Prince Atom
Explorer
Why must the rules change after 20th level? It seems to me that they must to justify WotC's calling level 21+ "epic levels."
Who would buy a book that merely described the advancement of the classes from 21st to 40th level or higher, based on the information given in the PHB? WotC has to drum up interest and ensure that they sell plenty of copies of their new book, and they can't do that if it's just an extension of the PHB.
I see no reason why a character who's a Ftr20/Wiz10 or something similar, going strictly by the PHB, cannot be considered "epic" in his own right. He doesn't need "epic" feats or spells, he doesn't need "epic" adjustments to his ability scores; he fights as well as a 20th-level fighter and casts as well as a 10th-level mage. But the EHB says he's got to follow different rules over those last 10 levels.
I fully realize that I don't have to buy the EHB; no one's making me buy the EHB. However, I do feel there is some degree of peer pressure here. I have to buy the latest from WotC or I'm not doing it right. This means, to some extent, that WotC's marketing is working; they are creating demand for their product. I understand the way it works; I don't like it. No one makes anyone smoke, either, and yet lots of people smoke anyway.
I don't mean to equate WotC and Philip-Morris; in no way is D&D hazardous to one's health. However, I do think it's hazardous to one's creativity to follow slavishly the dictates of the companies that thrive on the OGL. It's very easy and simple to let other people do the thinking; then you plop down $40 or so and buy the fruits of their labors. Such consumerism isn't harmful in small doses; but after a while you run the risk of dependency. WotC and Malhavoc Press and AEG and all the other OGL companies out there become your dictators, even though they don't intend to, if you become dependent on their products.
By all means, continue to patronize WotC and Malhavoc and AEG. Just don't buy up everything under the sun. Come up with your own rules after you're comfortable in d20. I know I will come up with rules to replace the EHB, and I develop campaign seeds several times a week (not that I flesh them out so quickly). Think for yourself in broad terms. Just say no.
TWK
More of a lecture than an argument....
Who would buy a book that merely described the advancement of the classes from 21st to 40th level or higher, based on the information given in the PHB? WotC has to drum up interest and ensure that they sell plenty of copies of their new book, and they can't do that if it's just an extension of the PHB.
I see no reason why a character who's a Ftr20/Wiz10 or something similar, going strictly by the PHB, cannot be considered "epic" in his own right. He doesn't need "epic" feats or spells, he doesn't need "epic" adjustments to his ability scores; he fights as well as a 20th-level fighter and casts as well as a 10th-level mage. But the EHB says he's got to follow different rules over those last 10 levels.
I fully realize that I don't have to buy the EHB; no one's making me buy the EHB. However, I do feel there is some degree of peer pressure here. I have to buy the latest from WotC or I'm not doing it right. This means, to some extent, that WotC's marketing is working; they are creating demand for their product. I understand the way it works; I don't like it. No one makes anyone smoke, either, and yet lots of people smoke anyway.
I don't mean to equate WotC and Philip-Morris; in no way is D&D hazardous to one's health. However, I do think it's hazardous to one's creativity to follow slavishly the dictates of the companies that thrive on the OGL. It's very easy and simple to let other people do the thinking; then you plop down $40 or so and buy the fruits of their labors. Such consumerism isn't harmful in small doses; but after a while you run the risk of dependency. WotC and Malhavoc Press and AEG and all the other OGL companies out there become your dictators, even though they don't intend to, if you become dependent on their products.
By all means, continue to patronize WotC and Malhavoc and AEG. Just don't buy up everything under the sun. Come up with your own rules after you're comfortable in d20. I know I will come up with rules to replace the EHB, and I develop campaign seeds several times a week (not that I flesh them out so quickly). Think for yourself in broad terms. Just say no.
TWK
More of a lecture than an argument....