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<blockquote data-quote="Umbran" data-source="post: 1864635" data-attributes="member: 177">No, it isn't, because the analogy between the rules and a calculator is particularly weak.b&nbsp; A calculator is an instrument designed with one and only one purpopse in mind - calculation.&nbsp; The rules are designed with a great many different (and often competing and contradictory) purposes in mind.If by &quot;follow the system&quot; you mean &quot;must powergame and min-max&quot;, I must disagree.Whether or not you survive depends upon what the fights are like.&nbsp; The DM chooses the encounters.&nbsp; So, if the other players are like you, choosing a bit of style over maximum effect, and the DM is with you, and chooses encounters fit for the characters, you'll survive if you aren't min-maxed, and everyone will have a good time.If you try to play a sub-optimal character in a game where the DM and other players don't want to play that way, you have a problem.&nbsp; But that's a problem no system will ever be able to fix, because it's a mismatch of play-styles between people.&nbsp; I don't see any evidence to support that worry.&nbsp; The mechanics of the game have been largely stable since the release of 3e.&nbsp; What changes were implemented with 3.5 generally made things more even, so that you had to worry less about min-maxing than before.&nbsp; And the changes in 3.5e were not motivated by what appeared in supplements, as far as I can tell.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Umbran, post: 1864635, member: 177"] No, it isn't, because the analogy between the rules and a calculator is particularly weak.b A calculator is an instrument designed with one and only one purpopse in mind - calculation. The rules are designed with a great many different (and often competing and contradictory) purposes in mind. If by "follow the system" you mean "must powergame and min-max", I must disagree. Whether or not you survive depends upon what the fights are like. The DM chooses the encounters. So, if the other players are like you, choosing a bit of style over maximum effect, and the DM is with you, and chooses encounters fit for the characters, you'll survive if you aren't min-maxed, and everyone will have a good time. If you try to play a sub-optimal character in a game where the DM and other players don't want to play that way, you have a problem. But that's a problem no system will ever be able to fix, because it's a mismatch of play-styles between people. I don't see any evidence to support that worry. The mechanics of the game have been largely stable since the release of 3e. What changes were implemented with 3.5 generally made things more even, so that you had to worry less about min-maxing than before. And the changes in 3.5e were not motivated by what appeared in supplements, as far as I can tell. [/QUOTE]

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