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mechanics makes this quite difficult to do, especially with regards to game balance.

Even within lines, there can be difficulties in crossovers - campaign settings for example. Campaign settings often have campaigns specific rules that other campaigns don't have. When things such as spells and prestige classes are based on campaign specific rules, it makes it harder to utilize those in crossovers.

What would really help out D20 is if the systems they create are well balanced across all lines and setting. While this may be more difficult to do, players would be able to get more satisfaction from the game since all the books can be used no matter what kind of campaign is being run. It will also give players more of a reason to purchase more books.

If this is done well, it would provide the structure to do campaign settings in different genres very easily. This doesn't include only those genres that go along with fantasy, such as horror and adventure. Other main settings can be done as well, such as modern and sci-fi, genres which are often enjoyed by players.

The only thing is different players enjoy different genres, and to different degrees. This can cause friction in a player group, especially in an area where there are limited roleplaying opportunities. By allowing multiple genres to be played in one campaign, it would really help out the possibilities for roleplaying.

Dungeons and Dragons will soon be putting out the 4th edition to their game system. While editions 3.0 and 3.5 were more like updates of previous editions, taking most of the old and making it new again, 4th edition will be a total revamp of the game. Gone are a majority of the cornerstones of D&D, such as alignments and abilities that affect them. Gone too are classic class restrictions, such as the paladin being lawful good, which seems anathema to long-time players. Gone also are spell slots, which are being replaced with a system of magic that resembles what's being used in video games. They are also setting up a tier system for classes, setting power levels for each tier to help DMs manage power levels for campaigns and enemy encounters. As far as D&D goes, these changes are quite revolutionary and have been done in the hopes of creating a more enjoyable gaming experience for players.

4th edition has been designed to address certain problems in mechanics that made the previous editions less enjoyable to players. One problem that it doesn't necessarily address, and may even exacerbate, is the

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