Hi all, it's been a while. I was just browsing the boards and saw the old debate of d20 vs. 4e. Alot of opinions, but I didn't see anyone actually talk about having played the 4e system.
So I will contribute a bit about 4e:
First off let me say I was die-hard about d20 and not going over to 4e. I had a Conan game with a few role-players and we had a great time. Then I met a group of fun guys, but they were power-gamers...who showed me just how unbalanced and breakable they could make d20. Which made it un-fun trying to battle their broken combo characters.
Life got in the way, so I stopped gaming. Then one of those guys called me to try 4e. In order to be objective about the matter I accepted. Plus they are fun to drink and game with. I played a few times a month for a few months...and here is what I found:
(I'll try to be positive, despite my personal feelings)
1) 4e is at heart a strategy game. If you prefer out manuvering others and think of the "RP" details as "fluff" then you will appreciate 4e. The combining of skill (spot & listen into perception) is an example of how 4e lumps the details into an "abstract" to speed up the flow of combat.
2) 4e is mathematically elegant. It is perfectly balanced...so much so that I felt it to be unforgiving, in that an extra +1 or +2 is a BIG difference in a role. Everything is measured out so that no matter your level, during an encounter you have about a 55% chance of success on the dice...+1 makes that 60%...which makes a difference. Resulting in the fact that everyone has to maximize everyting possible or they will be slightly behind the foes.
3) 4e makes a DM's life easy. I have been told by the DM it cuts his prep time down by 3/4. Because of the limited options available in character/monster generation, and the fact traps and terrain are created differently...it is less work to DM.
4) 4e does bring the "oh crap" factor back into monsters b/c noone has any idea what they can do or how to fight them...which I think is more b/c evrything has been reworked rather than due to the system, but as players the experience is still cool.
Otherwise I have a bunch of gripes about 4e, but that is mostly because I am a "role-player" and 4e is taking things back to the roots of D&D (the old Chainmail game). Also, I just don't like WotC training everyone like whipped slaves to play in a style that will make it easier for them to buy the D&D MMO when it comes out! But this is America, and Capitalism is one of the 3 things America does well. The other 2 being making War and coming up with convincing Cons and Scams.
P.S. My 4e DM is quite good. He is actually an authority on their forums. So I feel I have had a great view of 4e by a DM who is a skilled believer in the system. If you have any other questions about the sytem I'll try my best to answer.