If you had to cut one element from the D&D game...

[Arkhandus]

The inference that rules and players' fiat are GAWD of the gaming table and the DM is slave to them, and should be punished if he does not accept the players' interpretation of any unclear or slightly contradictory rules. :\

I can't believe my first campaign basically came crashing down because two players wanted to be wanton idiot-jerks in the game, and then started arguing with me when I said their paladins lost their powers.....after murdering several innocent townsfolk that were angry with them for desecrating a druidic site in the town (the druids and rangers had formed the town to begin with and had long been its protectors). And the players' basis for arguing? Rule 0 in the 3.0 DMG had some clause or other that they interpreted as meaning 'the players can do whatever they want and you can only adjudicate matters to be in their favor'.

After, y'know, I got tired of their stupid arguments and brought up Rule 0. And I had already made a few concessions to these two before the game so they could play the characters they wanted and be happy with it.

 

[PapersAndPaychecks]

Do I get multiple choices?!?!

Prestige Classes, Feats, Skills, Multiclassing, Magical buffs, presentation of the game with the idea that the players matter more than the DM...

I'll see that and raise you challenge ratings, outsize statblocks, magic shops, dungeonpunk art, page borders, splatbooks, mixed miniatures bags, and the proliferation of rules-bloating expansion books.

 

[el-remmen]

[edit]Sorry, I forgot to list "alignment" and "Prestige classes"

jh

I can edit the poll to add them if you like. . .

Not sure what I'd cut. . .

 

[Sadrik]

I dont know how to answer because I would eliminate most of them.

Saving throws- use ability checks.
Skills- keep them but make far fewer of them and dont try to spell out every possible situation.
Feats- eliminate them for class features or keep them and eliminate class features.
The Divine/Arcane magic distinction- eliminate this and make casters have set spells as class features (warlock style) or make them accessable by feats.
Attacks of opportunity- gone.
Weapon damage difference- Base damage almost solely on the size of the weapon makes sense to me.

 

[Emirikol]

I can edit the poll to add them if you like. . .

Not sure what I'd cut. . .

Na, leave it. It's not for scientific study

jh

 

[Olaf the Stout]

Alignment or Prestige Classes would be my choice.

Olaf the Stout

 

[Reynard]

Do I get multiple choices?!?!

Prestige Classes, Feats, Skills, Multiclassing, Magical buffs, presentation of the game with the idea that the players matter more than the DM...

The 1e rules are available from ebay or for digital download.

 

[mhacdebhandia]

Level Adjustment/Effective Character Level.

Because "Effective Character Level" isn't.

If a minotaur is, for argument's sake, supposed to be equivalent to a 9th-level character, then it should have 9 Hit Dice and be equivalent. Re-balance all creatures' Hit Dice, base attack, skills, et cetera according to this presumption.

You absolutely should be able to play such a minotaur as part of a 9th-level party, presumably in a warrior-like role, with no problems at all.

This is pretty much the one thing where point-based systems have the edge: a 100-point GURPS character is, more or less, comparable to any other 100-point GURPS character, modulo the ability of its player to actually create a sensible 100-point GURPS character (which goes to the weakness of point-based systems, but that's another subject).

A 10th-level fighter, a 6 HD +4 LA monster, and a 2 HD +8 LA monster are not on par with each other in D&D, despite each of them having an ECL of 10.

 

[mhacdebhandia]

You know, it might be a little specific to the current edition of the game, but I genuinely think my idea is actually more useful than the same old crap being thrown around by partisans of earlier editions and people who apparently have never liked D&D much for what it is, only for what they wish it were.

I mean seriously, alignment? Classes? Magic items? These are the things you'd cut? Why not just switch to another bloody game?

 

[scourger]

Other. Magic. There's just too much of it in my opinion. It gets out of control too easily. Ironically, it's the thing that I think makes the game fun, too. Maybe cutting spellcasters is a better answer. Then, there could be magic but it would be limited.