What D&Disms have you never liked?

[diaglo]

bonus or penalties for stats greater than +/- 1

never ever liked them since Supplement I Greyhawk.

 

[Ariosto]

Never said anything about the mechanical reasons for it. My hatred for it stems solely from the resulting effects and implications on the fluff.

There was simply no satisfactory way to explain it that worked for my campaign setting.

You are quite right, of course, about the scheme being a 'D&Dism' -- and it is one that many people dislike (some with a passion)!

My point was that, even considering concern with mechanical reasons, I don't see the need for there to be anything to explain if one hates it. The facts of your world are up to you.

 

[Garthanos]

Never said anything about the mechanical reasons for it. My hatred for it stems solely from the resulting effects and implications on the fluff.

There was simply no satisfactory way to explain it that worked for my campaign setting.

In my setting humans ... have a really fast reincarnative cycle... life span determined really if you died as an infant you went to the top of the wheel.
Elves in spite of having very long lifespans... were actually very young souls and only recently migrated from fey... humans were gifted magically and known for it. .. but they also seem to learn everything quick. My elves were only advantaged if you compared there average to human average ... once you compared heroic and heroic it was a toss up. (note back in the day that was plenty of house ruling).

 

[WayneLigon]

It's the fact that it's harped on: the racial descriptions of humans always have to point out how diverse they are in a bit too obvious a way. It's so smug it hurts.

It's never smug when it's true.

I've been wracking my brain and reading the thread for some 'D&Disms' that I really can't stand, and I can't think of any. It depends on the type and style of world I want, though, but I can explain and be satisfied with almost all of the 'D&Disms'. Specific rules stuff is what I have a problem with, but that's something that plagues every game system, not just D&D.

 

[WayneLigon]

There is literary precident for big obvious battle magics. The wizards in the Thomas Covenant series or those in the sword of truth series or those in Ursula K Leguins novels.

Excatly. I always put the 'lack of giant battle spells' in classic fairy tales to the fact that back then, the concept of doing mass damage over a wide area was too alien for them to have thought of - it would have been laughed out of the tavern as just too silly and implausible. I see no reason to shackle D&D to the stone of some 12th century tavern tale.

 

[Garthanos]

Excatly. I always put the 'lack of giant battle spells' in classic fairy tales to the fact that back then, the concept of doing mass damage over a wide area was too alien for them to have thought of - it would have been laughed out of the tavern as just too silly and implausible. I see no reason to shackle D&D to the stone of some 12th century tavern tale.

Drop further back Celtic Legends sort of reveled in Giant dudes with death ray eyes, Cauldrons that could summon the dead back to the battle by the legion and Cyborg gods.... there was some Leonardo and Einstein scale imaginations amongst some early times. The barrier between the mortal... the legend and the divine was not too great either.

We just have more basis for our grand scale stuff (it makes theres more impressive).

 

[Jeff Wilder]

Didn't William Wallace shoot lightning bolts out of his arse? I'm sure I heard that somewhere.

(I wonder if his DM allowed him to place the 60-foot line perfectly? Seems kinda hard to aim. And now I'm thinking about The Spleen. Perfect.)

 

[Silvercat Moonpaw]

It's never smug when it's true.

If it has to be repeated (or even explained to humans) more than once it's either not true and you're trying to drown out the truth or if it is true then you are reveling in it for no good reason because you don't need to keep reminding people about it.

 

[Garthanos]

Didn't William Wallace shoot lightning bolts out of his arse? I'm sure I heard that somewhere.

Your reading material is limited to relatively modern history (or is that movies with questionable accents) it seems.

Cuh Culaine fired blasts of firey black blood out of his head and ran on the tips of Arrows and was like most Ancient Celtic Heros said to be trained in the arts of bed and blade by witches..

Many of the stunts attributed to them bordered on or were definitely magic.

 

[Jeff Wilder]

Your reading material is limited to relatively modern history (or is that movies with questionable accents) it seems.

Yes, that's exactly right. I am shamed.