airwalkrr said:
1. Multiclassing
AD&D was too strict. 3rd edition is too permissive. In AD&D you couldn't change professions unless you were human; that was a problem. In 3rd edition you can't help but change professions many times, including certain prestigious professions; this is also a problem.
Potential Solution: There needs to be a significant drawback to multiclassing while keeping it viable. Currently, the only drawback (XP penalty) is easily circumvented. Even when it isn't avoided, XP loss isn't fun.
I control multiclassing with in-character rationale. I don't let someone who has been a citybound wizard all of their lives just up and take a level of barbarian. I actually have fairly detailed, class by class houserules in place for multiclassing. Does that make me a draconian DM? I hope not, and none of my players have complained...
2. Free Metamagic
Metamagic as an idea is great. But there is a reason the designers gave it an opportunity cost in the form of a higher level spell slot. Wizards were not meant to maximize fireballs at 5th level and clerics weren't meant to chain greater magic weapon at 7th level. The current trend of metamagic rods, sudden metamagic feats, and other "free" metamagic effects gives spellcasters too much power.
Potential Solution: I think this aspect just needs to be removed from the game. Metamagic is fine. "Free" metamagic is not.
I agree here - "instant" metamagic is way too powerful, and standard metamagic is too weak/restrictive...there needs to be some kind of middle ground...
3. Synergy
I'm not talking about synergy bonuses from skills. I am talking about unintended consequences of mixing and matching sourcebooks. For example, if a dread necromancer (Heroes of Horror) takes the Tomb-Tainted Soul feat (Libris Mortis), he gets unlimited healing. Taken separately, neither of these abilities is overpowered. Taken together, they have synergy that is far greater than the power of their individual components, likely an oversight because the books had different development teams.
Potential Solution: Allow each player access to one sourcebook ONLY outside of the three core rulebooks. This prevents most forms of synergy. Of course it reduces player options so it is not an ideal solution.
This definitely falls into the realm of DM decision - if you feel that certain classes, feats etc. combine in an unbalanced way, most reasonable players will accept no as an answer. And as has been pointed out, if players insist on being allowed to combine whatever they want to, the DM is free to do the same for the villains.
4. Two-Handed Weapons
Because of the double bonus from Power Attack, floaty shields, and more beneficial Strength modifier, two-handed weapon wielders have become the staple of melee combat. Forgive me, but this is trite. Two-weapon fighters and sword-and-board style have become comparatively worthless relics in the game.
Potential Solution: (and this is vague) The game needs to support multiple fighting styles by providing viable options for each that don't heavily overshadow the others. Player's Handbook 2 goes a long way towards rectifying this problem, but I don't know if it goes far enough.
I semi-agree. Perhaps 1.5x for 2 handed Power Attacks would be better...
5. Balancing Per Encounter Instead of Per Day
This is a horrible idea because it propagates the notion that the world conforms itself to the power level of the player characters. Some encounters are meant to be tougher, and those encounters require greater resources. Others are meant to be more menial and require fewer resources. Properly gauging the difficulty of an encounter and balancing your resources is part of the strategy of D&D. Leave "per encounter" balancing in MMORPGs and keep D&D a strategic game, like it was meant to be. Or at least publish two versions.
Potential Solution: (another vague one) Characters should not be able to use their most powerful abilities without limit.
In general, I really don't like the whole CR/encounters per day system at all. I basically ignore it, using common sense and random encounter tables. I know this is an unpopular view these days, but a CR table is no subtitute for a DM designing and running encounters as he sees fit. Also, some playewrs seem to take the CR system to mean they should never flee, surrender or negotiate their way out of an encounter - there is some kind of expectation that the CR system will assure them success by brute force alone, in every case...
6. Neverending Buffs
Yet another thing that removes an element of strategy from the game. Clerics are particularly fond of these. Spells like magic vestment, greater magic weapon, and heroes' feast are virtual must-haves for clerics because they last practically all day, especially with extend spell. "Forget situational spells. Just memorize the ones that keep you perpetually powered-up!" That's bland.
Potential Solution: Reduce durations of spells like this, or add costly material or XP costs to reduce their frequency of use.
I don't like the heavy reliance on buffs that 3E seems to promote, but seeing as it is an entrenched part of the game, I'm happy to live with it, so long as players realise that their opponents will likely use the same tactics...
7. Combat Expertise and Power Attack
These kinds of feats make the game a bit too complicated because of the constant calculation required. A 10th-level fighter with Power Attack has 11 attack options representing the various penalties he can take. A 10th-level fighter with Power Attack AND Combat Expertise has 66 attack options! And he is expected to quickly decide which course of action is best?
Potential Solution: Simplify these kinds of feats with a flat penalty and flat bonus. The decision for the player then becomes merely to use it or not.
I see this as more of a symptom of a general problem rather than specific to these two feats. Combat simply has too many options in the current edition, which bogs down gameplay and often requires extensive calculations and recalculations. Throw in Total Defense, Aid Another, Flanking, Concealment, the ever popular AoO etc etc and a relatively simple combat can suddenly become and excercise in number crunching and constant flipping through rulebooks. Is there an answer to this? Not that I can see - I guess it's a neccessary evil, to get the flexibility of combat options...
8. Point Buy
As if we needed more excuses for players to focus on character creation as opposed to actually playing the game. The world isn't that fair. I don't know why we would expect our characters to be "equal" either (as if that ideal were even possible). Besides, it ruins the excitement of rolling up a really nice set of scores.
Potential Solution: Roll ability scores.
Unless we are playing a one shot or tournament module, my group never, NEVER, uses point buy or arrays. To me, rolling up a character is the quintessential heart of the D&D experience. Point buy is just way too "CCG/computer gamey" for my tastes...(again, I realise this is just a personal opinion, and a lot of people disagree)...
9. Rerolls
Various class abilities that allow rerolls greatly reduce the amount of chance in the game. You aren't likely to roll very many 1s during a game session, and if you have one or two reroll abilities (luck domain, luck blade, fatespinner, etc.) you don't need to worry about them. As long as your character is powerfully built, you will almost never need to worry about pesky automatic failures. Additionally, these abilities are greater still in the hands of NPCs, who only usually need them for one battle.
Potential Solution: Don't allow rerolls to change the result of automatic successes or failures.
I honestly can't see this as that much of problem, unless a charatcer has an exceptionally high amount of reroll devices...
10. Magic Item Creation
It costs XP to make magic items. So my character unlearns things for succeeding at a task. How on earth does that make sense?
Potential Solution: Just drop the XP cost for magic item creation. It already costs your character a feat. Or make the creation of magic items difficult by requiring rare components that must be quested for.
Magic item creation is probably the part of 3E I dislike the most. Adventurers adventure - they shouldn't be sitting on a production line churning out items for the party, IMHO. IMC, item creation is basically the way it was in 2E - something underatken by high level, semi-retired spellcasters...
) 
