[Biohazard]

Originally Posted by Tori Bergquist

I think you're right; I never used automated tools for 3rd edition, for example, and loved how 4E made the process of design for the DM so much simpler and more streamlined. In 3rd edition I usually had a 1:1 or sometimes a 1.25:1 ratio of "time to develop" vs. "timeplayed"....I often found that I spent more time designing a game than I did running it. In 4E, the reverse is pronouncedly noticed: usually about 1 hour of prep time for 8 hours of play. I wrote the entire scenario I have been running for the last 12 sessions in my one group in one evening, but have not yet run out of content; 8 hours of design time have turned in to about 50 hours of play time. I left 3.5 because I was tired of spending 6-8 hours designing content for a 6-8 hour session.

The dragon encounter is a great example. In 3E you had to work out the dragon, modify according to age and any templates, factor in feat details lest one forget them, and then work out the scenario and encounter details. It would take me about an hour (sometimes more) to do all that, especially (and mostly) the stat design.

In 4E, I think it takes about 15-30 minutes to do the same encounter; the stat block in the MM is ready to go, and it takes only a few minutes to add templates or class mods, work up the map and encounter data.

IIRC you also played / gmed 2nd Ed?! How would you think the ratio compares between 4th and 2nd? Because from reading stuff about 4th, it still seems a bit more involved than 2nd or older Editions.