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Message: <blockquote data-quote="The Sigil" data-source="post: 1527810" data-attributes="member: 2013">Easy question first:Classes... Cleric, Fighter, Rogue, Wizard.(Races... Human, Dwarf, Elf, Halfling.)The philosophy on this is that for a "beginning" game you want roles to be somewhat limited and well-defined so that everyone "knows their place" quickly.  Once the role-playing skills are developed somewhat, you expand the options given and allow for overlap, because people will know better how to roleplay.  It's easier to tell someone new to roleplaying, "you're a fighter, like Conan" or "you're a wizard, like Gandalf" than it is to say, "well, you can be whomever you want and then build a character around that concept."  Again, for a BASIC game - with "training wheels on" - you want to limit choice somewhat so as to keep the new player from being overwhelmed.  Once he's comfortable with the options given him, you give him more.Harder question second:My philosophy on simplifying the magic system was, "make casting spells as easy to use as attacks."  Verbal, Somatic, and Material components (with an exception or two for "costly components") went out the window immediately.  Any spell with a casting time other than "standard action" went out the window immediately (again, with one or two exceptions).  Now it's like the old "Boxed Set" days... you say, "I cast a spell" and that's all you need to know.  Someone can try to disrupt it, of course, with a readied action (but since there are no Attacks of Opportunity, that's the only way).The second way of making things easy was to pare down the spell selection considerably.  This meant figuring out a "theme" for clerics and wizards each and sticking to it.  Cleric spells chosen are "healing" and "blessing" spells - spells that enhance others' ability to affect things, but don't directly affect things themselves; wizards, OTOH, got offensive spells and "direct effect" spells.Schools of magic and descriptors, while flavorful and in some cases useful from a game mechanic perspective, were scrapped because they didn't add enough to the "basic system" to justify their complexity.Basically, spells now have a name, a range, a duration, and a saving throw entry, and of course a description of what they do - that's it.  That makes them pretty simple to use, IMO.  It satisfies the "who, what, where, when" and just enough of the "how" to work.--The Sigil</blockquote>

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