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Message: <blockquote data-quote="JeffB" data-source="post: 1162273" data-attributes="member: 518">I have to put myself into the camp of “had more fun DMing previous versions of the game”The older editions may require more rules adjudication by the DM, but common sense seems to take care of the vast majority of issues as long as the players have some degree of common sense too. 3.X makes rules adjudication easier when a problem arises for sure. There’s probably an answer somewhere in one of those books. Unfortunately I also find it encourages players to worry more about getting the situation adjudicated “by the book” rather than making them worry more about getting on with the adventure.As a DM I find myself less creative using 3.X. While the standardization of so many things is nice, one can only create within the “hard” parameters the rule-set allows for: it’s much harder to create beyond those parameters. I have to make everything fit into those little boxes.  The 3.X rules are so intertwined in so many areas that if one makes a snap/house ruling about X, it likely affects other things down the road and cause problems. If I for example, limit item-creation or the commonality (is that a word?) of magic, it totally messes up other crucial subsystems like the CR/EL/XP system. 3.X assume PC’s will all have so much treasure, so much magic, etc. Earlier versions of the game made the DM do more work to figure out what he wanted for his particular campaign, but at the same time, the systems were so abstract that it adapted easily to whatever he ended up choosing. There is too much assumption in 3.X that the rules will be adhered to as a whole. Used in part, the 3.X systems break down. The older editions may have not had the stable framework from the get-go but could be tailored as each DM sees fit. In that way the DM would have some more work. However, the DM would also have the final results he was looking for.I think it may well be a “left/right side of the brain” thing. I also think the D&D community has changed very much in 20 years. Players especially. There is much more focus on the intricacies of the game system as opposed to the story, the adventure and the excitement, IME at least. Players are more concerned w/ getting that new feat or qualifying for a new PrClass or having a spell no-one else uses instead of taking on that next quest, the sense of wonder of finding new places and things to explore, villains to vanquish, or plots to foil.  The vehicle is the focus as opposed to the trip itselfThat said, there are many things 3.X does well, and I will continue to try and find that happy medium as a DM using the system. I have high hopes for the Troll Lords and C&C <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f600.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":D" title="Big grin    :D"  data-smilie="8"data-shortname=":D" /></blockquote>

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