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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Aluvial" data-source="post: 860641" data-attributes="member: 6862">Thanks for all of the responses.  I've got a degree in Physics and its not that I can't figure the math, it’s that fact that there is so much rules lawyering to begin with.  Ambiguities spring up all over the place and I constantly have to post on various rules forums and wade through 15 to 45 posts of people arguing over how it "should be!"  From there I make me decisions.  We use two white boards, is high above the table and the initiative order and enemy AC's go on that board.  The other is great.  It is 4' X 3' and is has a permanent grey, 1 inch grid on it for miniatures.  Every single combat happens on this board.  As for keeping track of spell effects, I do that on the initiative white board.  I suppose I could ask the players to do stuff, but they are extremely lazy about having anything to do but look up info on their characters, which is a big job, especially for spell casters.  Out of the seven, sometimes eight players, we have one treasure keeper (the thief!), and one official note keeper.  The other guys come and play, but we have a very social situation.  Lot's of digression on other topics, which is fine for us.  We play from 7 to 11, every Wednesday night.  As for air of mystery, I suppose over the years we've done it all.  The guys had the original monster books memorized, and only because we had played for so long.  I love the fact that I can surprise them with the new books and/or add class levels to a creature.  Nothing like a band of kobold monks!  So in that vain, it's fresh, but then again not.  My players just don't seem attached to the 3rd edition characters.  I don't know if it was the switch, but they just don't seem to get into much...  If you search the House Rules forum you will see my House Rules (the 1st edition of them anyway, they've changed around recently) and some of my beginning campaign posts for RttToEE adventure.  I've always, always have played in Greyhawk, and use the Planescape as my cosmology.  I just don't know what's wrong with this edition.  It just seems extremely power based, and if you don't min-max your character to death, with progressively more powerful feat chains, you are an idiot.  I can't blame them for doing it, when the monsters are now designed the same way.I can still run an encounter by the seat of my pants, and can instinctively set a challenge to whatever difficulty I want to.  EL, that crap is bogus.  CR, that needs a major fix in my opinion.  By the way I use a modified Excel Spreadsheet in the Forgotten Realms Style for awarding experience that FastLearner designed.  This thing is a godsend and I print a report at the end of each game session for the characters.  If you want a copy, email me at <a href="mailto:aluvial@carolina.rr.com">aluvial@carolina.rr.com</a> !!  Once you learn how to use it, it saves SO MUCH TIME when figuring out XP's for the characters.  Also has plenty of room for traps, modifiers, bonuses, etc.  Anyway, I appreciate the advice; I think I just needed to hear that I wasn't alone with my concept of the game as it stands.  I'm hopeful that the new revisions clear up some stuff.  Honestly, I love the new edition for characters and combat, but something has gotten lost in the translation...  Relying on the rules for a group of rules junkies is my main problem, and one that I hope the clarifications coming in July will fix.  Aluvial</blockquote>

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