Anyone Remember...

[glass]

Is it me or are there 38973943789 books out there to juice up characters?

Unless WotC has been releasing books at the rate of about 200 per second, then no, there aren't.


glass.

 

[Drowbane]

When all you could play were fighters, magic users, thieves and clerics? ( and paladins, rangers, druids, monks and assassins...and real bards. That could kick tail).

Is it me or are there 38973943789 books out there to juice up characters? Whatever happened to having a good character be good not because of a "build" but because of background and history of play?

I guess I'm getting crotchety in my old age, but I think this prestigeclass arms race is going to kill the game. And lets not get into the whiny players who demand their characters have X amount of magic items because the DMG says thats how much they should have...

Sorry had to whine myself.

Been playing since 87', so sure I remember. I also remember the Arms Race of 2e... so far 3.X has been tame in that regard by comparison.

Its easy to whine about the now when you gloss over the flaws of the past (THAC0, 5-7 Saves, extremely unbalanced Classes and Races - Rangers... anybody?, shoddy Skill mechanics - aka Proficiencies... etc, etc).

Sure I remember. Been playing since '83. But the notion that the PrCs and extra classes are going to kill the game is just silly.

I agree that it's possible for a game to get bogged down in options. That doesn't mean the game shouldn't provide them; it means the DM should decide what fits into his campaign and what doesn't. I've not yet run, or played in, a D&D 3E game that threw the doors open to everything published. But I have allowed some of the stranger stuff where it was appropriate, and gotten some great characters--with personalities and histories--out of doing so.

I utterly reject the notion that having multiple class options and builds is contrary to making up a good character background and history. Players who want character backstories will create them whether they have one class to choose from or a thousand. Players who don't will not, no matter how you curtail their options.

Yeah, what he said!

 

[Drowbane]

i'll do a search but i'm pretty sure the cat vs commoner thread was using the 2000ed.

Diaglo is correct. Back then 1st lvl Mages had bats and small vermin to fear. Cats were for 3rd lvl Mages.

 

[Remathilis]

Nah, never played that. We played fighters, clerics, magic users, thieves, elves, dwarves, and halflings. And paladins, knights, avengers, druids, & mystics if the DM allowed. And there were only 3 alignments. And my dwarf could kick the snot out of your fighter until your fighter was 21st level and my dwarf was still 12th. Thats REAL D&D dangit!

 

[Rhun]

I certainly remember...although I have to admit, there is something to the versatility that is now available. Used to be you have two characters of the same class and type get in a fight, the winner was all determined by the luck of the dice. Now, two characters of the same class and type can be vastly different...

 

[Crothian]

I remember it and lived it. Lots of old school gamers round here that love the new edition. The so called power creep has actually been very well contained. And the number of books Wizards puts out is oddly enough so they can stay in business.

 

[Odhanan]

Is it me or are there 38973943789 books out there to juice up characters? Whatever happened to having a good character be good not because of a "build" but because of background and history of play?

It's no less feasible today as it was yesterday. The only difference is that now, you have tons of mechanical options to actually reproduce your cool background into actual play.

I guess I'm getting crotchety in my old age, but I think this prestigeclass arms race is going to kill the game.

Going to kill the game? I don't think so. If anything, it energized it.

And lets not get into the whiny players who demand their characters have X amount of magic items because the DMG says thats how much they should have...

Everything in the DMG is advice and tools. You can discard some tools. If your campaign is more fun for you and your players if you do so, you'd better, actually. If however your players complain about the amount of magic items in your games constantly, then you should care for their opinions. They are the people you game with. If they are not entertained and you are, maybe you have a break from DMing and think about why you run the game.

 

[Mycanid]

Of course I do Playing since 1979....

 

[Treebore]

When all you could play were fighters, magic users, thieves and clerics? ( and paladins, rangers, druids, monks and assassins...and real bards. That could kick tail).

Is it me or are there 38973943789 books out there to juice up characters? Whatever happened to having a good character be good not because of a "build" but because of background and history of play?

I guess I'm getting crotchety in my old age, but I think this prestigeclass arms race is going to kill the game. And lets not get into the whiny players who demand their characters have X amount of magic items because the DMG says thats how much they should have...

Sorry had to whine myself.

If it really bugs you play Castles and Crusades, I do. Want to learn more? Check out the forums on dragonsfoot.org or the Troll Lord Games messageboards.

 

[Treebore]

Oh, and I've been playing since April of 1985 (date on my first characters character sheet), so I remember.