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Message: <blockquote data-quote="milotha" data-source="post: 1533659" data-attributes="member: 17122">3.X encourages roll playing and not role playingI agree that the problems with the campaign you describe probably are caused by the GM and not the game system.  3.5 doesn't prevent role playing.  It sounds like your GM is a "crush the players gleefully type."  I refer to this as power tripping GM.However, having a string of 9 GMs in a row indicates that there is a deeper problem going on.  I have to admit that I too have been encountering more railroading, power tripping, or just poor GMs under 3.X than under any of the previous editions.  Now, this might stem from the fact that I'm just encountering them more often now, but I'm not certain the explanation is that simple.I think there is another root cause of this.  With a more codified set of rules regarding both combat and non-combat situations, 3.X has promoted roll playing for some GMs.  There were many GMs that never felt comfortable with the loose rules of the previous editions and really preferrred a more codified system for D&D.  3.X presents this system.  Some of these GMs are those that come from a more war gamming side of D&D or are newbie GMs.  There are some GMs out there that think the set of rules for 3.X are comprehensive, and won't allow the players to use creative tactics.So, instead of role playing out social situations, you end up resolving them with dice rolls.  Instead of allowing players to use creative tactics, you reduce the game down to a miniatures battle.  Furthermore, I've seen GMs that railroad by setting the default DCs of anything at some absurd level.  Thus, the PCs can never do anything to effect the situtation.  In previous editions the GMs actually had to think about the options a creative player might try and then make a ruling.  Now they just think, oh the DC for that should be 40 without taking into account the players actions.  I'm not even certain its a always a deliberate thing.</blockquote>

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