Thread: Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition

I've managed to get my hands (err, not really but kinda, i know you know what i'm talking about) on 5 of the new 4th ed D&D books namely Races and Classes, Keep on the Shadowfell, and the core set. I haven't thoroughly read them yet but i already did quick scans and glimpses on its contents. The first thing that struck me are the core set covers, unlike its previous counterparts (3rd ed for example) the covers of these books aren't crammed with heavy detailed artworks. Instead, they are presented with a minimalistic style. A common trait of the 2nd ed books--full page artworks are commonplace again in 4th edition books.

I've read several rumors about 4th edition on other sites and right now i've proven that some of them aren't just rumors. About the Monster Manual, some "familiar" monsters have been axed out of it (at least just for now). Iron and clay golems are gone, metallic dragons are out, the Lamia underwent a major overhaul in terms of its look, it seems that the Worm That Walks are now merely called Larva Mages, and a lot more. The players have new monsters to feast upon anyway, or vice-versa. (It seems like) The monster types (aberrations, shapechanger, etc.) are gone. I could probably uncover more later on...

On the PHB side of things, some of the major races and classes familiar to us during the two previous editions have been banished from its contents. New races and classes are introduced in lieu of the axed ones. Some of the new ones might just be a mere facsimile of those removed, but i'm yet to find out. The pantheon was overhauled too but yeah it might be full of facsimiles too...

So far i haven't glimpsed the DMG as much as i glimpsed the other two core books. I have a complaint about the artwork though, most of the artworks inside seemed a bit off and oddly pixelated, this problem might be traced all the way to the publishing..Then again, the one i got might be a bad copy.

Races and Classes is just a more in-depth review of..well..Races and Classes. I've nothing much to say about Keep on the Shadowfell this time, i haven't checked on it yet but it seems like a simple campaign setting.

Are there any D&D players out here who are planning to shift immediately into 4th edition? If some of you have already managed to get your hands on these books and already did a more in-depth reading, feel free to share your praises, comments, violent reactions, and other whatnots here. I would like to hear from you.