How transparent are the rules and math behind 4e?
Andy: We try to make it clear how classes and items and such interact. There’s a better understanding of group dynamics too. For an example, there are express benefits for magic items by level. Does that answer your question? CH: I believe the person who asked us to ask you wanted to find out how easy it would be to design your own class. Andy: Class building is the most complex, since they each have a list of powers. It’s like inventing a completely new spell list. Each class needs its own niche too. We designed each class to focus on what that character type should be doing. There are exceptions, like it only makes sense for the Wizard to have Fire Shield even though that might be seen more as a defender power. We really tried to give classes a better play experience than 3e. More symbiosis with other characters too. Many 3e classes felt like other classes, so they didn’t have their own niche. There were many classes I designed that were this way that I loved, but just weren’t unique
