, save up gp and then even if I die I will be brought back? I always felt that role-playing was what made the game regardless of the rules used whether home-brew or straight by the book. The whole thing I always enjoyed was you could use the rules as needed, but as the DM you could integrate your own to give the game a certain flavor. It didn't matter if you had some crappy rolls as you rolled up your PC, you made it yours. You put thought and imagination into what you created, it just seems to me that this 4th edition is going for players who are into MMO's where mega-gaming is a way of life.

I still prefer 2nd edition and will always play that before any other variation regardless of the stats, the only thing I think that might make the later editions any better is if you have a gaming group that role-plays the game, because they understand what role-playing is compared to playing the game.