Voadam said:
Movement is more tactical and precise. There are AoOs. You have different ACs for touch versus normal versus denied dex and versus touch denied dex. Your AC can vary depending upon opponent or individual round choice based on feats or combat actions. There are more buffs and game effects and conditions that alter your stats. Power attack requires a choice on every melee attack. Grappling is complex and takes more time to resolve than an attack. Difference between different types of movement and actions. Slight variations in rules depending on 3.0 vs 3.5 (AoO for rising from prone or not?). Characters have more options that are bound by rules mechanics.
IME combats generally last fewer rounds but take longer to resolve in 3e.
Hmm, okay. I'm not convinced that having different ACs can really slow things down - don't you have a note of Flat-Footed and Touch ACs? Surely it's still just a matter of rolling a d20 and comparing it vs. a number?
I can see that increasing the options can result in slow play with slow players (Hmm...I'll Powerr Attack. I'll add 2, no 3, no...wait...how far away is that orc?), but otherwise surely it's in the statement of intent each round?
I can't argue with your experience though - if that's the case, fair enough. I've not really played a high level game yet.
I must admit, I fudge AoOs. If someone does soemthing stupid near you, you can hit 'em if you want. So far, it's not caused a problem with game balance!
Perhaps its an artifact of coming from a more complex system (RuneQuest) where a typical combat exchange will consist of (1) roll to attack (2) defender rolls to parry or dodge (3) roll for damage if your attack gets through (4) roll for hit location (5) subtract armour from damage (6) check effects of hit point loss on location. Repeat as necessary. This is, of course, ignoring the effects of spells or any funny business like grappling, disarming etc.
Anyway, what do I miss about 1st Edition - the way the DMG is more like a book of miscellany than rules - want to know the supposed magical properties of gems? (Note: No actual game rules attached!) Want a dice game? Want a random prostitute subtype? Want a random wierd noise? It's all in there...somewhere.
) tend to emphasis controlling the battlefield, so Reverse Grav, walls, etc instead of alot of direct damage. We can maybe do one combat a night. Luckily we'll be switching to Champions soon, much faster
