Oh, as I meant to say in my first post ... Merric, thank you for collecting all this stuff. It's good work.
MerricB said:
Mike Mearls on Why Sunder is Lame
original thread
Here's why I think sunder is lame:
It doesn't respect the DM's control of the campaign. Sunder can destroy items that are important to the plot. It's an end point, rather than an extra complication. Contrast that with disarm: if you're disarmed, the weapon is still there, you just need to take a risk to get it back.
I already mentioned how I dislike D&D's philosophy of "It's not the man that makes the hero, but his gear", so I want to address this point now.
I think taking out Sunder
also doesn't respect the DM's control of the campaign. What if I want Sunder? What if I care more about letting PC's and NPC's choose the best strategy over rail-roading them down a certain plotline?
Everyone here I am sure has seen Raiders of the Lost Ark. Remember how that big dude came out of the crowd, did all that scimitar waiving, and Indy just pulled out a pistol and shot him? That was awesome! I would love it for a player to use his brain and take the "short-cut" to victory.
Likewise, remember when Gimli tried to destroy the One Ring at the Council of Elrond and (in the movie at least) his axe shattered? Cool. That's what you get for trying to Sunder the One Ring.
al'Lan Mandragoran shattered his best dagger on one of the Seals of the Dark One's prison.
And of course, we all know what happened to Narsil.
Needless to say, if Sunder is not in the Core Rules, it's going right back in on Day 1. That's me taking back control over my campaign, despite what kind of game Mearls might prefer.
I think D&D works best when the PCs are playing a game where they worry about diminishing hit points and spells. Adding other resources to drain or destroy muddies the waters.
I don't. Competing interests and concerns make for more interesting stories. Deliberately sacrificing one thing, to save another, is good, and makes for great stories. Reducing everything to one variable takes all the depth and flavor out of the world. It also ignores the very real, and very human, fact, that some things just aren't fungible.