Miss 4e D&D

[Grod_The_Giant]

I would also question whether the folks who like 4e actually want stuff like this. To quote someone from a 4e community I'm in, "I play 4e specifically because it is a cool cooperative skirmish wargame with extra bells and whistles and more character option combinations than there are atoms in the universe."

You might get support from new players by doing this, but what will happen to the core folks who are currently engaged? What happens if EndlesNights / Scrivener doesn't pick the game up because of the new emphasis on "inventive play"?

It seems to me that there are two different paths you could take if you wanted to develop 4e. You could--and let's be honest, probably should--lean into its identity as a small-scale wargame, and focus on streamlining and balance and such. But there's also a temptation to say "I like the AEDU power structure and healing surges and tight math, but the existing powers are too narrowly focused" and try to create something more like "classic" D&D. Which would be an interesting exercise in game design, but wouldn't have much appeal to existing 4e fans.