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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Jack7" data-source="post: 4793940" data-attributes="member: 54707">With any activity, gaming included, there comes a point at which the inclusion of additional data becomes more a noticeable hindrance to smooth operation rather than a sublime benefit. Information overload freezes progress, it does not promote it. This becomes especially evident when information is transformed from a knowledge base into an operational method. So the key to the successful inclusion of more and more data and information into any system for useful advantage is to prevent the tendency of the exercise of transforming additional materials into systems that affect necessary function, rather than enhancing overall fluidity and capability.In gaming terms this means present as much information as you like, but transform as little as possible into systemic rules and statistics.And this is I suspect, as others have pointed out, the reason for the growing popularity of the retro clones to many players. Simplicity tends to promote functionality and efficiency, especially where matters of the mind tend to be concerned. Complexity tends to promote mental exhaustion, taxation, and eventually boredom and disinterest.There is marked difference between a thing being theoretically interesting (and many things that are enormously complex are just that, theoretically fascinating) and a thing being pragmatically functional. Or put another way, it is extremely easy to create complexity, and very difficult to consistently master it.Any edition of D&D can present any amount of information it desires, and it will not adversely effect at all how the game plays or functions, as long as you don't make all information presented vital or necessary to play. Once all, or even most of the information presented in any activity becomes necessary or vital in order to perform effectively (or is presented as being seemingly so) then a meandering and even bewildering complexity (which is as likely to be in error as to be truly useful) will follow which at worst will mislead one from the original intent, or at best interject a sluggish complexity that only stubbornness will successfully overcome.You cannot make everything vital, or nothing is. And if everything is so complex that it must be structured in narrow detail and reduced to sophisticated formulae to even be understood , then it is probably too complex to be immediately and evidently useful. In other words there is no reason to role play anything if the role is merely the execution of a minutely prescribed program. That's what machines do, not minds.</blockquote>

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