In my opinion, AD&D was like a bit of reality on to which they crafted some fantasy. 4ed is all fantasy, and no reality. Many an issue in my previous campaigns have been reality issues, like healing without a cleric on hand, or researching my own spells. I think this is going to be the biggest source problems for many players.

With 4th ed, all characters directly contribute to battle (i.e. cause lots damage). The rules are very very clear about what happens from moment to moment, and what the side effects are.

I feel that the characters you'll create will be fairly cookie cutter. However, as your experience improves you'll get more ability to diverge. (This is a key point.)

The monsters are equally souped up. (Look out for those Kobolds.) Its also way way easier to set up balanced encounters. (Most of my experience in the past has been with good DMs who could actually do this. I never was good at it myself.)

For Game Day I tried the Cleric of Pelor. It was indeed the most fun I've ever had as a cleric. You know, when I developed an AD&D character (even way back when) I spent a considerable amount of time working out how the character would work best in combat. That's no longer a concern.

I feel that WOTC was not really fair with some of the changes, like alignment. I feel that just because many people have a hard time understanding something, does not mean you need to do away with it. (By that extrapolation, why don't we just roll dice, and the highest roll wins?)

Lastly, what 4ed is truely missing is a campaign setting. Its just fun rules right now.

Whoa, like I mentioned - I actually think it takes LONGER to make a character in 4 than it did in 3.5.

Mostly because you have to cover a lot - and I mean a lot - of options for your characters that actually depends on what kind of game you are playing. If you are NOT playing with the miniatures (like we weren't), then you can cut a few feats and other abilities here and there that rely on miniatures.

My feeling is that while it may make a good set of rules to add a little RP to a miniatures game, it doesn't really shine as an RPG. The RPG methods are somewhat outlined in the DMG, which the farther I plod through it, is a God-awful book. Stick to the PHB and the MM.

Also, we have some official eratta on some of the monsters in the MM, and kobolds is one of the monsters that will be eratta'ed into being less dangerous. As will several of the giants, and some of the planar monsters.

I didn't play any official WotC module. We actually playtested a Pathfinder module that is being considered for 4th edition conversion. However, I just found out today that Pathfinder may not be releasing any converted materials until around November, because of the negative reaction a lot of their customers are having to their newly acquired 4th Edition stuff.

Paizo is still sitting on the fence with Green Ronin and Fantasy Flight Games about making 4th Edition materials.

I seem to remember when 3.0 was coming out, all the “role players” were complaining that the rigid and quantifiable numerical skill and feat system was going to ruin role playing experience in DnD.

It seems most of the ruckus is coming from role players. Now, I’m not casting judgement, but the number of true role players I’ve personally met I could count on one hand. A true role player can transcend any game mechanic or game system. I don’t care about role playing, I just want to get some killin’ on!!!! Some killin’ on at my FLGS!!!! I want to meet new and exciting fellow gamers, and accidentally hit them with one of my area effect spells!!!!

Remember when we were all young, and we were playing DnD, Gamma World, Star Frontiers, and Boot Hill, and anything else we could get our grubby little hands on, and there would be those big beardy Napoleonic gamers who were looking down there noses at us, but we being proud nerds thought of them as old dorks. That’s going to be the 3.5 crowd.

Do you think there will be a second printing of the books that includes the early errata? I think this was the case for 3.0, but I don't have the books with me to check.

I suspect that I'll eventually give in and buy 4e, but if there's already errata popping up, I'd rather it be included in the books I buy.