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Message: <blockquote data-quote="WizarDru" data-source="post: 1539990" data-attributes="member: 151">Gotta say that my experience runs counter to this example, as often as not.  I have two SCA members in my group (and two former members, besides), and one of them is a fencing master for the SCA, but he usually plays spellcasters.  My wife isn't a martial artists or a thief, but she enjoys playing characters with the 'mace-o-matic' or stealthy rogue.  Most of my players prefer variety with each new game, trying out a different type of character.  One of my former players who moved out west was very heavily into the martial arts, and he played fighters (not monks) and wizards with equal aplomb.  Now, Robin Laws would be quick to point out that some of my players will play characters with similarities between them, such as the one who usually plays elves with a rapier, or the one who prefers non-spellcasters because they find magic to be confusing and requires too much effort....but that's a whole different thing.  Generally, when it comes to the roll first or role first question, we use whatever is appropriate to the situation.  However, as often as not, we avoid the dicerolls entirely when they prove unnecessary.  The 'take 10' and 'take 20' mechanic was designed with this in mind.  As the PHB says (essentially), "No one critically fails tieing their shoes."  We often call these 'torch issues', a phrase taken from Wulf's Story Hour.  Essentially, these are boring handwaves.  At 4th level, haggling for a scroll, potion or piece of armor is part of the landscape.  At 20th level, it's not worth bothering with (while attempting to enlist the aid of a celestial blacksmith to forge a weapon of epic power, on the other hand, is central to the story).    For a DM who's insecure, the kind of behaviors described earlier can be a symptom.  3.Xe's ruleset makes these kind of things transparent to the player, but that doesn't change the attitude which drives it.  Under AD&D, the DM would just flat out tell you that something happened, and you, as the player, had to accept it without question.  With 3e, consistent mechanics for such interaction were developed and put out in the open.  That can be an invitiation to challenge, of course, and a DM not prepared for a conflict from a contentious player (and understand, I'm not implying that applies to anyone here, just that the possibility can exist, and that possibility can lead to the DM taking preventative behavior with no potentional actual need) might implement just those kind of ham-handed tactics.  Raising DCs, for example, is probably one part a fear of an abusable skill (usually stealth or interaction skills), one part damage control over a situation he feels he's lost control over ("you've got a bluff of what?) and one part uncertainty as to how to keep the game challenging.   Did you prefer the DM's straight  "I say you can/can't" to 3e's mechanic?  I personally don't like to play that trump quite so blatantly, because it fosters a 'we're playing against the DM' mentality, instead of a 'the DM has set the stage, now let's create the story' mentality I much rather enjoy.  To me, the rules system allows the game to have a reasonably predictable outcome, but introduces enough uncertainty.  I actually think it's not so much the CRPG mentality as the new blood, period.  Many folks are returning to D&D after a long hiatus, and many more are just trying it for the first time.  I can say with complete honesty that I did some terrible railroading when I first started DMing.  Luckily, we had such fun that my players forgave such issues...but the 'rat-in-the-maze' style of DMing was a serious problem back then...again, when people were new to the game, as many are now.  As DMs grow more experienced, the better ones learn from their mistakes...and I hope they do, now.  Oh, and Icebear, I hope you stay or at least drop by from time to time.  At least keep up on the Story Hours, by thunder.  Destan's is particularly good, and pretty soon he'll begin updating regularly again, to name one.</blockquote>

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