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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ace" data-source="post: 2547010" data-attributes="member: 944">I'd like to jump in on this Rasyr. Most of the problems peeople are having understanding 3x is caused by players and GM's who haven't sat down and actually tried to understand the rules not that they don't have a college degree. They are no more complex than say Panzerblitz -- or even some collectable card games. the lack of interest in learning the rules is understandable though. Not only are there time constraints in peoples lives  but most of the games relased in the last 10 or so years have been rules light or at least "non rigorous" -- stuff like Unknown Armies, Over The Edge, Storyteller and the like are meant to be played fast and loose. It is what people are used to Even D&D'rs fall prey to this as most of the original D&D games were basically Ad Hoc mobs of rules that let the DM basically wing it. D&D3 and its cousins  OTOH are  a lot more like those old 80's games, Aftermath, Space Opera, Rolemaster  and the likeIts a rigid, structured game with built in guidelines and balances. It can be very rewarding in play if and only if the players understand the rules and take the time to make them work. Now there are 4 problems (IMO) with 3x First  the fact that it is exception driven like a collectable card game -In actual play the tactical managemnt can be a pain for players or GM's used to "get em!" as the limits of tacticsStuff like "ok so I can move after an attack if I have x feat or am x race -- this spell does x under y condition" is a royal pain to maanage in play if you come from -- he can attack and has 5 HP left he is down -- thats it. Look at a stat block for C&C or OD&D vs 3x for an example  for a fun short hand version of the troubles see the the half ogre with a spiked chain bit on Order Of the Stick second:  prep time for the GM increases exponentially at high levels. Low level d20 is easy -- OTOH Epic -- no so good. It can 30 minutes to make 1 Epic NPC. I don't have the time and interest in that and neither do a lot of DM's. Electronic tools can help but they aren't the be-all end of gaming. I know I don't want to spend an hour prepping per hour playingthird: D&D is too balance driven at times. The game can break down and be less fun if you give out to little magic without hacking the rules just right. This can be vexing for DM's who want lower magic settings. Worse if players don't use or understand the appropriate resources they have  what was supposed to be a balanced encounter can quickly turn into a TPK. No fun Fourth: Parsing material for inclusion is a challenge. Once you step beyond the 3 core books (or worse go into 3rd party stuff) the difficulty of "what to allow" increases very quickly. Too much No and you lose players (I personally have quit games for this reason) to little No and your DMing job gets much harder.  I have always felt that once you get much beyond "Core Rules,  Critters, an Expansion  or Two and 1 Notebook peril ensuses for the GM--  Certainly adding 4 class books, 3 race books, 3 enviroment books, combat books and more can make being DM go from fun to a burden.</blockquote>

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