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Message: <blockquote data-quote="scourger" data-source="post: 2619006" data-attributes="member: 12328">I agree with much of what has been posted in this thread.  I find that my ability to run D&D is impaired by the magic proliferation.  I don't really mind if the PCs have more magic as the foes can always have greater numbers or special abilities.  What strains my brain is trying to figure out the foes' strategies when they have magic--and they often do.  Even when the bad guys' tactics are presented in a module, it really takes a lot of work to figure out the new bonuses, etc., when spells and magic items come into effect.  I just get tired of keeping track of it all, especially on top of all the non-magic rules that I have to track as a DM.Reducing the magic level presents the balance issues between spellcasters & non-spellcasters noted above.  It's probably not an issue at low levels, but higher level spellcasters would outstrip the non-spellcasters without the smorgasboard of magic items.  That may not be very fun for the players, especially the ones with non-spellcasting PCs.The best answer to this dilemma I've found is to play games without magic.  Even a d20 game with other powers, like Omega World or Judge Dredd, is easier and more fun for me to run.  I've also recently tried Tour of Darkness for Savage Worlds and find it to be a much easier game to run without being that much more simple as far as options go--the mechanics are just a bit simpler.  These solutions unfortunately leave D&D un-run by me, which is a shame since most of my firends who game prefer it to other games.  It is the lowest common denominator.  It's to the point that I would really rather run D&D modules (i.e. The Age of Worms) as Omega World conversions just so I can cut down on the bookkeeping.  The other solution I've realized and expressed to the other DM in our group is to keep D&D at low levels.  That way, the magic proliferation never gest too far out of hand.  The PCs still get to do lots of cool stuff, it's just the low level stuff.  Perhaps a game in which the replacement PCs start over at 1st level would be better to keep the levels low.  Players with ralatively higher level survivors would have to shoulder a greater adventuring load, but that is a social dynamic not a rules issue.   Bottom line: there's got to be a way to play D&D as a DM without so much work.</blockquote>

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