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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Nagol" data-source="post: 6133985" data-attributes="member: 23935">All versions of D&D are much less flexible than any version of the Hero System.  If I were to say "All magic requires a minimum 15 minute ritual", "Magic consumes the vital energies of all life in a small radius around the caster", or "Magic only works on Tuesday during the day unless there is a full moon obscured by clouds and it is Wednesday morning after you've been dealt two jacks from a deck of cards" Hero supports the framework and the restrictions affect the value of the magical effects.  It is entirely possible to completely replicate the D&D magic system and almost any other magic system describable in game terms inside the Hero toolbox and if an open kitchen-sink experience is desired, each character can pick and choose their own set of advantages and restrictions for how his magic works.All that is required is front-loaded work of defining how everything works and how those things are expressed in games terms.  Want a magic system that follows the laws of contagion or sympathy?  Want a system where Drenai mental abilities dominate?  Want a system where magic consumes and is powered by silver?  Want a system where magical effects are entirely non-physical and can only affect the spiritual plane?Each version of D&D does its version of magic well.  None do other versions of magic well without substantial game rewrites (like Arcana Unearthed) or whole-cloth additions like Incarnum.Now look at the character design flexibility offered, D&D classes restrict characters to archetypes or some previously selected set of archetypes (later multi-classing).  Hero characters grow more organically and may broaden abilities rather than go for increasing strength if desired.  The choices generally lie in the player's hands within the campaign constraints detailed by the GM.  If a magic-user type wants to be one of the best in the realm with a rapier, it can be done at a cost to his magical might.  If a priest of Hermes wants to pick locks and bypass traps like a pro, it can be done.That flexibility comes with a large time cost for the GM and a smaller time cost for each player.  It also comes with a reduction on common understanding.  It's easier to say "I'm running AD&D; here's the starting locale and house rules in use" than "I'm running a Hero system fantasy campaign.  Here is how each system of magic works; here is how the society is constructed; here is the expected role for the PCs; here is the starting point budget, locale, and house rules".  The players face a much smaller selection set.  It is easier for the players to say "Cool, I'm going to play a human Fighter; I'll get some dice" than "Cool, I'm going to play a human with these stats, perks, skills, talents, magical abilities, and disadvantages."</blockquote>

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