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I don't like weapon focus for fighters, because it pushes them into using one trick over and over and makes magical weapons worse loot. If they do use it, it should 1) use wide categories like axes and swords, 2) add more groups instead of increased specialization as you level up. Otherwise, I...

I would like to see a rogue be almost as good as fighter in a one-on-one situation. The fighter has more skill, but the rogue cheats. However, while the fighter should be able to stand in the middle of four enemies and hold for at least a while, that sort of situation should be much more lethal...

They are cheap in the long term, but there's still a barrier to entry. The initial cost is quite high compared to renting a movie or buying a board game. I think an affordable boxed/beginner set is a must. $100-200 for trying a new edition that you don't know if you'll like? A lot, when you can...

I would keep it a reading list, but include the gems of the old list plus some newer fantasy, mostly of a similar style or one that D&D emulates well. After all, it's a bit silly to recommend something for inspiration and then not deliver on letting you play like it. I don't see a problem with...

Ok, maybe partially, pseudo- or semi-magical is better. Anyway, my point was that 3e core classes are 4 magical (cleric, druid, sorcerer, wizard), 4 semi-magical (bard, monk, paladin, ranger), and 3 non-magical (barbarian, fighter, rogue). However, add a kit for a non-magical ranger and they...

Unless I'm mistaken, that's a vampiric half-fiendish animated chair.

I'd call the third group supernatural classes. Kits/archetypes are an easy way to make a class be either supernatural or non-magical, by swapping class features.

I think it's fun when the players don't know the target number at first but each hit or miss can help them pinpoint it. Kind of like they were fighting and observing the opponent and assessing his skills.

Yeah, but that's the point. Whatever you want to call it, social interaction, talking, diplomacy, combat *is* a form of it.

It's more versatile overall than the 4e one. The PF one is even more so, especially in the Beginner Box where they removed some more skills. The PF one would be my favorite if the talents weren't so many and complex. (That's my problem with the whole PF system. They added complexity when they...

Light weapons cost 1 damage average compared to one-handed. Rapier even less (higher threat range). You can sneak with TWF, which gives you more than two-handed damage. Feinting doesn't have a per encounter limit. Invisibility is pretty easy to get once you are high enough level that 3/4 BAB...

I think XP has meaning the same way Strength score does. Both are abstract numbers, but they have implications. Strength 18 means you can drag a half-ton object. 3000 XP means you can handle two trained swordsmen at the same time. The meaning of both can change due to other things. Strength 18...

Sure, and that's the DMG. I'd expect DMs to have read more of the rules. I know many of the people I've played with have never read through the combat rules in 3.5 PHB, much less the skill or exploration rules. They read rules as they need them, if they do, and that means mostly the class entry...

A 10th level rogue has an attack bonus three points lower than a fighter, all things equal. That hardly makes him useless - especially as he deals a whole lot more damage when flanking most enemies. After mid levels many of the rogue's best skills are almost auto-successes. Failures also cost...

Just a thought, but maybe they need to use XP charts to allow different kinds of class balance. For example, suppose classes are by default balanced over the three pillars so that a 5th level fighter is better in combat than a 5th level rogue, but worse in exploration or interaction. They...

Few rules, a moderate number of options (PHB) and a lot of guidelines (DMG). As an example, 3e skills should be 1 page of the mechanics (rules), another page or two listing the default skills and how each class gains them (options), and a few pages in the DMG on making rulings about DCs with...

I like rogues versatile. A rogue may be a pickpocket, an assassin, a swashbuckler or a scout. The only thing most rogues have in common is their sneakiness.

The farmboy who has to fight things and later discovers his magical abilities is a very common fantasy trope that D&D should support. Other kinds of changes in character focus are also very common in the literature and IMO best represented in the game using multi-classing. Examples include...

I wonder what percentage of D&D players have read through the book of their edition of choice. I suspect a small minority.

If iterative attacks are a reason to dislike the 3e fighter, is THAC0 a reason to dislike the 2e one? Yeah, answers depend a lot on how the question is interpreted.