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What D&Disms have you never liked?
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<blockquote data-quote="JohnSnow" data-source="post: 5111741" data-attributes="member: 32164"><p>Oddly, I'd say that D&D's common tongue has its roots in Tolkien's Westron, which was even called "the common speech."</p><p></p><p>My pet peeves for years have been Vancian magic and the arcane/divine magic divide (without any real distinction between the two). I never understood why, with all the "healing wizards" in fantasy, D&D never embraced the concept. Other than that, I guess it's the overabundance of magic items. Most D&D characters are decked in magical wardrobes, and carrying golfbags full of magic weapons. Compared to most fantasy, it's a bit jarring. In recent years, I've noticed a stronger "wizards uber alles" trend that bugged me.</p><p></p><p>That said, one of the things I like about Fourth Edition is that it just about (although not quite...) put a bullet in the head of Vancian magic. The downside was an unfortunate drop in spell diversity, but so far, I'm coping. Rituals are a good system that can fill that gap...but still need some work. And oddly, I'm more okay with the divide now that there's more kinds of magic. Which is weird, I know.</p><p></p><p>Magic items still need some work (although even they've taken, IMO, a step in the right direction). All in all though, I think the fact that 4e addressed many of those issues, took a stab at juicing up the fighter types, simplified monster/NPC design, and ditched iterative attacks is why I've embraced it as much as I have. They took aim at a lot of my nagging problems with Third Edition and hit like 4 of 6 bullseyes. Some other issues (like monsters that were more than just "critters to kill") took a hit, but that's in many ways easier for me to fix than something as fundamental as the game's magic system and class power balance.</p><p></p><p>Prior to 3e, it always bugged me that D&D lacked a comprehensive skill system. Non-Weapon Proficiencies just never quite cut it. Some things I love 3e for fixing, even though they never bothered me way back when, like the introduction of BAB and the streamlining down to 3 saves. I'm not sure the defense thing isn't better, mind you, but Fort/Ref/Will beat the tar out of the old mix of Spells/RSW/DM/BW and PPP.</p><p></p><p>Funnily enough, the abstract combat system has never bothered me, despite me being a martial arts (in fact, swordfighting) geek. I guess I'm knowledgeable enough to realize that any attempt at "realism" would be supremely unsatisfying. And I fiddled with various Palladium games enough to know that added complexity isn't always a good thing.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="JohnSnow, post: 5111741, member: 32164"] Oddly, I'd say that D&D's common tongue has its roots in Tolkien's Westron, which was even called "the common speech." My pet peeves for years have been Vancian magic and the arcane/divine magic divide (without any real distinction between the two). I never understood why, with all the "healing wizards" in fantasy, D&D never embraced the concept. Other than that, I guess it's the overabundance of magic items. Most D&D characters are decked in magical wardrobes, and carrying golfbags full of magic weapons. Compared to most fantasy, it's a bit jarring. In recent years, I've noticed a stronger "wizards uber alles" trend that bugged me. That said, one of the things I like about Fourth Edition is that it just about (although not quite...) put a bullet in the head of Vancian magic. The downside was an unfortunate drop in spell diversity, but so far, I'm coping. Rituals are a good system that can fill that gap...but still need some work. And oddly, I'm more okay with the divide now that there's more kinds of magic. Which is weird, I know. Magic items still need some work (although even they've taken, IMO, a step in the right direction). All in all though, I think the fact that 4e addressed many of those issues, took a stab at juicing up the fighter types, simplified monster/NPC design, and ditched iterative attacks is why I've embraced it as much as I have. They took aim at a lot of my nagging problems with Third Edition and hit like 4 of 6 bullseyes. Some other issues (like monsters that were more than just "critters to kill") took a hit, but that's in many ways easier for me to fix than something as fundamental as the game's magic system and class power balance. Prior to 3e, it always bugged me that D&D lacked a comprehensive skill system. Non-Weapon Proficiencies just never quite cut it. Some things I love 3e for fixing, even though they never bothered me way back when, like the introduction of BAB and the streamlining down to 3 saves. I'm not sure the defense thing isn't better, mind you, but Fort/Ref/Will beat the tar out of the old mix of Spells/RSW/DM/BW and PPP. Funnily enough, the abstract combat system has never bothered me, despite me being a martial arts (in fact, swordfighting) geek. I guess I'm knowledgeable enough to realize that any attempt at "realism" would be supremely unsatisfying. And I fiddled with various Palladium games enough to know that added complexity isn't always a good thing. [/QUOTE]
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