Something I did not realize:
It's worth noting that a LOT of these cows come from D&D's origins. It started as a modification to tabletop wargames, such as Chainmail, so that your soldiers could continue from one game to the next.
Ever wonder why elves had their paralysis resistance (in earlier editions, still present in 3.5 in a few rare cases such as the Ghoul)? It's because elves were high-cost units in Chainmail, and undead (which could paralyze things) were cheap, and the designers of that game didn't want elves to be worthless. Balance issues in one game leading to particular rules quirks in later games - pretty much the definition of a sacred cow in gaming terms.
It's worth noting that a LOT of these cows come from D&D's origins. It started as a modification to tabletop wargames, such as Chainmail, so that your soldiers could continue from one game to the next.
Ever wonder why elves had their paralysis resistance (in earlier editions, still present in 3.5 in a few rare cases such as the Ghoul)? It's because elves were high-cost units in Chainmail, and undead (which could paralyze things) were cheap, and the designers of that game didn't want elves to be worthless. Balance issues in one game leading to particular rules quirks in later games - pretty much the definition of a sacred cow in gaming terms.
