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Message: <blockquote data-quote="3catcircus" data-source="post: 2228238" data-attributes="member: 16077">The more I play 3.x, the more I realize that the rules-set as a whole doesn't work.  Specifically because there are way too many rules that keep getting added on and because the ones already existing are written in such a way as to allow players to turn the game into a one-sided, one dimensional munchkinfest where it is *expected* that the PCs will always get their way.  Where, because of the rules, players want to carry and use weapons and armor that make no sense.  Where, because of the rules, the DM is constrained and made to felt like it is wrong to simply throw out or alter rules he doesn't want to use.  Imagine if a DM  said "No prestige classes at all, no wierd races, no Uber-Paragon replacement levels, no attacks of opportunity, no feats."  Imagine the player outcry.  Instead of being flexible enough to say "My character concept is a knife-throwing Sembian merchant.  Mr. DM, I'd like him to be able to use his knives to knock stuff out of people's hands and disarm them or be able to throw many knives, rapid-fire like a ninja throwing stars," and let the DM decide if a given situation warrants it, the player simply picks and chooses the right combination of feats and classes.  Instead of character development, we have chinese menu items (2 feats from column A, 1 PrC from Column B, and for dessert a flaming bane keen almond cookie +2.)An example of this is that the other players in my group wanted me to come up with rules to allow the PCs to buy/sell items on a large scale because they intend to make money by conducting trade/commerce, using a ship that they stole from slavers.First of all - the player most vocal about requesting it wanted the rules to allow him to determine (beforehand) how much profit he would make - implying that the whole goal of the rule was to have *a rule, any rule* to justify to the DM that they should just get a set amount of money for hauling stuff from point A to point B, regardless of chance, market factors, weather delays, etc.  To this, of course, I sort of just nodded and smiled, fully intending to come up with a system that was more realistic (i.e. you wouldn't be guaranteed a set profit, or even to make a profit at all.)Since we play in FR, I looked at all of the regions and saw what the imports/exports were - including commodities, as well as sizes of population centers.  While researching some economic theory, I found out that Magical Medieval Society:  Western Europe had an economic simulator and picked up a copy.  It was everything I wanted because it is simple, easy to use, and adequately reflects how buying/selling and bargaining is really done.I discussed it with the DM (and explained it to another player, who said that it seemed pretty cool) and tried to demo it last night.  Immediately, the player making the request in the first place declared it to be "stupid" because it didn't allow him to use his Diplomacy skill (which he complained that he had purposely spent ranks in anticipation) to affect the die roll and that it wasn't expanding upon the "Diplomacy as haggling" in Complete Adventurer.So - because it didn't modify an existing, official WoTC published rule (modified in such a way as to favor the PCs), it was stupid?  How about we do what the DM would be perfectly happy with and *not* have a rule at all and roleplay out the haggling...  Because it isn't *exactly* what you wanted and not specifically designed to give you a lopsided advantage, it is stupid?This is the same player who came up with a critical hit chart that would require NPCs and monsters to roll a higher d% roll in order to do the same critical effects as the PCs (i.e. in order to do the same result as a PC with a roll of 11, an NPC would have to roll a 41).  This is the same player who dismissed, out of hand, a new crit chart that actually made sense - critical effect severities depending upon die rolls and hit locations (hitting a hand may disarm you or break your wrist, hitting a leg may reduce your mobility, hits to the groin will cause you to be stunned and nauseated, etc.)While the above is a somewhat longwinded example of things - the point is that the more rules there are in 3.x (in addition to adding unnecessary complexity), the more possibilities for those rules to be abused by players who look at the game as an instant-gratificiation ego-stroke instead of a chance to explore a fantasy world.  I constantly see our DM having to spend time to reign-in gross abuses of the intent of his rulings and the spirit of the game because of the rules themselves.The more I play 3.x, the more I long for the opportunities to find people to play old-school RPGs such as Top Secret, TW:2K, 1st edition D&D, Star Frontiers, and TORG and a pleasant new surpise to me - HARP.</blockquote>

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