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<blockquote data-quote="Guest 6801328" data-source="post: 7325204">I often see this assumption that a desire for fewer classes is to reduce complexity and make the game easier to understand.&nbsp; Maybe that's a goal for WotC, but I for one lean toward fewer classes and it has nothing to do with making the choices less &quot;overwhelming&quot;.&nbsp; I just don't find the aesthetics of class proliferation very appealing.&nbsp; I find many of the class concepts to be, frankly, kinda dumb and genre inappropriate.&nbsp; Too many classes (as well as too many other options in general) tend to shift the emphasis to rules rather than storytelling.&nbsp; Yeah, yeah, yeah...&quot;Stormwind Fallacy&quot; etc.&nbsp; (Which itself is a fallacy, by the way.)&nbsp; But just because two things aren't strictly mutually exclusive doesn't mean they don't tend to counteract each other.&nbsp; It's like the saying, &quot;Put two boats in the water and it's a race.&quot;&nbsp; Well, put too many character options in the book and it encourages powergaming.&nbsp; At the very least it attracts more powergamers.&nbsp; At least partly because it becomes exponentially more challenging to make sure there aren't unintended exploitive combinations.I don't buy the argument that few classes/sub-classes &quot;restrict character concept&quot;.&nbsp; They restrict mechanical choices, but not concepts.&nbsp; You can build any concept you want using existing classes.&nbsp; Sure, it may not have every goody and ability your heart could desire, but that's what I meant by my previous post: you're focusing on the mechanics defining your character, instead of the way you play/narrate it.Also, &quot;games&quot; are about achieving goals within artificial constraints.&nbsp; Games become less fun without the constraints (which is why cheat codes on video games typically spoil the fun.&nbsp; At least for me.)&nbsp; One of those constraints in D&amp;D is making a class choice that comes with trade-offs: pros and cons.&nbsp; Class proliferation is about creating choices without trade-offs (in the sense that the things you give up are the things you didn't want anyway.)So, yeah, thanks for the condescension but I have the cognitive wherewithal to handle plentiful options and thick rule books just fine.&nbsp; I just find I never enjoy actually playing those games as much.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Guest 6801328, post: 7325204"] I often see this assumption that a desire for fewer classes is to reduce complexity and make the game easier to understand. Maybe that's a goal for WotC, but I for one lean toward fewer classes and it has nothing to do with making the choices less "overwhelming". I just don't find the aesthetics of class proliferation very appealing. I find many of the class concepts to be, frankly, kinda dumb and genre inappropriate. Too many classes (as well as too many other options in general) tend to shift the emphasis to rules rather than storytelling. Yeah, yeah, yeah..."Stormwind Fallacy" etc. (Which itself is a fallacy, by the way.) But just because two things aren't strictly mutually exclusive doesn't mean they don't [I]tend[/I] to counteract each other. It's like the saying, "Put two boats in the water and it's a race." Well, put too many character options in the book and it encourages powergaming. At the very least it attracts more powergamers. At least partly because it becomes exponentially more challenging to make sure there aren't unintended exploitive combinations. I don't buy the argument that few classes/sub-classes "restrict character concept". They restrict mechanical choices, but not concepts. You can build any concept you want using existing classes. Sure, it may not have every goody and ability your heart could desire, but that's what I meant by my previous post: you're focusing on the mechanics defining your character, instead of the way you play/narrate it. Also, "games" are about achieving goals within artificial constraints. Games become less fun without the constraints (which is why cheat codes on video games typically spoil the fun. At least for me.) One of those constraints in D&D is making a class choice that comes with trade-offs: pros and cons. Class proliferation is about creating choices without trade-offs (in the sense that the things you give up are the things you didn't want anyway.) So, yeah, thanks for the condescension but I have the cognitive wherewithal to handle plentiful options and thick rule books just fine. I just find I never enjoy actually playing those games as much. [/QUOTE]

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