D&D 4e

We're planning to go through the quickstart at some point. I am already dismayed by the high focus on combat stunts and the downplay of anything resembling character (says I, based on the abomination of moving the stat scores off their prominent position on the character sheet).

I admit, my opinion is somewhat flavored by all the negative "It's just WoW on tabletop!" rumors I've heard. But the character sheets do seem to play out the 'it's a videogame really' idea...

Look. I love tabletop. Really I do. And if a whole session can go by without us actually having to get into a fight, I am THRILLED. I am willing to take on characters who have the Complete Pacifist, Death Before Fighting disadvantage. What I really want to do is explore stuff, poke at things, talk to people, and find shiny treasures. I don't mind a little fighting as long as it's quick, but my least favorite gaming memories involve actually falling asleep during a combat (that my character had sensibly withdrawn from), because it was taking hours and hours to accomplish nothing...

Therefore, character sheets which appear to be full of nothing but ways to deal damage to the enemy fill me with dismay.

However, I have not read the rulebooks, nor have we yet played the adventure. So this is all cranky stick-waving, not a real review.