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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JohnSnow" data-source="post: 2321410" data-attributes="member: 32164">I agree with you, but I think the level of rules that can be mentally distracting varies from person to person. I actually think that's really where the personal taste issue about "degrees of rules-lightness" comes from.I am aware that a lot of folks (like Akrasia, my DM/CK) believe that the D&D 3x combat rules are so tactical that they are always "in their face." In effect, the rules are so much in the forefront to them that they lose the narrative and immersive aspects that I think brings most gamers to RPGs. But I don't really think it's that those of us who prefer more tactical games want to sacrifice that immersion, it's that we can take a greater level of tactical detail before the rules "bog down" and pull us out of the narrative and immersive game that we're playing.IMO, where this line gets drawn is HIGHLY personal and strictly dependent on taste - how much calculation and tactics you can do "in the back of your brain" so to speak. For example, I'm sure there are people for whom the Hero System (the metric behind Champions) is not so much like a "mini-wargame" that it breaks that immersive experience. For me, D&D 3x is not like that, but Hero is. So I can freely admit there are people who might find D&D 3x too much like a "mini-wargame."Running counter to this is "narrative" vs. "delineated" storytelling. Thank goodness, how much of the narrative you're willing to just "make up" on the fly depends on how much detail you feel the rules should cover. The more you're willing to "ad hoc" on the fly, the fewer detailed rules you need. Personally, I always hated the basic/advanced D&D "handwaving" of so many things. So for me, D&D 3x hits the sweet spot from a playability standpoint, although there are 1 or 2 things I wish it could do and some flavor modifications I've considered (big issues: the magic system and magic item dependency).However, I'm sure others have a different "balance point" between "playability" (in other words, keeping it as a narrative game) and "complexity" than I do. Honestly, I think WFRP probably lies somewhere between 3e and C&C on this scale, so it's no wonder it struck the balance between what I like and what you like...</blockquote>

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