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Message: <blockquote data-quote="jgbrowning" data-source="post: 1757844" data-attributes="member: 5724">All of this is IMHO,I think it's mostly because of an increased rules set, the focus of the designers on a set balance which deliberately excludes non-mechanical (ie. roleplaying) balancing factors, and the expectation of pre-determined "power-ups" (PC expected wealth) makes a mental construction that is harder to throw away bits-n-pieces than it was for earlier versions.It is more like a computer game now that it has ever been. The more variables that have understood and expected outcomes (ie. if this than this happens) the more likely that gaming the system become part-and-parcel of the play.Plot-focused games run better with fewer rules because the outcome of each individual action is determined by what the plot needs, not by a rules set. When a rules set is implimented, actions that are outside that rules set are now impossible. Any action in a plot-focused game is possible as long as the plot is served.I can't break the rules in order to serve my plot because players expect certain things to happen. I'm expected to build my plot around the rules-set, not the other way around....And to be crystal about this since people often get defensive when D&D is criticized. I love D&D enough to make a living writing for it, but it does make roleplaying more difficult than lighter rules sets because the rule set is a restraining of plot possibilities.Example: Say I want to make arcane spell users who can wear full plate but never fail a spell. The first thing everyone's going to want to know is, "OK, that's cool. What did you take away from them to make up for it?" This is how it limits roleplaying. The rules system is supreme because the plot must follow the rules, not vice-versa. If I don't take mechanical benefit away, I'll hear cries of "Broken!" This is because role-playing restrictions are not viewed as a valid method of game balance.joe b.</blockquote>

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