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Message: <blockquote data-quote="rounser" data-source="post: 4454016" data-attributes="member: 1106">That's because you're applying apple thinking to an orange.  The shoe doesn't fit.Unfortunately, that's exactly what WOTC have done with 4E by approaching the exception based rules model from the wrong direction (the "here's a cool mechanical effect, come up with some flavour excuse for it" direction, rather than "here's a flavour thing we need to represent, come up with something mechanical to represent that").  You see it all over the place in M:tG - a power arguably weakly related to the card concept, and open to interpretation about what goes on "in reality" in regards to how that power manifests.What works for M:tG isn't necessarily going to map equally well to D&D, because one is a hugely abstracted card game with flavour as...well, flavour...and the other is a very specific fantasy world simulation, with flavour as one of the main reasons for bothering to play in the first place.  I think that the exception-based rules model can work for D&D...really well.  But the temptation to create mechanics for mechanic's sake, resulting in abominations with no flavour reason for existing, like the "warlord", is seemingly too strong.Approaching D&D from the exceptions-based rules model perspective, with flavour as afterthought or a branding exercise, is IMO asinine because D&D lives and dies by it's flavour.  M:tG doesn't - it doesn't have to make sense, except in a very abstract "armor of thorns on a wall of air" or "Squaaltrabian Infantry, OK whatever" kind of way.  And WoW portrays a specific world everyone plays in, without worldbuilding - it too is not D&D, and doesn't face the same challenges as D&D's implied setting - like supporting a thousand worlds.D&D isn't a movie, either, and can't use a movie's popcorn logic excuses.  It's D&D, and we see silly rules that don't make sense except for extensive handwaving and references to Die Hard.And yet, and yet, and yet...the 4E DMG is a superb book in places, the best yet in terms of practical advice in some ways, so someone over at WOTC "gets it".  How did the design direction go so far and uncompromisingly in the direction it did, though?  It's all so ideologically extreme, like the result of giving an extremist political party dictatorship powers, and seeing the unexpected side effect result of their ideologies come into play.  And when can we vote the current "ruling party" of D&D out of power?Maybe D&D will become more like M:tG (or already has become that way), in that people will take their Dragonborn for the +2 strength modifier just the way they'd put a Derelor in their deck for being a cheap casting cost 4/4, and just think about the crunch effect...stuff the flavour.  Arguably it's already begun with 3E and it's "builds".  They harken to M:tG deck construction.</blockquote>

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