I have avoided 4th edition Dungeons and Dragons like the plague. I read the quick start when they where released and found the sweeping changes to the game to be abysmal. I detested the focus on combat, the way roleplaying was reduced to a series of skill checks and nothing more. I despised the way the new game attempted to emulate popular computer role playing games. I did not want to play World of Warcraft on my table, I wanted to role play dammit. I maintained these opinions for a long time and I defended 3rd and 2nd edition with all my might, insisting that they where the best systems for Dungeons and Dragons ( while I realize that some old school purists would argue that 1st was the best but I am 29 so my introduction to D and D was 2nd). I wanted nothing to do with the grid-based combat, if I want grid-based combat I will play HeroQuest or Decent. I did not want to have to carry around cards for my characters because they worked on some crazy keyword system that looked more like if-then statements than gaming rules. If I wanted to multi-class into a fighter/ranger/rogue/bard/wizard/druid/monk then I would, because I played 3.5 and was not and will never play 4th.
So, I bought the red box for 4th edition last week.....
