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I agree. The idea in 1E is that magic options are more effective than mundane ones, but limited in their use. Still, if you want to have low-level MUs be able to use magic more frequently (not necessary in my mind, but some players would want that), there are ways to do it without making magic...

Here's what changed: one game company released a new fantasy RPG. I already knew that I disliked much of this design team's earlier work and game mechanics that were tested out in another system. So why is NOT switching to this new game indicative of failure to adapt? Why is switching to a...

Well, since you are wondering, the answer is no, the religious analogy doesn't hold water. A more apt analogy would be the kinds of entertainment people enjoy. Music, TV and so on. People do not like having things they enjoy discontinued, insulted, and replaced with inferior versions...

I'd like to go back to BECMI, although it might be easier to find a group for 3.X. Or depending on time constraints, I might end up dropping gaming. In any case, I'm not going to 4E.

PCs not able to buy the specific magic items that they want? I'll believe it when the game has been out a couple of years and that restriction is still in place. The fact is, WotC can make so much money selling stuff like the Magic Item Compendium that it makes more financial sense to place...

I suppose my problem is the convergence of these three things: 1) Expected wealth by level 2) Magic items having a GP value 3) PCs expected to be able to buy the magic items they want. I have never liked buying magic items in any edition of the game. I don't even like picking out magic items...

How many HP is a normal human in the world supposed to have? Not a guard designed to be a combat encounter, but a normal human chosen at random? If the PCs unexpectedly try to rally the villagers into forming a militia, are the villagers all 1-HP minions?

His ability scores were 3-18, same as PCs. The strongest Normal Man was as strong as the strongest PC hero. His damage was "by weapon," same as a PC did. His AC was normally 9, although Mentzer notes that monsters' AC might change by armor worn (seems obvious, I know). His HP were 1-4 in...

I'm not seeing it. Too much of 4E is either maintaining or expanding on aspects of 3E that I didn't like compared to BECMI. Too minis-centric (a problem with 3E, exacerbated in late 3.5 [such as FCII's legion devils] and apparently in 4E) 1st-level PCs are too far above "Normal Man" -- 3E is...

You know what makes the name GNOLL great? Because it leads to craziness like this: "Gnoll are rumored to be the cross-breed of a gnome and a troll by an evil magic-user." (Paraphrased, IDHTBIFOM.) They look nothing like gnomes or trolls? Details! Can you get that kind of awesomeness with...

"Preference," to me, suggests "I'll switch to Y if Y is more satisfying than X." It's a comparison between multiple options. "Loyalty" implies "I'll stick with X unless it is actively deficient and unsatisfying." It's an evaluation of one option. Perhaps there is another term that is better.

Well, different RPG systems are in active competition for your time and dollars. And baseball fans do get to arguing about which ruleset is better -- there are purists that HATE the designated hitter rule. That's one very minor change in the rules compared to the scope of rules changes that...

Hmm. Not a sports fan? Because those are "games" where people do indeed pick allegiances and derive enjoyment in part from those allegiances. At least, that's the case for me. For me, allegiance is a way to be happier in enjoying that which I like. If I take the point of view "This is good...

3E also held the appeal for many AD&D veterans of bringing back elements of the game that they had liked in 1E but that 2E had taken away. Most notably: barbarians, monks, half-orcs, assassins, and demons/devils in core.

As I said, if TSR had released 3E with the same team that was behind "2.5," I wouldn't have bought it. That's one of the major differences for me between "late 2E to 3E" and "late 3.5 to 4E." Many of the innovations that I disliked in late 3.5 are not only remaining but taking on a much more...

I saw nothing like what you saw on the transition to 3E. TSR had gone bankrupt. TSR. The 800-lb gorilla of the gaming industry. The pioneer of the entire hobby. The idea that any company would pick up the remains of D&D and continue supporting it was a good thing. Everybody I knew was more...

"Skeptic" doesn't describe me -- "Not going to 4E" does. That said, I like the following: Some of the flavor (Feywild, Shadowfell, Elder Evils, Points of Light) Removal of iterative attacks Less variation in Fort/Ref/Will defenses between the good classes and the bad ones at high levels...

Right. And I'm saying that there's a middle ground between "no builds" and appearing to state that these two are the only possible builds. It's really just the use of the article "the" that makes the difference.

The text as it stands now does look a little too definitive. "The trickster rogue and the brawny rogue are the two rogue builds, one relying on bluffs and feints, the other on brute strength." IMO, that sentence could be improved by changing it to "The trickster rogue and the brawny rogue are...

As a general impression, the 4E rogue seems to have the more narrowly defined role of the pre-3E thief, while keeping the 3E focus on tactical combat and minis. In BECMI, your thief had the same skills of any thief of that level. No customization. In 2E, you had the basic skills, plus some...