No problem on quoting. Just wish I got the email that there was a reply to this so I wasn\'t replying 10 days later.
There is most definitely no way to convert a previous edition character over to the new edition. You can\'t convert monsters either. Even modules are near impossible to conver due to the new Skill Challenges. You can convert the combats, but really all you are doing is using the keyed maps, all the rest you would have to look up yourself or make up.
It\'s interesting you mention tournament play as that\'s what actually got me to try 4e. I currently run a 3.5 campaign every other weekend with a group of friends. They have no interest in swapping over to 4e. Actually right now is a great time to be running 3.5 as everyone is upgrading, I just bought 13 hardcover sourcebooks and a handful of modules for only $50! I\'m now starting a second shelf.
I was pretty content with just doing this until an out of town DM moved into the city and he is/was a big RPGA fan. We\'ve never had any sanctioned events in Windsor before, and I thought the whole concept of a \'worldwide\' game just sounded too cool to pass up now that it\'s local. So after discussing it with the wife (as I would now be playing every weekend) I went out and picked up a 4e PHB and had two days to read it and make my first character.
Up till that point I was opposed to the new system, mainly based on reviews I had read online. The only thing that even got me to play it was the fact that I could play in RPGA games. It\'s only once playing that I started to like the system.
The one thing I have definitely noticed. Anyone who liked playing a Wizard or Cleric in any previous edition, generally does not like 4e. People who played Fighters, Rangers, Paladins, generally love 4e. People who played skill based characters like Bards and Rogues are sitting on the fence. A broad generalization but with 14 RPGA players who have more games under their belts then I every will this is definitely true. The reason seems to be all based around the new power system.
As far as any class that used to get to pick from 1000\'s of spells from innumerable sourcebooks and that had the ability to make thier own spells up on the fly, this new system is extremely limiting in a way. With the new system your Mage will now have something to do every round, as opposed to sitting in the back waiting for the right moment to use up one of those memorized spells. This is really cool and great at first level, but once it sinks in that you get to pick abilities from a list of 6 per level vs 15-100 per level, you realized your character will never be as versatile as before.
Now the Fighter types have the opposite. Instead of just moving in and attacking each round, as they level up they get all kinds of new powers and abilities to do even more massive damage or hit multiple targets, etc. Heck each hit you get to pick from a range of at will powers instead of just rolling that D20 for D8 damage round after round.
Lastly are the skill classes. These are on the fence as in some ways they have more options and in others they have less. In combat setting up that sneak attack is easier then usual with the ability to pull and slide people and combat advantage replacing flanking. But then when it comes time to put all those skills to work you notice they have all been replaced by Thievery. One skill, one stat. No more specialization in different areas, no more becoming a master climber, etc. You no longer spend skill points, you are trained or not.
