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Message: <blockquote data-quote="mmadsen" data-source="post: 234749" data-attributes="member: 1645">Isn't combat the most popular aspect of the game?I don't see how character progression is related to wargaming.  Wargaming units and commanders don't typically display progression at all -- and the few wargames that track unit/commander experience certainly don't handle it like D&D.3E came close to a flexible class system with its Fighter and Expert classes.  In fact, "classless" Call of Cthulhu d20's system isn't much more than making everyone play an Expert.I'm still not sure what you're "game balance" complaint is.  I certainly see no negative to a system where equal-level characters play comparably important roles in a typical adventure.Worst case, you ignore balance entirely, and let players play whatever level they want (or that you allow) with whatever equipment they want (or that you allow), etc.  It can't be any worse than a system that doesn't start out with some semblance of balance.I agree.  It does make for one more kind of progress -- you can accumulate cool stuff -- but when it gets to the point that you're tossing +1 swords for +2 swords, something just feels wrong.If a Spot check has a DC of 35, it's not to notice someone walking down the street; it's to notice an invisible enemy 100 ft. away, while distracted.  Generic tasks shouldn't "up the numbers" if they're just generic tasks.  Epic tasks should "up the numbers". The strength of the armor-as-AC system is that it's pretty playable.  It obviously has its inconsistencies though.  In order to penetrate thick armor, strong characters get a "to hit" bonus, but this bonus also improves accuracy against nimble rogues.  So much for dodging that lumbering giant!  Plate armor deflects thrown boulders completely -- sometimes.  And so on.I'd prefer an elegant armor-as-DR system with plentiful criticals, but that would require lots of playtesting.It's hard to complain about CRs when there's no better alternative.  As you say, "Again, a good start and probably the best it can be, given the rest of the system."Agreed.  Hit Points are, of course, simple, but so are AC bonuses.  Certainly a tough-as-nails 20th-level Fighter should have more Hit Points -- and not just a few more -- than a soft, civilian scribe, but he doesn't need 87 times as many (175 vs. 2) to make the point that he's tough.Some would say that 10 Hit Points' damage scratches a 175-hp Fighter.  Others would say it misses him entirely.  Mechanically, he's hit (and subject to touch-attack effects) and will take half a day to heal the damage (without magic).Is it though?  Isn't odd that everyone praises the game for its simplicity, yet buys books and books full of extra rules?  (OK, OK, many of them don't slow down the game much, but it's something to think about.)</blockquote>

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