Ever hear of the Project Twenty1 film contest? It's where amateur teams have three weeks to make an under-10 minute short. It takes place every year and this was the first year where I was on a team attempting it. I wrote the script and was one of the set-guys for the shoot. There's nothing quite like crouching in mud in the woods to work a fog machine while getting eaten alive by mosquitoes.

Okay, enough with the preamble, here's the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIWtaDAe0GY&feature=youtu.be

There's also a higher-resolution version at: http://vimeo.com/47810734

Project Twenty1 is a contest, andone of the categories is Best Social Media Awareness. It would be great if people would share it, tweet it, show it to the last 3 people on MySpace, etc.

I love Pandaren. They're so bouncy and chubbeh!

WoW, you keep worming your way back into my heart.

Just got back from a day at the PA Renn Faire. I haven't been there since 5th grade, so yeah, it's been a while. But it was a chance to go about in the kilt and tunic I got from the NJ Faire last June. And I'm coming back with a sunburn but also two new swords, something to spruce up the cosplay in the future if I can concoct a strap to hold the big two-hander.

The biggest hit of the Faire, however, was Flat-Jeremy. Some backstory: Jeremy (aka our other Gamemaster/the other guy on the church's media team) left for Indiana yesterday to start a week of processing before heading over to Afghanistan for a year working as a civilian contractor. He was one day off from going. So Lee (aka the head of the media team) created Flat-Jeremy, a cardboard cut-out of his face so he could be there in spirit. People loved it! It's Lee's plan to make a Facebook fan-page for him to track all his exploits so Not-so-Flat-Jeremy can still be a part of events stateside.

All in all, a very fun Bagginses Day, and no one had to trek off to Mordor or anything.

Tonight begins my gaming group's GURPS adventure. It's supposed to be a horror campaign set in modern-day New Jersey, and if you know NJ you know just how terrifying a place it can be. There's the trackless wilderness of the Pine Barrens, the maze of waterways between the barrier islands and the mainland, all those abandoned factories. It's just begging to be infiltrated by Old Ones and the Elder Gods.

My GURPS character is a farmer with a hobby in computer tinkering; a big, clumsy oaf with a brain. Not quite sure what the adventure will entail, but at least he's built like an ox.


I'm not sure when we're going to do the apocalyptic Pathfinder adventure, but my character is ready for when that starts. Since we're supposed to go with evil characters, I went with a lawful evil halfling bard, specifically the arcane duelist bard variant. He's a petty, spiteful, malicious, and hateful little man who wants to hurt the world as much as he feels the world hurt him. A brat who never matured really.


But when it comes time to make characters for the next, next campaign I already started planning one. Neutral good minotaur sorcerer. In Pathfinder, each sorcerer chooses a bloodline that imparts their magical power. Sometimes it's the result of an unusual ancestor, sometimes it's strange circumstances around birth. Vinden's an arcane bloodline sorcerer, meaning enough of his ancestors were wizards to the point that magic is as natural to him as breathing. Draconic bloodline sorcerers have a dragon somewhere in their family tree. Infernal sorcerers have an ancestor who made a pact with a devil. Destined sorcerers have magic because shut up they just do (hey, not every bloodline can be a home run).

This new minotaur I'm working on is an abyssal sorcerer, meaning that he has a bit of demon in him. I'm still building his backstory but rest assured that he'll look wicked as all hell, back fur, red eyes and mane, and a hint of tusks jutting from his jaw, Also, I'm thinking he'll have two pairs of horns, one pair like a longhorn's, the other pair curling like a ram's, and both pairs would be yellowed and cracked looking.

yes, I'm liking this bull more and more. Hopefully I can play him after my halfling bastard's adventure concludes.

I got home from the con not too long ago and figured it'd be best to do the carnage report now before I sleep and the impact of the weekend fades from memory into legend.

Okay, got there Friday morning but got stuck in the shockingly long and slow line for pre-registered con-goers. But it did give me time to better know the guy behind me, none other than  BlickFen! Ate dinner with him among others, at a Japanese place that made the best potatoes I've ever eaten.

Also saw my beef-bros.  brauner and  solusar in line. Last night we went to Chili's, along with  yunin and then we played all manner of crazy modes in Halo: Reach. Closest thing I've had to recreating my college experience in a long time.

And on the note of games, did a massive game of Red Dragon Inn and a few rounds of Cards Against Humanity. Cards is the best game to bring a party to life.

And the zenith of the whole con was the charity even hosted by  dragoneer and  sciggles, a Will it Blend homage with all proceeds going to the NJSPCA. I kicked it off by bidding for 'Neer to start with sardines (I'm reeeeeeeeally sorry about that, Dragoneer. But hey, it was for a good cause, right? Please don't suspend me). Also got Sciggles to down cream of mushroom soup, but I shared the pain by taking a shot mixed with baked beans, garlic hummus, and gummi bears. It... was actually quite good. With the right soup to hummus ratio I might be able to get a great new dip out of it.

Still, Dragoneer, Sciggles I'm really, really (kinda) sorry about choosing those (Maybe. I can be a bastard at times).

You can expect art work incoming, both from Sciggles herself and from  gideon.

In closing, this was the best FAU yet and may even outrank last year's FurFright as my best con to date.

It's a week away so I can see no better time than now to break out the always fun con-meme!

Where are you staying?
At the Hanover Marriott. That's right! My third time going to FAU but the first time staying on-site since the hotels no longer 25 minutes from my house.

How long are you going?
Arriving Friday morning, leaving Sunday night. It may not be 25 minutes away, but it's no more than 90. Way better than the 4 hours to FF or 6 to AC.

Can I hug you?
Only if you've showered in the past 8 hours.

With water.

And soap.

What will you be doing?
Walking around, looking for people I know. Spending a lot of time in the game room.

Can I buy you drinks?
Since I'm not driving home each day go for it. I like mead and hard cider. Especially cider.


Huh, I think that's all the important stuff laid out. Now who can I look forward to seeing there?

Saw this in my Facebook newsfeed from Uncle John's Bathroom Reader: http://bathroomreader.com/2012/08/c.....t-in-swingset/

Now that is a brave cop. Someone give that man a level of ranger.

And, while I offer my thanks to everyone who answered the questions in m ylast journal, I think I'm going to have to go with my unannounced third option to that first question.

Moose!

Yes, I am a bastard for changing the rules. But who can deny the moose? But I will go with  Mind-Robber's suggested name of Augustus. A big moose named Augustus, or Gus for short.

1. Rhino or Bison?

2. What's a good name for a rhino or bison?

I'm mulling over a few story ideas meant to flesh out this Leather Lord mythos I built up, mainly elaborating the various abilities of my avatar minotaur, Zigzag. His innate magical knack is short-range teleportation, and barely controlled plane-shifting. That happens when he teleports rapidly back and forth in one area. It "softens" the fabric of the universe around him and sends him careening through the realm between worlds. Really disorienting experience.

But I haven't cemented what Leather Lords, and their arch-rivals the Latex Lords do. I mean, there's a default skill, conjuring that material they're named for, but the rest of the repertoire is really left up to the individual lord. And on that note I think I've hit on some new talents to add to Zig's skillset inspired by Just Cause 2 and Batman Arkham City/Asylum. Just Cause and Batman for the grappling hook and Batman specifically for the gliding. With his leather whip summoning power there are some parallels to Spiderman, but I don't think a beefy minotaur is well-suited to that kind of swinging. The whips may be strong enough to support a bull, but whatever they're anchored to is going to be shattered by the force of a 'taur using it as a pivot.

And for the gliding, you know those wing-suits that are all the rage in (or that I've seen at least two of) commercials lately? Think of one of those on a leather bodysuit. Or a Batman-esque cape. Oh Arkham City, you gather all Batman's best toys in one place.

That's a pair of fun powers, and that's all on only one Leather Lord. I haven't even considered what Arctos could do. And then there are the Latex Lords. This is a delicious mythos I've pieced together.

Well I've really done it now, diving horns-first into the social media business and all that.

First off, I've made myself a So Furry account: http://zigzagziggy.sofurry.com/
No, I'm not pulling a "Screw you FA, I'm going over here now!" I love FA and the people here and Dragoneer's domain will ever be my primary furry place. I mainly signed up so I could follow , and anyone else who happens to also be there.

Secondly, I bit the bullet and got myself a Twitter account. Find me Tomaja86
Twitter will be my main social media outlet for furry stuff and it'll make things much easier at conventions. Well, at Anthrocon. Not like FAU or FF need a satnav to get around.

So there we go. Find me online and we can tweet and connect and write grammatically atrocious statements that we try to fit into the space allowed!

Still working on the script for our movie project, but to avoid burnout on it I'm wondering if I should take a few short tale requests to keep me from getting strung out on this project. So any ideas?

I don't know. Sometimes I just wonder if I've got too soft a touch when it comes to lent money or long-standing, unfinished commissions.

Just a sentiment I've been mulling over.

It's just an idea that hit me, something new to try out once my services as screenwriter are no longer required and I've taken care of a few other projects (Side note on the screenwriter bit: First draft is done, now on to the revisions <It's like writing my thesis all over again.>.)

Second side note: The Guest of Honor launching Project 21 this year? Joel Hodgson, original host of MST3K. I think I might have a faneurysm.

Okay, anyway, back onto what is ostensibly supposed to be the topic of this journal: starting a small series of short tales in which Vinden Willowbank, my beefy sorcerer from our Pathfinder campaign, stumbles into a variety of TF-involving events that may or may not involve sexy results. And unwanted transformation comes so easily to Vinden. As an arcane bloodline sorcerer, his blood is just infused with magic, yearning to be released (the magic, not the blood). But that also means that contact with certain types of magic might just cause a magi-biological allergic reaction. It happened in "If Angels Can Fall," when he got too close to a bound demon and sprouted wings and horns.

And, being an adventurer, that means that Vinden comes into contact with all manner of strange and new forms of magic. I'm just going through a short list of creatures and scenarios that might fit the requirements I'm thinking of. So far the most intriguing idea is to have the hapless mage stumble upon a band of partying satyrs, they try to charm him with the music from their pipes and, well, let's just say Vinden sprouts hooves again and gets even hairier.

That's the most obvious one, but I'm sure there are many more possibilities. Any suggestions for mythical beasts with which to have TF-hijinks?

I though the title would work since Skyrim's Dawnguard expansion drops tomorrow (only on the 360 though). But this journal isn't about Dovahkiin or the Greybeards or even Shouting, it's about Pathfinder again (big surprise, I know). I've goen ahead and plucked the dragonborn race from 4th Edition DnD and redid them in glorious Pathfinder rules. Beware, beware the dragonborn's come!


Dragonborn Racial Traits
+2 Strength, +2 Charisma, -2 Wisdom: Dragonborn are powerful and confident but their drive borders on single-mindedness.

Humanoid (dragonborn, reptilian): Dragonborn are humanoids with the dragonborn and reptilian subtypes.

Normal Speed: Dragonborn have a base speed of 30 feet.

Darkvision: Dragonborn can see in the dark up to 60 feet.

Draconic Aspect: A dragonborn's visage gives them a +1 racial bonus to Intimidate checks.

Scion of the Past: Dragonborn receive a +1 racial bonus to Knowledge (History) checks.

Dragonscale: Their resilient hide gives dragonborn a +2 natural armor bonus.

Draconic Immunities: Dragonborn are immune to magical sleep effects and receive a +2 racial bonus against enchantment spells and effects.

Breath Weapon: Once per day a dragon can expel a breath weapon, doing so is a supernatural attack that requires a standard action. Upon creation each dragonborn character must choose either a 20 foot line or 15 foot cone, and then choose whether the breath weapon deals acid, cold, electricity, or fire damage. Once this choice is made it remains the default form of that dragonborn's breath weapon. The base damage for a dragonborn's breath is 1d6, a successful reflex save negates the damage (DC equal to 10 + 1/2 the dragonborn's character level + Con modifier).

Languages: Dragonborn begin play speaking Common and Draconic. Dragonborn with high Intelligence scores can choose from the following: Elven, Dwarven, Sylvan, Orc, Celestial, Infernal, and Abyssal.


Why yes, I am having way too much playing around with the Advanced Race Guide. I might just go ahead and make a race of anthro bears next, because I can.

Also, I find it funny Dawnguard is coming out the same day Bioware is set to release the Mass Effect 3 "Clarification" DLC. Guess Bethesda decided to put out a bandage to cover up what is sure to be a reopened wound.

...now that the Advanced Race Guide is finally out. The bad news is that it did not include a detailed entry on minotaurs. In fact, it didn't mention one of DnD's iconic monstrous races at all. The good news is that the last chapter of the book was all about creating your own races and, more importantly, how to balance them against the core races. And I made my own custom minotaur race.

Allow me a little digression. Pathfinder is basically DnD 3.75, it took everything revised 3rd edition did well and fixed what didn't work. Seriously, sorcerers in 3.5 were kind of useless but Vinden's an arcane powerhouse with a spellcasting versatility that shames most wizards. Another case in point: half-orcs. In 3.5 half-orcs got a boost to strength but penalties to intelligence and charisma. That rather limited their options. Pathfinder gives half-orcs, and half-elves, the same thing humans get; the ability to assign a bonus to any score of their choice. Yeah, half-orcs are now way more useful.

For the non-human races Pathfinder made them better too. 3.5 elves were + dexterity and - constitution. Pathfinder kept that but also threw in a bonus to intelligence, making them good at wizardry and archery (without having to split them into two different races, thank you very much 4e Eladrin). Dwarves keep their extra constitution and lessened charisma, but they get a boost to wisdom. Dwarf clerics are beastly.

Okay, enough tangents. Here's the racial stats I concocted for PC minotaurs. I won't say that Dragonlance and WoW Tauren didn't influence the final result.


Minotaur Racial Traits

+2 Strength, +2 Constitution, -2 Dexterity: Minotaurs are as strong and sturdy as the cattle they resemble but their extra bulk hinders delicate manipulation.

Minotaur: Minotaurs are humanoids with the minotaur subtype.

Normal Speed: Minotaurs have a base speed of 30 feet.

Medium: Though they brush against the upper limit of the size category, minotaurs are medium creatures with no bonuses or penalties due to their size.

Gore: A minotaur's horns count as a primary natural attack, dealing 1d6 points of piercing damage plus 1-1/2 times their strength modifier.

Sudden Charge: Minotaurs receive a +10 feet/round racial bonus to their speed when using the charge, run, and withdraw actions.

Tough Hide: Minotaurs receive a +2 natural armor bonus.

Healthy: Being strong as an ox affords minotaurs a +4 bonus on Fortitude saves against disease and poison, including magical diseases.

Keen Senses: Thanks to their better than human sense of hearing and smell, minotaurs receive a +1 racial bonus to
Perception checks.

Forager: Their keen senses also give minotaurs a +1 bonus to Survival checks.

Language: Minotaurs speal Common and their own racial tongue, Taurean. Minotaurs with high intelligence scores can choose to also speak Elven, Dwarven, Gnoll, Orc, Goblin and any other mortal language except secret languages (like Druidic).


With the way the book ranked racial abilities, these minotaurs are at the same vague level of power as elves and gnomes. I think the next race I rescue from the 4e quagmire and give wondrous new tabletop life in Pathfinder will be the Dragonborn. Shouldn't be too hard, biggest issue is how to balance that breath weapon thing they do. Only being able to use it once per day should work as a nice compromise.

I love writing these things because I get to reminisce over the whole thing, but I also dislike it because there's just so much to cover from those three short days that I know I can't do it all justice. Still, I'm just going to jump head first into this. Here we go. Let's do this thing list style.

Left for Pittsburgh on Thursday. Got an early start this time and I finally managed to avoid the inexplicable wave of horrid traffic that flows INTO Pittsburgh during the afternoon. Never understood why. Most cities see an outpouring in the PM hours.

The room at the Omni was AMAZING! Seriously, I had to double-check my bill to make sure it was what I had set up months ago. Bath and a half and an actual view this year of something other than the other wing of the hotel. Last time I was in a room that nice was part of the Disney Vacation Club.

Had great roommates in larathen, batcountry, and drag. Larathen used my duffel bag to transport his art stuff and gave it a far more glorious cargo than what I normally use it for, ferrying my Pathfinder bestiaries when I GM.

Ran across eidy and dariuskoopa in the Omni's lobby the first day.

Ran across tiptoe and maximus-ursus. They made me the beef in a bear-rat sandwich that may have poppped some vertebrae out of place.

Ran into beastlybahamut and jazzwolf. Beastly's hugs are, well, beastly. My spine saw a lot of raucous luvin' this weekend.

Delivered unto hornetv2 SALTED NUTS! Then saw 2_gryphon's show with him and jake_lioner83.

Saw winddragon again. There's a sketch coming from him soon.

Met those who form blotch and thanked them for their work. Bought some prints too. Take a guess which ones.

Saw sigil, commissioned her.

Stopped by cooner's table to commmission him and pick up the wood-cut conbadge that everyone loved.

Saw knuxlight, who I didn't think was going. Everyone loved my badge from him.

Met amwulf in the flesh, and picked up my badge from him.

I made sure to say hi to dragonner and sciggles. They were kind enough to answer my question as to why FAU moved. They're good people. By the way, everyone who is willing and able, go to FAU. It's looking like it's shaping up to be a great con.

There's a Doctor Who-themed pic on the way from  mongoose_ink. I'm the Doctor now. The Doctor is cool.

Almost missed seeing  gideon since he didn't have the, uh, unique banners he usually displays.

Met  spelunker_sal for the first time.

Saw  corvuspointer again, first time since MAGFest. he was awesome enough to give me a full-size print of my commission from him, and another one... Anyway, he's great.

Met  redic-nomad and  kahmari. I said I liked how Kah drew nipples, he said I had a firm handshake. Great success!

Stopped by  gishkishenh's table and learned the hilarious way that she has a twin sister. Awkward fun for everyone!

Left on Monday morning to make that long drive back to NJ. Though I was feeling nostalgic and took a detour for strombloi in Hershey and swung by my college.

Whew that's a lot and I know I'm missing so much more. If I forgot anything I'm sorry, but it was a blast. I'm glad FAU got moved. That way I can get the biggest and busiest (and most expensive con) out of the way so I can now look forward to the more laid-back FAU and FurFright. Spreading it out, one con every two months, is also keeping the post-con blues at bay.

Anyway, next con: Fur Affinity United 5!

No, this isn't the grand recap journal. That'll come tomorrow, along with the glut of convention commissions, after I get some sleep on a bed that doesn't deflate.

And you apocalypse watchers should take note, after I scan it I'll be posting a (pausing for dramatic flourish) CLEAN (well, clean considering his usual standards) piece by gideon!

Thanks to  reapdri for helping to secure this bull a spot in his room at the main hotel, no more driving to and fro the Super 8! Okay, sure, the Super 8 was literally two minutes away, but there's nothing like able to walk down to the con festivities.

Originally I thought the con might come into conflict with a friend's wedding, but this year's FurFright is being held at the end of the month and the wedding's in the middle. Just like FA United, it seems that everything was scheduled in just the right way this year that I won't have to make conflicted choices.

So that's my con itinerary set; AC next month, FA United in August, and then FurFright in October! Let the next five months be awesome!

Just completed pre-reg and everything, so FA United is a go! Only got the room for Friday and Saturday nights since, y'know, I'm only coming from 90-120 minutes away. Totally adequate drive-time, quite unlike the 6+ hours it takes to drive across Pennsylvania the long way to Anthrocon, or even the 3 hours up to FurFright. Apologies to  modem_redpill and  knuxlight for listening to my passive-aggressive GPS and going through the middle of various nowheres instead of sticking to the Turnpikes.

I originally thought that FA United wouldn't be possible since it conflicted with my family's usual week at the shore. Luckily, they decided to do two weeks in early September this year instead. Of course, FAU being moved now means that it won't be happening next month! I'm going to go into con-withdrawal! May has nothing for me to look forward to! Except my birthday on the 6th. Okay, that's something to anticipate. It's just that the long, con-less expanse between January's MAGFest and June's Anthrocon is just so long.

Why no, I din't think it's too early to be asking this question. The con is just about three months away at this point. maybe off by a week. And my birthday is two months from today. Just tossing that out there.

Anyway, The last two times I went I kept going away with people I still missed. I don't want that to happen again this time.

So I ask you, who else is going? Get it out of the way now so I don't have to track you down like the world's least tactful stalker.

And speaking of Anthrocon and its gaming room, this time I'll be packing my own complete set of Red Dragon Inn, the main game and both expansions. At least I think it's complete, they haven't released a 3rd expansion yet, have they? Though I have been resolving to spend less time in the game room and more time among the crowd. But the game room is just so inviting.

I'm still up for taking a few more story requests. I do enjoy these, they're great for getting the creative juices flowing. If you have an idea you'd like turned to a short story, put it in the comment section below.

In fact, to prime the pump, feel free to toss out any ideas involving sweet Brogan. Alternatively, you can request a tale with my human sorcerer, Vinden. He's the bear of a mage from the first Mad Bull Tale.

So hit me with your best shot.

Having finished  trendane's piece, and being in the final stages of  beralin's, I feel like my creative fires have been stoked enough to tackle the long-promised one for  donryu that was also a dare by him. That being said, I think I could take on a couple more in addition to the others from the last request requesting journal.

So hit me with a short story ideas in the comments section. If it tickles my fancy, I'll write it. Remember, put the details in the comments. If it can't reasonably fit in there, it's too long. I'd have to charge for epics, and I'm not sure my stories are worth money. Well not yet anyway. I may be humble but I have high aspirations.

I'm putting this question before you all, what is the longest amount of time a commissioner should reasonably wait for a piece of art? A piece of art that has already been paid for, by the way.

No, I'm not going to name the specific artist in this case, but I will say that this has been going on for years. Plural. As in, more than one full seasonal cycle has passed since this began. I know of a few people who have been waiting longer, but the number of people in a similar situation can't be that big.

I don't think I've ever posted a journal openly addressing this topic, but I feel like I'm running out of ideas of how to politely go about fixing this. I've been in contact with the artist for much of the time, usually checking in about once every month to few months, both by e-mail and FA notes. But he stopped responding three months ago. And it's not like this artist has dropped off the face of the web, either. He's been posting artwork and journals, announcing streams, and I know he's been receiving the notes I've sent. He's just stopped replying.

Like I said, I'm not sure how to proceed with this. Especially while trying to keep it civil. Last thing I want to start is needless drama but patience is starting to feel fruitless.

Penny Arcade broke the news in their usual subtle manner: http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2012/01/11

It appears that Wizards itself has now taken a side in the ongoing 3.5 vs. 4E conflict. And judging by the fact 4e has been out for barely three years and they're already openly working on its successor says that they've admitted their errors. I'm no tabletop historian, but I'm pretty sure that, at the same point in 3rd edition's lifespan, they were in the process of overhauling it rather than planning the next incarnation. Third edition and 3.5 had a good, what, six years before 4e was announced?

Okay, difficult subject matter incoming. 4e isn't bad. It would be a fine introductory gaming system if it existed in a vacuum. One major problem was that it had 3rd/3.5, the d20 system, and every permutation thereof spawned by the Open Gaming License looming overhead.

Its biggest hurdle, however, was that 4e just wasn't very evocative. Oh sure, the artwork of the sourcebooks is the best it's ever been, what with fantasy and sci-fi's stranglehold on popular culture and attracting some amazingly talented artists. No, the problem was that the system's function dictates the flavor, rather than flavor giving rise to the function.

Yeah, that sounded pretentious. Here's an example of what I mean. I'm going to compare the same ability from the same creature, as depicted by 3.5 and 4e. The subject beast is Lord Dagon, Demon Prince of the Depths. The ability: Form of Madness. I'll paraphrase so I'm not madly tossing numbers around.

Dagon's 4e Form of Madness: Affected enemies (aka player characters) within 10 squares take Psychic damage, get slid 5 squares, and are dazed.

Dagon's 3.5 Form of Madness: Any creature within 120 feet of Dagon that observes him must succeed on a Will save or develop an overwhelming fear of the ocean and its depths. Affected creatures take a distraction penalty in combat with aquatic creatures or when the ocean in within eyesight. Fighting an aquatic creature may paralyze an afflicted creature with terror.

You see, the idea behind Form of Madness is that Dagon, as an incredibly ancient demon from the long eons before mortal life arose, possesses a body so incomprehensible to mortal minds that it rends their sanity. He's a Great Old One from Lovecraft's works.

I'll give another example, one closer to this fandom's hearts. Werewolves, and other lycanthropes, can't pass along the curse through their bite. That's right, 4e werewolves can't make new werewolves. The best they can do is pass along some type of rabies.

The Escapist had an intriguing trio of articles at the end of last year concerning the state of DnD. One thing that stuck out was how the author explained that 2nd edition was all about the DM, the players just went along with his story and rolled dice on occasion. 4e was considered to have given too much power the players, where the DM is just there to set up the pieces.

4e is a board game. So much is already predetermined before you even roll your first d20. Role and class are hard to separate. Every class entry explains what it should be used for; fighters and paladins are meant to be tanks, rangers and rogues are DPS, clerics are healers, and wizards are aoe and cc. There's a reason it's called Fourcraft.

While the same could be said for 3.5, at least there was some leeway. Heck, in our Pathfinder group tanking was performed by the rogue/magus and the druid's ape companion more than our cavalier. The 3.5 system just allows for more flexibility.

And flexibility is lacking in 4e. Players must select a paragon path at 11th level (either a specific set of powers or multiclass with another class), and an epic destiny at 21st levels. And once you reach 30th level, that's it. You're out of the game. No endless adventures or story ending where you want it to. The Spoony One has a great account of how his namesake bard rode off in to the astral sunset at 18th level: http://spoonyexperiment.com/2011/11.....ems-last-ride/

Though much as I laud 3.5, my heart now belongs to Pathfinder, aka DnD 3.75. It took all the best things from 3.5 and removed many of the problems. In particular I am loving my arcane bloodline sage wild-blood variant sorcerer. The big drawback or sorcerers in 3.5 was their extremely limited spell access. Pathfinder, bursting with variant rules as it is, grants extra spells to sorcerers based on the eldritch ancestry that grants their innate magical ability. Arcane sorcerers get extra, and human sorcerers get to expand their pool further.

The key to a good system isn't so much power as it is variety.

That being said, I've grown quite attached to my current character, Vinden Willowbank. He's a sorcerer claiming to be a wizard (yes there's a difference, don't feel like explaining it now). I may have to make him character in a story now. Helps that he's a hulking bear of a man (love those beefy physical stats I rolled) with magic singing in his veins. And how can I say no to placing him in situations where temporary/sexy transformations ensue.

Wait, I had a point in here somewhere. Oh right, the upcoming 5th edition of DnD. If Wizards is smart they'll remember to allow flexibility, like Pathfinder. They might as well just buy out Pathfinder and rename that 5th edition.

And now I've nerded out for far too long. I need to go... punt a baseball or whatever it is other people do in situations that don't require the rolling of dice.