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D&D Older Editions
3e/4e as Operating Systems: An Argument for Grognardism
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<blockquote data-quote="woodelf" data-source="post: 3749015" data-attributes="member: 10201"><p>As a general analogy, i think you're right. However, don't forget thgat, even moreso than with computer software, there is no one clear-cut universal definition of "better"--one person's feature is another's bug [in many cases; some things are always bugs]. So, frex, i looked at D&D3E, and saw that (1) none of the 40pp of houserules i'd used when i last played AD&D2 had made it into the rules [nor even dissimilar fixes, but for the same problems], (2) several things i'd liked about AD&D2 had been changed, and (3) the rules had overall gotten more complex, but without an increase in the detail of results [frex, despite all the new combat rules, the end result of an attack was still just some hitpoints of damage]. Yes, I could've adapted houserules, and/or written new ones, but it actually would've taken me *more* houserules to turn D&D3[.5]E into the game for me, than it took me with AD&D2. So when i want to play D&D, D&D3[.5]E isn't the ruleset for me--Arcana Unearthed or Iron Heroes, or maybe Everquest D20, is. (and with each of those, my "necessary" houserules [would] consist of "replace all instances of 'roll d20' with 'roll mid20'" or "replace all instances of 'roll d20' with 'take 10 or roll d20'".)</p><p></p><p>Obviously, tastes will vary. Case in point:</p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Since i can't stand the D&D3[.5]E psionics system, that's no great loss. Mind you, i *do* want psionics a part of my D&D games, but it should look more like the Psychic's Handbook system, or in some other appropriate way be much less similar to how magic operates [than the D&D3E psionics], so a whole new system isn't necessarily a problem. And i'm not likely to be an early adopter, so waiting a few months for a psionics supplement isn't a problem--and why should it be any *more* of a problem than in the transition from AD&D2 to D&D3E?</p><p></p><p>All in all, while i've taken a complete pass on D&D3E, it looks like D&D4E is being designed to fix almost exactly the reasons i've skipped D&D3E, and i may well end up buying it.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="woodelf, post: 3749015, member: 10201"] As a general analogy, i think you're right. However, don't forget thgat, even moreso than with computer software, there is no one clear-cut universal definition of "better"--one person's feature is another's bug [in many cases; some things are always bugs]. So, frex, i looked at D&D3E, and saw that (1) none of the 40pp of houserules i'd used when i last played AD&D2 had made it into the rules [nor even dissimilar fixes, but for the same problems], (2) several things i'd liked about AD&D2 had been changed, and (3) the rules had overall gotten more complex, but without an increase in the detail of results [frex, despite all the new combat rules, the end result of an attack was still just some hitpoints of damage]. Yes, I could've adapted houserules, and/or written new ones, but it actually would've taken me *more* houserules to turn D&D3[.5]E into the game for me, than it took me with AD&D2. So when i want to play D&D, D&D3[.5]E isn't the ruleset for me--Arcana Unearthed or Iron Heroes, or maybe Everquest D20, is. (and with each of those, my "necessary" houserules [would] consist of "replace all instances of 'roll d20' with 'roll mid20'" or "replace all instances of 'roll d20' with 'take 10 or roll d20'".) Obviously, tastes will vary. Case in point: Since i can't stand the D&D3[.5]E psionics system, that's no great loss. Mind you, i *do* want psionics a part of my D&D games, but it should look more like the Psychic's Handbook system, or in some other appropriate way be much less similar to how magic operates [than the D&D3E psionics], so a whole new system isn't necessarily a problem. And i'm not likely to be an early adopter, so waiting a few months for a psionics supplement isn't a problem--and why should it be any *more* of a problem than in the transition from AD&D2 to D&D3E? All in all, while i've taken a complete pass on D&D3E, it looks like D&D4E is being designed to fix almost exactly the reasons i've skipped D&D3E, and i may well end up buying it. [/QUOTE]
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