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I still do that. The only difference between my games now and the games I ran when I first got into D&D is that my games now are a bit more coherent in terms of logic and characterization. This is either one of those Internet "truths" that exist because a lot of people have said it, or my...

One over the past year. I also got a game going with two other people who had never played 3rd edition.

Every Eberron module I played through (the first trilogy + Voyage of the Golden Dragon) had huge swaths of material that I ripped out because it was either stupid, redundant, or both. Example: Whispers of the Vampire's Blade has a scene where the PCs have to fight through guards and leap onto an...

I'd say Peter Adkison gets credit for saving the game from a nasty demise, and also for his part in the creation of 3rd edition.

What I like: Changing the math to work better at all levels. Less need to include +X items with no other flavor in the game. The three tiers. What I dislike: Ditching old races and classes that I feel should be core. Healing allies by hitting enemies. Most of the flavor changes. What I really...

I've run a low-magic D&D game since 3rd edition was released (and really since I stopped running the Forgotten Realms in the 90s). I've added in a class defense bonus equal to 1/2 BAB, which offsets some of the need for rings of protection and the like. Other than that, 99% of running a low...

Incomplete might not be the best word (or it might be, depending on whether you want to put a negative spin on it), but 4th edition is definitely showing a different marketing strategy than previous editions. In previous versions, we got the core rules in three books, and then options added on...

I like the three tiers. I would like them even more if WotC released a series of boxed sets somewhere along the way -- Set 1: Heroic, Set 2: Paragon, Set 3: Epic, and Set 4: Immortal/Demigods. :D

I'd be surprised if the armor check penalty went away. I don't see rogues moving silently while wearing chain mail or anyone having an easy time while attempting to swim in full plate. Also, I doubt there will be a heck of a lot of wizards running around in armor. You can do this same thing in...

I know that's the rule, but my preference is to ignore the very existence of material components. I use the BECMI approach, where all spells are assumed to have verbal and somatic components, but material components are ignored (modified for expensive spells, because I want wishes and...

Cheap spell components: means that casters can use their magic even when in prison. My dungeon for deviant spellcasters thus required the addition of a special anti-magic material. Critical ranges for weapons: All weapons in my games do double damage on a nat 20. That makes some weapons fairly...

Rituals for what used to be adventure-breaking spells sounds like a good idea. Everything else has me shrugging my shoulders in indifference. I really don't like the idea of even epic-level characters fighting gods. I'd prefer deities that are more mysterious, not known quantities that can be...

I loved Dragon in the late 90s. Around the time that 3rd edition came out, I let my subscription expire because I lost interest in the way the magazine was going. I'm not sure if that came as a result of the magazine changing or the fact that my gaming style changed dramatically following the...

Something else I like, which I believe was in 1st edition: paladins who have to tithe to their church and who can't own more than 10 magical items. A lot of the things I like about AD&D involve the restrictions built around specialist classes. I like the idea that paladins, druids, assassins...

I'm intrigued by the notion that "the math works." There are some progressions in 3rd edition that could use some smoothing out. I'd like to see Armor Class improve with level, but not render armor as useless (and not force armor to be damage reduction rather than an AC bonus). I'd like to see...

Even if WotC dropped D&D, they'd probably still hold onto their intellectual property. It would be bad business to do otherwise, whether or not they were still printing an RPG.

2nd and 3rd edition developed so as to fit what I want in a setting better, and as such it's made homebrewing slightly easier over the years. From what I've seen, 4th edition is going to include a lot of flavor that runs counter to what I prefer. I don't think that makes it more difficult to...

It would definitely be a bad thing for the industry, but I'm not convinced it would be a death knell. The gaming shops in my area already sell a lot of comics, board games, and miniatures, so while I think the RPG shelf would shrink, I doubt it would disappear. The market would shrink, but I...

I'm not entirely sure this is true. Most of the time, if I want to show someone a new game, I introduce them through play rather than handing them the rules. With D&D, I almost exclusively throw the players into an adventure rather than showing them the Player's Handbook. As to the argument...

I was pretty interested in it following the initial announcement, but the previews have largely turned me off. That said, the fact that I'm still following the game's development implies that my mind can be changed between now and June.