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<blockquote data-quote="GreyICE" data-source="post: 6007291" data-attributes="member: 6684526">The problem that I have is that the &quot;it's just fantasy, anything goes&quot; argument seems to go in and out of fashion, depending literally on the argument it's being applied to.&nbsp; &quot;It's just fantasy, anything goes&quot; explains why dwarves have long beards and lots of hair despite living underground (you know what you don't need underground?&nbsp; Hair.&nbsp; It's for insulation, something that occurs naturally underground.&nbsp; Animals that spend their time underground tend to lose hair as time goes on, evolution being what it is).&nbsp; &quot;It's just fantasy, anything goes&quot; tends to get invoked to explain why no one in the fantasy world seems to really get into living in a high-magi fantasy world, instead of in Medieval Europe with Wizards (Ebberon, Spelljammer, and Planescape aside).&nbsp; Hell, even the &quot;it's a game, roll with it&quot; explanation goes in and out of style, depending on the circumstances.&nbsp; Fireballs being exactly circular rather than working like actual conflagrations (and like they did in 1E)?&nbsp; We don't like doing calculus at the table, and it's a game, roll with it.&nbsp; God giving out spells on a 24 hour clock instead of whenever and wherever the worshiper needs them?&nbsp; It's a game, roll with it.&nbsp; Healing magic only restoring some HP, rather than completely healing the target?&nbsp; What, did God run out of juice?&nbsp; It's a game, roll with it.&nbsp; It's especially ironic these threads only seem to come up when FIGHTERS are involved.&nbsp; Wizards and Clerics get away with all sorts of &quot;breaks in association,&quot; usually with the handwave of &quot;magic is magical, obv.&quot;&nbsp; But give the fighter one cool toy, and you can count on at least one person complaining &quot;man, I just don't know how that guy with the sword is doing that.&nbsp; Unless the sword is magical!&quot;&nbsp; At some point we should accept that some mechanics are just FUN.&nbsp; And others are... not.&nbsp; Spell points, despite being brought up every single edition, are not fun mechanics (you pick your most powerful spell. And spam it.&nbsp; FOREVER).&nbsp; Yes, it's how magic works in 95% of all books, with the wizard getting more and more tired after each spell and eventually 'running out of juice.'&nbsp; But it's not a fun game mechanic.&nbsp; When I see complaints about an awesome mechanic like &quot;Nimbleness&quot; that really encapsulates something unique, different, and flavorful about Halflings in a short, easy-to-understand way I'm forced to sigh.&nbsp; Yes, one way may be 4E, but the other way is GURPS.&nbsp; And if one was not successful, the other was EVEN LESS successful.&nbsp; 5E should probably be aiming for a middle ground.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="GreyICE, post: 6007291, member: 6684526"] The problem that I have is that the "it's just fantasy, anything goes" argument seems to go in and out of fashion, depending literally on the argument it's being applied to. "It's just fantasy, anything goes" explains why dwarves have long beards and lots of hair despite living underground (you know what you don't need underground? Hair. It's for insulation, something that occurs naturally underground. Animals that spend their time underground tend to lose hair as time goes on, evolution being what it is). "It's just fantasy, anything goes" tends to get invoked to explain why no one in the fantasy world seems to really get into living in a high-magi fantasy world, instead of in Medieval Europe with Wizards (Ebberon, Spelljammer, and Planescape aside). Hell, even the "it's a game, roll with it" explanation goes in and out of style, depending on the circumstances. Fireballs being exactly circular rather than working like actual conflagrations (and like they did in 1E)? We don't like doing calculus at the table, and it's a game, roll with it. God giving out spells on a 24 hour clock instead of whenever and wherever the worshiper needs them? It's a game, roll with it. Healing magic only restoring some HP, rather than completely healing the target? What, did God run out of juice? It's a game, roll with it. It's especially ironic these threads only seem to come up when FIGHTERS are involved. Wizards and Clerics get away with all sorts of "breaks in association," usually with the handwave of "magic is magical, obv." But give the fighter one cool toy, and you can count on at least one person complaining "man, I just don't know how that guy with the sword is doing that. Unless the sword is magical!" At some point we should accept that some mechanics are just FUN. And others are... not. Spell points, despite being brought up every single edition, are not fun mechanics (you pick your most powerful spell. And spam it. FOREVER). Yes, it's how magic works in 95% of all books, with the wizard getting more and more tired after each spell and eventually 'running out of juice.' But it's not a fun game mechanic. When I see complaints about an awesome mechanic like "Nimbleness" that really encapsulates something unique, different, and flavorful about Halflings in a short, easy-to-understand way I'm forced to sigh. Yes, one way may be 4E, but the other way is GURPS. And if one was not successful, the other was EVEN LESS successful. 5E should probably be aiming for a middle ground. [/QUOTE]

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