Nice! How do the encounter games work, are they kind of like a living campaign or something where different groups play the same adventure?

4e has a lot going for it. It is a lot cleaner in design than the previous editions were. I'm not sure character creation is simpler than 3e (although it might be), but it is harder to create a character that sucks balls due to inadvertantly poor choices. Complexity is much more manageable as you advance in level since after a certain point you start swapping out powers for existing ones, rather than just gaining more all the time. It's also really fun and easy to plan adventures, there's a really great point system for building encounters that makes it a snap.

Whoa, hope this wasn't depressing!

[edit]By the way, how cool is it that DANCE WITH FREAKIN' DRAGONS is out??? I'm about five chapters in so far. It was a little slow to start, but it feels like it's starting to get rolling. Very nice to see Dany, Tyrion, and all those other fux again after so many years.