I <3 4E!

I've actually been having 4e nostalgia, no joke. Was talking to a friend with whom I used to play it. He's moved onto 5e as well, and we both agree it's an overall superior system, but 4e still did some things better.

I like the near-necessity of a grid in 4e, since I play on one anyway. I like the lack of ambiguity in the combat mechanics. Minions were awesome. Class balance was the best of any edition. My biggest gripe was the many many modifiers to a given action. The game was a nightmare for new players and story-centric players, but appealing to video- and war gamers. Most people tend to favor either mechanics or storytelling, but they aren't mutually exclusive, and I love both equally.

I feel like 5e went too far in the opposite direction from 4e, oversimplified a few areas, and paid too much homage to earlier editions. I think they could have done away with Saving Throws and rewritten effects that use them as a form of Attack Roll. They could have used a few more of the tactical options presented in the DMG as default settings in the PHB. Feats, while an optional system, are imbalanced. Kudos to 5e for the best multiclass system to date, though.

In short, quit dissin' my ex-girlfriend. She had issues, but she's a good girl!

If you want tactical I agree that 4e is the way to go in that regard. High level synergy practically requires a degree in mathematics. Haha. It unfortunately came at the price of story telling in a lot of ways, or at least got in the way of story telling. Low level play was very balanced, but felt homogenized in that balance. 1w at will and 3w daily regardless of class was a hard pill to swallow for me personally. However I do love me some skill challenges. Nor only that, but I think that they committed completely to the idea of 4e and it wasn't the success they wanted, which is nice as it took a lot of those ideas off of the table going foward. I can see though why those who liked it really liked it those who didn't can rarely be convinced otherwise.

Welcome to the Forums kjmagle!

I will always take a, "to each their own," attitude edition wise. In my opinion, 5e is the most accessible edition ever for new players, but if you enjoy 4e and its got you into the hobby, then by all means, run 4e!

I have never played 4e, but I've attempted to listen to several 4e podcasts. I get bored with all the mechanical talk. Even Crit Juice, which is full of story and great RP, got boring for me due to all the table talk surrounding combat. I want interesting and realistic descriptions of combat, not a description of a mechanic. But that's just me. I was also thinking that 4e might be more enjoyable if one can see what's going on. With podcasts, you can't see the grid, so all the grid based mechanics kind of happen in a void.

Same here! After enjoying the DMB so much I tried to find a RPG live play game. Of course, they were all in 4e... I enjoyed Critical Hit for a little while, but I had to skip through the fighting scenes (they took too long and were too slow).
The only live play I listened to until Death D4 Dishonor was Reckless Dice. A much better live play podcast, but it, unfortunately, uses the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay system. But DD4D has been my favorite so far.
Welcome to the DMB forums and any edition you play with friends is the "better" edition.

Wayne Reynolds is ok to me. I loved the Todd Lockwood stuff more, personally.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.....that looks like Larry Elmore's stuff. LOVE his Dragonlance artwork!

Wait? Tony Diterlizzi drew for D&D. That's awesome!