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Is D&D too complicated?
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<blockquote data-quote="francisca" data-source="post: 1578022" data-attributes="member: 9734"><p>I agree with you to a large degree. On the fly, it is no different than under OD&D. I used to try to sit and flip through the book in-game and make "proper" NPCs in 3E. It quickly became discouraging because I felt bogged down in options. At some point, I either said "the hell with it" or just got a better feeling for the rules, and started winging it for alot of NPCs, just like the old days. I also stopped griping about the complexity of creating NPCs under 3E on this board around the same time. But, I sense that a lot of folks on these boards don't like winging NPCs to any degree, decrying it as ad-hocery and too arbitrary.</p><p></p><p>Now here is the disagreeing part: When I sit down to create an NPC that will be the cornerstone of the campaign, it does, in fact, take much longer to do under 3E than 1E or basic/expert (I have no 2E experience to speak from). This is simply because there are a lot more aspects of an NPC/PC that can (maybe even need to) be accounted for. Under 1E and B/X I spend a lot of time detailing major NPCs anyway, so it's not like I hate the time-consuming aspect. It's just a less number crunching intensive experience with the older editions. In my experience, detailing the fluff takes the same amount of time in any edition, but the crunching and tracking feat chains, etc..under 3E does take longer than 1E, simply because there are so many more options. So on the balance, it's a "pick your poison" kind of proposition.</p><p></p><p>What really annoys the hell out of me is the idea that you can't do certain things under the old editions, such as slapping some rogue/thief levels on a Kobold. Most of these arguments boil down to: You can't because there aren't any rules to do so. I don't feel limited in that way. To me, there is no reason why you can't thumbnail a "move silently" stat right onto an Orc or an Ogre for that matter.</p><p></p><p>Now, I'm not trying to convince anyone that 1E is better than 3E. I like 'em both. I play them both. I'm just saying that I never felt shackled the same way others have.</p><p></p><p>Oh, and I mostly agree with you. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite8" alt=":D" title="Big grin :D" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":D" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="francisca, post: 1578022, member: 9734"] I agree with you to a large degree. On the fly, it is no different than under OD&D. I used to try to sit and flip through the book in-game and make "proper" NPCs in 3E. It quickly became discouraging because I felt bogged down in options. At some point, I either said "the hell with it" or just got a better feeling for the rules, and started winging it for alot of NPCs, just like the old days. I also stopped griping about the complexity of creating NPCs under 3E on this board around the same time. But, I sense that a lot of folks on these boards don't like winging NPCs to any degree, decrying it as ad-hocery and too arbitrary. Now here is the disagreeing part: When I sit down to create an NPC that will be the cornerstone of the campaign, it does, in fact, take much longer to do under 3E than 1E or basic/expert (I have no 2E experience to speak from). This is simply because there are a lot more aspects of an NPC/PC that can (maybe even need to) be accounted for. Under 1E and B/X I spend a lot of time detailing major NPCs anyway, so it's not like I hate the time-consuming aspect. It's just a less number crunching intensive experience with the older editions. In my experience, detailing the fluff takes the same amount of time in any edition, but the crunching and tracking feat chains, etc..under 3E does take longer than 1E, simply because there are so many more options. So on the balance, it's a "pick your poison" kind of proposition. What really annoys the hell out of me is the idea that you can't do certain things under the old editions, such as slapping some rogue/thief levels on a Kobold. Most of these arguments boil down to: You can't because there aren't any rules to do so. I don't feel limited in that way. To me, there is no reason why you can't thumbnail a "move silently" stat right onto an Orc or an Ogre for that matter. Now, I'm not trying to convince anyone that 1E is better than 3E. I like 'em both. I play them both. I'm just saying that I never felt shackled the same way others have. Oh, and I mostly agree with you. :D [/QUOTE]
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