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Message: <blockquote data-quote="jaer" data-source="post: 4013417" data-attributes="member: 57861">I don't think these design issues are meant to "fool-proof" the game on the DM side.  I see these as good introductions for new DMs, of breaking the idea that only DMs can DM.My biggest complaint about the 3e DMG was, as an experienced DM, it had little info form me that I couldn't get in other books except magic items and examples of traps (and even those seem a little weak!)  It didn't teach me anything about running a game or what makes a good encounter or really how to properly balance CR vs party level (because, what could teach you that?  It's all look and feel to me).But on the other side, when one of my players said he wanted to DM and was going to use a 2e module and convert it to 3e for the plot, the DMG did not teach him, the novice, how to be a DM.  He would come to me for advice, sure, but he didn't want to come out and ask me to help him design encounters I would be playing through.  He had a tough time creating challenges, and we often ended up dominating every battle because of it.He had a tough time making and running larger encounters, so it was often the party vs one or two creatures, and often they were of the beatstick variety (no finesse, no tactics, just muscle).We did not go up against many spellcasters - where I can make a 14th lvl wizard without cracking a book, he found it too time consuming, and the NPCs listed in the DMG can only be used so often before the PCs know exactly what to expect.He had a hard time knowing what sort of creatures would work well together or what kind of magic gear was balanced for our level (after all, the minor, medium, major list ing the DMG for random treasure can easy give unbalanced treasure!).We still had fun, sure, but the DMG was not set up to teach a novice how to play and balance the game.  The new changes such as magic item level, creature level, and creature rolls goes a long way to putting up front what is balanced and challenging for a party.Putting the responsibility on a DM to have to balance the game makes it difficult for someone to break into DMing.  Some of my players have tried it, and they said they would never try it again.</blockquote>

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