First off, to those who didn't like my earlier list of ideas very much, no worries.
What I was trying to get at, in the main, was that there were some very good and useful game mechanics in the earlier editions that got thrown out in 3e, done - it largely appears - in the name of over-simplicity. That said, there were some awful mechanics in earlier editions that also got thrown out...
Subsequent posts have reminded me of a few more ideas I had, some in agreement with said posts...
- Grapple has always been a headache. Despite what I've said here and elsewhere, this might be a good candidate for severe simplification, if only to make it useful.
- The DR mechanic is one 3e development I rather like; keep it. Keep it simple, but keep it.
- Keep, in general: classes, hit points, levels, etc.
- Spells need almost a complete re-do...some specifics:
--- there are too many buff spells; limits on spell damage dice seem unnecessarily arbitrary; spells should be less "automatic" (e.g. roll to hit for anything requiring aim such as fireball, lightning bolt, etc.) with a serious miss potentially dangerous to the party; illusions should be able to fool *all* the senses including touch, meaning they can do damage; expanding fireballs and rebounding lightning bolts are just plain *fun*; etc., etc.
- Flanking is a fine mechanic, keep it.
- Wealth by level table is a bad idea, lose it.
- Wealth by town table is a bad idea, replace with a genearl vague guideline at most.
- CR/EL is only useful if you're new to DM'ing; with any experience, a DM knows what to throw at a party. So, keep it *only* as a guide or training tool.
- Have an iconic setting (Greyhawk? Mystara?) that the rules can reference, much like the iconic characters (Tordek, Mialee, etc.) 3e uses.
- AoO is a good idea, though overdone, but I'm not sure if there's a way to simplify it without making it useless.
- I like the idea of "wild" psyonics; something you're born with whether you train in it or not, such as in the Kurtz or Jordan books.
- I've never seen the point of the Barbarian class in any edition. However, Barbarian as a race (sub-race of Human) holds merit.
- Wild or unpredictable magic is always fun. They sort-of approached it in 2e but if it's shown up in 3e I missed it.
No doubt there'll be more to this later...
Lanefan