Vyvyan Basterd
Adventurer
If everything is Core, then one presumably has to master everything to run the game.
With exception-based design I don't presume this at all. My players have my trust that they will "master" the elements of the game pertinent to their character. They have mastery over the feats and powers they have chosen. I get involved in mastering the power only if the player feels he needs clarification or the effects of a power seem out of whack to me. There is a solid core of rules in 4E that rarely changes and to run the game I feel that is the only part I have to master. Even monster powers are generally in thei own microcosm. Unlike previous editions where I presumably had to master much more of the rules as monsters and NPCs took their powers directly from class and spell lists more often than in 4E.
I''l rephrase. It doesn't make sense to me a warlord has a monopoly on bringing EVERYONE AND ANYONE back from death's door ALL OF THE TIME (in-game, assuming versimilitude, simulation, and all other applicable disclaimers for the semantically nitpicky)
He can't do it all of the time either. His resources are limited. The way I view the Warlord is actually alot closer to something that would probably sit better with you. I see him as a closer kin to an Earthdawn class. All classes in Earthdawn tapped into magic. In 4E terms, some would tap into the arcane nature of magic, others into the divine, while Warlords are tapping into Martial magic. This doesn't break from my view of previous editions either. Even the "lowly" Fighter in all editions of the game to date have been able to achieve the superhuman. To me, you can either view these superhuman feats as if they are Marvel Superheroes (which breaks genre for me) or as tapping into the inherent magic of the world, just not as directly as a Magic-User does.