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Message: <blockquote data-quote="mearls" data-source="post: 2933551" data-attributes="member: 697">While I'm on the subject, here's an example of what I consider elegant design.I really, really like the basics of the rules for the Jump skill. I make a check, and that check shows me how far I jump.In the campaign here at work, I wanted to try out some new rules for fighting underwater. The first thing I did was remove the current rules for the Swim skill and replace them with a near carbon copy of the Jump skill.When you attempt to swim, your Swim check result is the distance you move. For rough water and similar hazards, I just used the rules for difficult terrain, and added simple rules for currents (when you enter a current, make a Swim check; if you fail, the current moves you X spaces, then you keep moving).I ran an encounter with several currents and 3D elements to movement (walls that didn't reach the ceiling, jets of water that the PCs could swim over and under, and so on) and it worked out rather well.IMO, the change was nice because it had no effect on numbers already on the players' character sheets. When swimming, they kept their ACs, attack bonuses, and so on. It was just a different way to move.I think it made the game more fun, because it added uncertainty about how far the PCs could move and really highlighted the advantage that the sahuagin and the naga they fought had over them. While the PCs doggy paddled along, the sahuagin scouts repeatedly swooped past to attack them. The naga kept dancing out of reach to pulverize them with lightning bolts.The rules added one die roll to each PC's turn, but that die roll result was fun, interesting, and dramatic. It was cool to watch the scout's swim check when he wanted to charge the naga and finish it off. The rule opened up more chances for dramatic moments - roll poorly, and the spellcaster slips away again to rain spells on the party. With a good roll, the characters finally pin the thing down. Everyone at the table paid attention to the roll, IMO a sign that the rule worked.In comparison, I tried to design rules for water currents for a sewer adventure I ran. The idea was that when the characters walked through certain areas of waist-deep water, the current would push against them or carry them along.The rules were awful. The currents had little effect on PC movement, the players had to ask me again and again to explain the rules, and half-way through the adventure I stopped using the currents. No one noticed or even protested.If you want to test if a rule is elegant, try running a game without it and see if anyone notices.</blockquote>

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