Fourth edition of DnD coming

I saw a post in Slashdot about this, then followed it to Jonathan Drain's D20 Source blog (good stuff for those who play DnD). I've been reading the 4e notes on EN World. Interesting stuff.

Despite being "old", I still play DnD. Well, I was playing DnD until recently. Back when the 3.5 edition came out, we all (my gaming pals) switched to it, and thought it was an improved rule set. I dunno, maybe not so improved. It seems the characters I develop and choose to play are rarely powerful enough. No, I don't blame the rules gurus who know every friggin' rule in every book--it shouldn't be that hard to come up with a compelling character that's both satisfying and playable. And by playable I mean not lame.

From the sound of it, the 4e rules for basic fantasy DnD should be an improvement. More options, fewer lock-ins as you advance your character. Less penalization just because you chose to make a Gnomish Bard, for example. Ah, but enough complaining. Perhaps I will find renewed interest in the game once the new rules come out.