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It is specifically the purchasing that I object to. Finding things, winning them in battle, receiving gifts or family heirlooms -- all fine. Stores? No, I hate them. And even more than that, I hate having players know the finite universe of possible items to buy. It's not "I'd like to find...

It's not for me about managing details, but about making judgment calls. 3E is explicitly LESS encouraging of DM judgment calls. I think that in the short term this makes it easier for a wider range of people to DM, but in the long term it reduces the emphasis on the necessary skills to make a...

So they go by proximity? Doesn't matter if certain of the enemies have attacked them and other haven't? Okay, it sounds like your gaming group has agreed on a house rule for how summoned creatures will act. That's your perogative. At least you have some definition rather than "they do...

I'm certainly not one of those. I'd let my player know it was a +1 sword after maybe 2-3 combats. But after 3 weeks and 20 combats, they might not know that it is a dragon-bane sword that gives a 2/day reroll on saving throws vs. dragon-caused effects. Or they might not know the sword gives...

"If the rules are written well." It's always been the case for polymorph rules that there are some areas of interpretation needed. Look at the BECMI spell "Polymorph Self," where you get "purely physical" abilities. That asks for a DM judgment call. Look at the threads that 3E polymorph and...

Really? In a combat with 12+ possible opponents to choose from, NONE of which attacked my PC in the most recent round? Many of which would attack in ways that a dinosaur could not perceive? It is the decision of WHICH enemies to attack that isn't simple. Will they attack the dragon, the...

In previous editions, players were strongly discouraged from looking at the DM sections of books. They didn't know the abilities of monsters or the abilities of magic items. This really, truly, DID increase the fun and the sense of wonder in my experience. That's not nostalgia. Most players...

I think it would add something. I play a Drd20 in MarauderX's game. This druid uses summoning spells. He gets animals that have a 1 or 2 Int and don't speak Common. Unless he casts Speak with Animals, he can't direct them precisely. They don't have the information that he does, so he can't...

Is it meant seriously. I despise the entire idea of PCs buying magic items -- whether I am a player or a DM. It kills the wonder. It makes them too commonplace. It doesn't fit with the legends and stories I know. It has always been the thing I've hated the most about 3E. As a player, I...

Seems to be continuing and even exacerbating the 3E trend. Players shouldn't be equipping their PCs with magic items; DMs should be equipping the PCs with magic items. Players shouldn't need the Monster Manual to adjudicate shapechanging or summoning effects; DMs should adjudicate all effects of...

I don't find it sad in the least, nor do I find it an obsession. I find it an interesting issue to discuss. If you find my musings offensive, you are free to ignore them, but I do not see a reason for you to call my opinions "sad."

You know, I'm really not sure about that anymore. The change to a focus on "character builds" was enormous. I don't have an explanation that is clearly articulated enough... but I think 3E changed the game much more dramatically that it seemed at the time. Because I hadn't played 2E in years...

I find that PCs going into a dragon's lair has usually been about moving the game along and being a good sport for the DM rather than about being outwitted. The image of a dragon that remains behind layers of defenses and never leaves its lair seems to me to evoke an image of a frightened...

Sure, but I don't imagine there are many Ravenloft fans who don't like undead in their games, or many FR fans who don't like magic in their games. The point is, not all elements are equal; some are very dominant in a game's definition. I can't think of anything that is both as strongly...

I respect your reasoning. To me, Vancian magic is as integral to D&D as gruesome critical hit charts are to Rolemaster. That is, it's not the official defining characteristic of the game (the way that "diceless" is for Amber), but it's something very important and distinctive that...

Given that this has always been a characteristic of D&D, and probably the single biggest element that differentiated D&D from other systems... WHY did you choose D&D over any of the other fantasy RPGs on the market? For me, Vancian magic is something that I actively enjoy about D&D and a...

Started with Moldvay Red Book, and not going to 4E.

Exactly. I've been responding all along to the assertion that 3.5 only supports heavy-armored fighters. It is my point of view that light-armored fighters also work pretty well, largely due to Spring Attack. You don't NEED to add rogue levels to make the light-armored fighter a viable...

In general, a higher movement rate is better -- not for running away, but for moving around in a spread-out battle with many combatants (which has been the norm in my experience). Coming to the aid of allies, running down enemy casters, and so on. Now, I do think that mithral fullplate is far...

Okay, granted that mithral breastplate is the best armor for a Spring Attacking fighter. How is that heavy armor? It's technically light armor, it looks like medium armor, and it's just +1 AC better than a chain shirt (for an additional 4,000 gp). Given that a fighter can get Spring Attack by...