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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Clavis" data-source="post: 3791799" data-attributes="member: 31898">Having played D&D for over 20 years, I will concede that Old School DMs regularly abused their power, and that that the older rules were filled with too many obvious patches and inconsistencies. The main problem I have with the newer rule set is not that the rules explicitly take away power from the DM. After all, any player that does not cooperate with the DM can simply not be invited back to the table. The main problem is that the nature of the 3.X edition rules de-motivate DMs, and turn the role into a drudge job.I do believe that the balance between creativity and rules adherence is essentially zero-sum. The more overly long stat-blocks I have to create and balance, and the more over-the-top PC abilities I have to keep in mind, the less I am able to just be creative, both in pre-game preparation and spontaneous in-game action. The brain space that SHOULD be coming up with exciting locations and thrilling descriptions of action is instead being used to calculate whether a PC triggers an Attack of Opportunity for wearing purple near a Dragon on a Tuesday in the rain. Some people enjoy a very tactical game, and their fun comes from discovering ways to get the most out of the mechanics. I, however, do not.Ask yourself, are there fewer good DMs around now than there were? Even WOTC concedes that fewer people want to run 3rd edition than previous editions. The company is now making fun of 3rd editions combat system in official advertising! I have refused to run the 3.X edition game for years now because I was having far less fun than I did under previous editions.  "Loss of DM power" is perhaps just another way of saying loss of an enjoyable experience for the DM.</blockquote>

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