What game mechanics do you like?

[Psion]

Third-edition D&D shares quite a bit with its earlier incarnations, but it also borrows quite a bit from other modern games. What game mechanics do you just love?

Unified task resolution system
Unified statistic bonuses
Skills, feats, and prestige classes
Vancian magic -- after years of fiddling around, I have come to realize the advantages
Full stats and classes for monsters (what sold me on 3e over 2e)

Are there any mechanics from earlier editions that you miss?

Skills&Powers' ability to change out abilities of core classes
That's about it among things that aren't carried forward to 3e. Hindsight is 20/20 and 1e&2e were cluttered messes.

What mechanics from other games do you really like? Can you retrofit them into D&D?

Hero's universal power system... I doubt it, but not sure I would want to adapt it. They serve different puproses.

MegaTraveller's Task Resolution system -- Probably could adapt it; 3e isn't that far away.

 

[rounser]

Vancian magic -- after years of fiddling around, I have come to realize the advantages

Care to expand on that?

 

[Psion]

Care to expand on that?

I have tried a variety of systems over the years, both as variants and houserules of D&D, and other published and unpublished systems.

First off, I find spell point system require on-the-fly accounting, often a lot. Sure, slots may seem inprecise, but in the end they convey similar results to spell point systems in actual play with a lot less accounting.

Second, many point based and spontaneous systems rely on deliberately or otherwise making mages more powerful than other characters, or make mages unapealing by making the scope of their powers very limited. Vancian is one of the few solutions that, IMO, produces mages that have impressive power and are balanced along other character types.

Third, many players ARE NOT cut out for spontaneous spell making. Picking spells from a list puts little pressure on the players to come up with their own compelling effects... a laundry list of compelling effects can be had with pre-designated spells, and the spell list is relatively easy to extend and regulate, while spontaneous effects can be difficult to ajudicate on the fly.

Fourth, Vancian magic has great flavor, IMO (read Vance sometime). I find the "magic battery" model very... unmagical and modern in tone.

 

[La Bete]

Care to expand on that?

Ditto..

I must say if there's any way to adapt Rolemasters spell list system (using ISA) to D&D, I'd be there in a flash...


(edit... too slow..... must stop typing with my nose..)

 

[MerricB]

I think that the way they've freed up spell slots (allowing lower level spells to be memorised in higher level slots) also gives much of the freedom of the spell point system without running into the balancing problems spell points can cause.

Cheers!

 

[rounser]

Side track deleted...

 

[Psion]

.

 

[rounser]

Side track deleted...

 

[RangerWickett]

Aww, but it'd be so much more fun to see Psion and Rounser duke it out, deathmatch style.

 

[Psion]

In reference to Vance, Vance put a lot of character into his spells that I think gets passed by in standard D&D, because many of the spells seem like all-too-bog-standard in nature (fireball, Invisibility, haste, anyone?) I think the character of the D&D spellcaster becomes all the more compelling when you look to the less immediately used spells in the core books, or some of the better magic sourcebooks like Book of Eldritch Might, Relics & Rituals, Wild Spellcraft, and some of the EA books (I just go Enchantment and I like it...) More unique spells can quickly become a singature of spellcasting characters.