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<blockquote data-quote="Dragonblade" data-source="post: 4671464" data-attributes="member: 2804"><p>It wouldn't be a problem in a 1e game, because it literally takes a couple minutes to create a new PC. Indeed, Gary Gygax himself discouraged players from even naming their characters until they had several levels under their belt since odds were they would just die anyway. In 1e AD&D, the PC was a thinly veiled avatar for the player to interact with the gameworld. You didn't need skill checks and all the other stuff that comes with characters in 3e/4e. There was no need to differentiate one Fighter from another, because the difference in play came solely from the player.</p><p></p><p>Somewhere along the line, the emphasis in D&D shifted from the player overcoming challenges to the character overcoming challenges. That shift resulted in complex character creation and a plethora of character building options.</p><p></p><p>But many of the rules didn't adapt to accomodate that shift. That is why 3e is such a mess. Game mechanics like level drain, save or die, rust monsters, etc. were designed under the assumption that you challenge the player. Losing items, and PC death was not a big deal when the rules assume that a new character was only ever six 3d6 rolls and a sheet of notebook paper away.</p><p></p><p>In 3e, the focus of the game changed to the character. As a result, character creation evolved to become a complex and option heavy undertaking. When your PC dies, its a big thing to recover from considering the amount of work and time you have put into making that character come to life.</p><p></p><p>The fatal flaw of 3e was the designers tried to keep these legacy mechanics while failing to realize why they worked in 1e, but don't in 3e.</p><p></p><p>4e works because it completes the evolution that 3e started in terms of changing the game to be about the character and not the player. The 4e designers recognized that the flaws of 3e stemmed from legacy game mechanics designed for an era when the game was about challenging the player.</p><p></p><p>Like 1e before it, 4e works as a complete whole in a way that 3e did not. 1e was about challenging the player and it worked because the mechanics were designed solely with that in mind. 4e is about challenging the character and it works because the mechanics were designed with <em>that</em> in mind.</p><p></p><p>IMO, when people talk about 4e having a 1e feel, its because subconsciously they recognize the harmony of the mechanics of the game working together with the assumptions of the game and not against it.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Dragonblade, post: 4671464, member: 2804"] It wouldn't be a problem in a 1e game, because it literally takes a couple minutes to create a new PC. Indeed, Gary Gygax himself discouraged players from even naming their characters until they had several levels under their belt since odds were they would just die anyway. In 1e AD&D, the PC was a thinly veiled avatar for the player to interact with the gameworld. You didn't need skill checks and all the other stuff that comes with characters in 3e/4e. There was no need to differentiate one Fighter from another, because the difference in play came solely from the player. Somewhere along the line, the emphasis in D&D shifted from the player overcoming challenges to the character overcoming challenges. That shift resulted in complex character creation and a plethora of character building options. But many of the rules didn't adapt to accomodate that shift. That is why 3e is such a mess. Game mechanics like level drain, save or die, rust monsters, etc. were designed under the assumption that you challenge the player. Losing items, and PC death was not a big deal when the rules assume that a new character was only ever six 3d6 rolls and a sheet of notebook paper away. In 3e, the focus of the game changed to the character. As a result, character creation evolved to become a complex and option heavy undertaking. When your PC dies, its a big thing to recover from considering the amount of work and time you have put into making that character come to life. The fatal flaw of 3e was the designers tried to keep these legacy mechanics while failing to realize why they worked in 1e, but don't in 3e. 4e works because it completes the evolution that 3e started in terms of changing the game to be about the character and not the player. The 4e designers recognized that the flaws of 3e stemmed from legacy game mechanics designed for an era when the game was about challenging the player. Like 1e before it, 4e works as a complete whole in a way that 3e did not. 1e was about challenging the player and it worked because the mechanics were designed solely with that in mind. 4e is about challenging the character and it works because the mechanics were designed with [I]that[/I] in mind. IMO, when people talk about 4e having a 1e feel, its because subconsciously they recognize the harmony of the mechanics of the game working together with the assumptions of the game and not against it. [/QUOTE]
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