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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Orius" data-source="post: 3993898" data-attributes="member: 8863">That was another area where 3e improved the rules.  Complicated creation for disposable items was dumb, especially when lots of potions and scrolls would turn up in treasure.  It worked alright for the powerful stuff though.And the worst part was that like 1e, modules would have lots of magic lying around anyway.  At least 3e made a decent attempt to remedy it by assuming PCs would have magic as they leveled, even if it did lead to the Christmas tree.And it's part of a bigger problem: maintaining balance through rarity, which didn't work. The same thing was true of PCs, the paladin was very powerful compared to the ordinary fighter.  The only thing balancing it was a required 17 Cha and several other relatively high (13+) stats.  I don't remember the exact stats, but it was at least Str and Wis too.  The idea that making the paladin rare balanced it out, but it didn't because if a player did roll one up, it's extra power would still be felt in thhe campaign.  And I think this lead to alignment stomping with them.  The same was true of rangers, druids and bards, though I don't think druids were all that overpowering compared to the cleric (though I saw few in 2e, so I can't be sure).The rules also based this rarity on an assumption of the old 3d6 method, but most games I played and ran used Method 5 (aka 4d6), and that tossed the whole PC class balance out the window.  I had few straight fighters in my games; everyone tended to play paladins, rangers, or multiclass.The DM is largely intended to be a neutral interpreter of the rules who also provides scenarios for play.  The original rules refer to the role not as the DM, but the "referee", and that term even continued to survive into 2e's days.  The problem with making the rules too loose is that it often gives bad DMs the excuse to power trip.</blockquote>

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