Remathilis said:
Without rehashing a long arguement in general... what SPECFICALLY do you want to cut from D&D?
Magic Bonus Types?
DR?
Skill Points?
Feats?
If the idea is a variant PH that is COMPATIBLE with D&D, all your doing is making an intro product that glosses over some complexities or making an "incomplete" PH that is NOT really all that compatible with any other current d20 D&D books on the market.
The First has been done: D&D for Dummies, The D&D Basic Set. The second wouldn't sell I'd wager.
The other alternative is to simplify d20 in all forms and pretty much make your own d20 RPG. If thats the case, may I introduce you to Castles and Crusades, Grim Tales, Blue Rose, and True d20.
The Final Problem is; WHO is this marketed for? New players (serviced by Intro products) Those looking for a simpler D&D Alternative (lC&C among others) or for those who wish to play D&D but without all the rules? (serviced by ingoring offending rules).
Nice Idea in concept, but really not all that useful. Unless I've overlooked something.
Well, I was thinking about a product that tries to offer what the PHB offers, but in a much less complex forms. I wouldn't "cut" anything, but I'd simplify skill selection (Instead of class/cross-class, just give bonuses in certain skills at each level of a class, and let your "free" skills be equal to your int bonus)
I'd simply spellcasting (Your mana pool is equal to 3x your combined levels in casting classes, and spells cost their "spell-level" to cast. (A 3rd level wizard could cast 3 third level spells, 6 second levels, 9 first levels, or any combination thereof...) Instead of saying "This is a 3rd level Druid spell, but a 5th level Cleric spell," why not just say that the spells have prerequisites (Druids only, 2 levels in Cleric required, 3 levels of Bard OR one level of wizard...) and, most importantly, fewer redundant spells. (At the end of the day, a Fireball and a lightning bolt differ only in details - they're both damage-dealing spells.)
I'd also simplify feats - no 'reduced penalty' in stages, like Ambidextrous/Two-Weapon Fighting/Improved Two Weapon Fighting... if you don't have the feat, it's -4, -6 to use two weapons. If you do, you don't have a penalty at all. Why bother with having to memorize all those numbers? I'd eliminate +2/+2 feats, and just remove the cap on skills.
So you
can keep all the features from D&D - skills, saves, hp, classes, levels, monsters, feats, spells - you just shake out the cruft.
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The question is: Who is this written for? Well, quite frankly, it's written for the guy who just wants a beer and pretzles game that everyone knows. I mean, D&D makes a GREAT beer and pretzels game if it wasn't for all the stupid math. But actual marketed beer and pretzles games, you need to learn a new system for pretty much all of them. So, if you simplify the system you can just relax and have fun instead of having to pick through all the rules, while still getting that D&D experience.
It's what I'd hope 4th to be, but from Dancey's comments, it looks like they're going to go in the other direction.
Although that might be a thought - going in the *other* direction from C&C or True 20 to recreate D&D...
