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<blockquote data-quote="Silverleaf" data-source="post: 2154342" data-attributes="member: 30790">Sure, you can change it.&nbsp; But I'm wondering what the designers had in mind.&nbsp; In other words, what's the real story behind the power creep.In 2e, some of the monsters (dragons &amp; giants) were beefed up a lot because the designers decided the old ones were too weak and didn't represent their (and apparently many players') idea of what those monsters should be like.So the question is: in 3e, everything was beefed up because....?The're only two reasons I could think of:1. Critical hits.&nbsp; In Basic D&amp;D there is no such thing as a critical hit.&nbsp; A natural 20 is always a guaranteed hit, and that's all.&nbsp; I seem to recall an optional critical hit rule in 2e though (on a natural 20 you attack again, if you hit the second time you do double damage... sound familiar?)&nbsp; I suppose you could also consider the 1e &quot;massive damage&quot; rule (50+ hit points in one blow -&gt; save or die) to be a critical hit system of sorts too, but that might be stretching it (normal weapons don't do 50+ damage, at least not when wielded by low-level Fighters or weaker monsters).2. Combat feats.&nbsp; There aren't any feats in B/X D&amp;D to rack up more damage with (though the Rules Cyclopedia has Weapon Mastery...)&nbsp; But in 2e, Fighters could get multiple attacks and weapon specialization.&nbsp; Ditto in 1e.I'd say that point #2 can be taken out of the equation, since 3e and most previous editions had some provision for Fighters to deal lots of damage.&nbsp; But point #1 still stands.&nbsp; Are critical hits enough of a reason for 3e to have upped the power level accross the board?I'm not very familiar with Hackmaster, but I know it gives everyone a 20 hit point kicker at 1st level (and monsters get it too, though weaker ones get a smaller boost).&nbsp; How does the power level compare between HM and 3e... anyone know?Other things to consider:&nbsp; 3e did away with the System Shock &amp; Resurrection Survival rolls, how come?&nbsp; To be fair, these don't exist in Basic D&amp;D either, although it's debatable whether they were left out to keep the game simpler (other ability score adjustments were left out too).</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Silverleaf, post: 2154342, member: 30790"] Sure, you can change it. But I'm wondering what the designers had in mind. In other words, what's the real story behind the power creep. In 2e, some of the monsters (dragons & giants) were beefed up a lot because the designers decided the old ones were too weak and didn't represent their (and apparently many players') idea of what those monsters should be like. So the question is: in 3e, everything was beefed up because....? The're only two reasons I could think of: 1. Critical hits. In Basic D&D there is no such thing as a critical hit. A natural 20 is always a guaranteed hit, and that's all. I seem to recall an optional critical hit rule in 2e though (on a natural 20 you attack again, if you hit the second time you do double damage... sound familiar?) I suppose you could also consider the 1e "massive damage" rule (50+ hit points in one blow -> save or die) to be a critical hit system of sorts too, but that might be stretching it (normal weapons don't do 50+ damage, at least not when wielded by low-level Fighters or weaker monsters). 2. Combat feats. There aren't any feats in B/X D&D to rack up more damage with (though the Rules Cyclopedia has Weapon Mastery...) But in 2e, Fighters could get multiple attacks and weapon specialization. Ditto in 1e. I'd say that point #2 can be taken out of the equation, since 3e and most previous editions had some provision for Fighters to deal lots of damage. But point #1 still stands. Are critical hits enough of a reason for 3e to have upped the power level accross the board? I'm not very familiar with Hackmaster, but I know it gives everyone a 20 hit point kicker at 1st level (and monsters get it too, though weaker ones get a smaller boost). How does the power level compare between HM and 3e... anyone know? Other things to consider: 3e did away with the System Shock & Resurrection Survival rolls, how come? To be fair, these don't exist in Basic D&D either, although it's debatable whether they were left out to keep the game simpler (other ability score adjustments were left out too). [/QUOTE]

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