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...and this goes along with the evolution of the game. WoTC saw that people were just going to house rule the system anyway, so they decided to make it easier to do so by giving the DMs softer DC rules. They decided that players wanted more freeform play, so they came up with the D20 system...

The point is that there was a very specific rule for that. In 3E there wasn't. It was D20 vs DC modifier that the DM caters for the situation. This all comes back to the D20 core system that I'm trying to make my point with. The system was designed from the ground up to allow DM's to have a...

But the stated rule for handling an animal was already stated in the rules for the Druid, Paladin, and Cleric classes. There is no need to make up another rule because, as Gygax states, There will be times in which the rules do not cover a specific action that a player will attempt. In this...

Again, that's your interpretation of it. To another DM, it could mean that small relates specifically to the creature performing the act. A pixie attempting to rob you while in a dungeon meant that the DM had to freewheel the DC for the check because of the type of individuals performing. 1E...

Uh, I think you just made that up. "Small" = "diminuitive or fine"? I missed that rule I guess. 3E allowed ANYONE to choose "sleight of hand" as a trained skill and roll a d20 on it, not just thieves. So "small" to a Gnome was very different from "small" to a half-orc in this regard. But it...

Actually the rule for handling animal is defined in 1E, but they were extremely strict on who could use them. Druids: In connection with their nature worship, druids have certain innate powers which are gained at higher level. At 3rd level (Initiate of the 1st Circle), a druid gains the...

Aha! You're catching on. And where is "small" defined in the book? Or are you, the DM, "freewheeling" how "small" is defined? Small on a Giant, is different than small on a Gnome. So for a slightly "larger" object you may lower the DC to 19 or 18 right?

Post the table in 1E and post the table in 3E side by side if they both exist. Let us judge for ourselves.

The DC 20 roll only applies to "a small object" and "a person". 3E is heavily variable depending on the situation (object size, person, beast, monster, spot check, etc). In 1E the 5% applies to everything under EVERY circumstance at your level.

Then prove it to me. Show me a DC table that exists in both 3E and 1E where the 3E table is less ambiguous and more strict than the corresponding 1E table .

Then show me a DC table that is in both 1E and 3E where 3E is more strict. I've shown that both the "pick pocket" and the "pick lock" tables were more strict in 1E.

You're debating a non-sequitur. I think every edition of D&D has a passage like this. What we're debating is which encounter resolution system written in the book is more free-form. 1E is much, much stricter, as I have shown above.

That's fine, but the same disclaimer can be found in 3rd Edition. That still doesn't change the fact that the DC tables written in the 1E book are much more strict than what is written in 3E.

Okay fine, so maybe it's time to look at the rules objectively instead of just relying on what "you've heard before".

So the rules state that the DC for opening a lock "varies". In AD&D, the DC for opening a lock does NOT vary. Which edition is more free-wheeled and which is more strict?

No, I have not backed away from it because every situation that could arise NOT within a table would be disallowed by the DM. So, yes, AD&D covers EVERY situation imaginable even if that means that many were a "no" from the Game Master. And, again, I stated in my post that that was a very...

Notice my Edit above: I don't blame people for believing 1E was a free-wheeled game. It's difficult to throw out years of believing that because a lot of DMs played the game that way. I am looking at this from a completely fresh perspective because I have only played 3rd Edition D&D prior to...

Ummm, I do not see this phrase ANYWHERE: The rules as written are a skeletal framework upon which an individual DM builds his/her game. I already rebutted this. Look at the wording: "There will be times in which the rules do not cover a specific action that a player will attempt.". The rules...

Those are soft DC suggestions in the rulebook. They were designed to give you an idea of the DC that the DM should use. They are in no way HARD numbers that HAVE to be met to succeed. Also, the sleight of hand must be checked against he opposing Spot Check and the DC for Spot was also based...

Again, those are SOFT, suggestion tables for DC. They are in no way HARD DC numbers as the ones in 1E. And those are very arbitrary suggestions, at that. ANY door in AD&D 1e was ALWAYS a 1d6 vs 2 (if that was your strength roll). These are far more free-form and grants a ton of leeway to the...