Would D&D be easier if...

[Umbran]

if the spell system could be redone slightly, making it more like Arcana Unearthed, I could well live with that.

Okay, I'll bite - Having more options open to the spellcaster, the AU spell system is quite clearly more complex than the standard D&D system. How, then, would this make D&D easier?

 

[Zander]

Zander, was that a serious post?

Yes. I wasn't kidding.

Possibly new players shouldn't be reading the DMG? They might find it easier if they concentrated on the PH, at least to start with.

Just because a new player has read the section on PrCs, doesn't mean they've read the whole DMG. Also, they can find out about PrCs from more experienced gamers, the web etc.

Also, if none of the core classes interest them then perhaps they should consider playing a different RPG.

Why? IIRC you could be an assassin in 1E from day one. Why not in 3.x? Why are some classes core and others prestige? Apart from a difference in power, there doesn't seem to be a reason. 3.x was supposed to expand a player's options. PrCs just close them down.

A PC CAN be an assassin from the beginning. A PC could also be an archer, a healer, a lion tamer, a burglar or almost anything else. The D&D system of classes / skills / feats is very flexible.

An assassin in D&D isn't just someone who kills people any more than a priest is anybody who is religious. Different classes have different abilities in the game. If you abandon that concept, you might as well scrap classes such as paladin, ranger and barbarian and just have fighters.

If what you put in the box marked "class" on the character sheet is so important, I'm sure a tolerant DM will let you write "assassin" instead of "rogue" if it makes you happy.

New player: "I want to play a paladin."
DM handing player a fighter's character record sheet: "Here you go, a paladin."
New player: "But this is a fighter."
DM takes back fighter character record sheet, erases the word 'FIGHTER' on the sheet, replaces it with 'PALADIN' and hands the sheet back: "There you go. He's a paladin now. Happy?"

 

[amethal]

Different classes have different abilities in the game. If you abandon that concept, you might as well scrap classes such as paladin, ranger and barbarian and just have fighters.

Yep, that would be my preference.

I guess we are opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to classes. Fair enough.

I'm probably in the minority, since I have loads of people wanting me to run D&D for them, but nobody I know is interested in playing in a True 20 campaign with me.

 

[Romnipotent]

At least its not gurps.

 

[Zander]

Yep, that would be my preference.

You might be interested in the gestalt class concept in the 3.x UA which reduces the number of classes to three IIRC.

I can imagine a variant to this where the PC starts as a gestalt class and joins a PrC later on. It's not to my cup of tea though. YMMV.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I think limiting both classes and feats would be good for a basic set. PrCs might not need to be ditched, but creating a simple starter set would work, with less frills and less requirements might be cool.
I'd also get rid of attacks of opportunity. Bane of my existence. I'd like there to be a way of combining feats and skills. Something like that exists in Warhammer, but I'm not sure it would work in D&D.

 

[Emirikol]

SKILLS only exist for rogues

At least its not gurps.

Absolutely! It seems that after 2E, that's what D&D tried to become. We have all these feats, why not just combine the feat and skill system instead of having two systems? In any case, the the SKILL system only exists so that Rogues have something to do and so that people who need a rule for everything also have something to do (doh!).

I guess it helps fill up more books...

jh

 

[Emirikol]

For those people who choose complexity, there is the UNEARTHED ARCANA 3-generic-class system. You choose all your own feats and skills and you can munchkinize to your heart's content. There is no D&D option for those of us who just want more classes (because we can't think that hard about all those feats 'un stuff).



jh

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

Would D&D be easier to play (and learn for noobs) if there were more classes and fewer feats? What's so hard for WotC to add new classes (instead of dumping impossible prestige classes on us)? Is it just to have material in the form of feats and spells to fill up books?

I'm not sure how you conclude that adding MORE information will make the game easier to play and learn rather than... less?

If the current "simplified" Adventure Game isn't a good approach, my suggestion would be to simply provide "shortcuts" for new players to use - a fully fleshed out character "template" that has all the information a character would have from the Core Rules, but with a progression of feats, and increases to ability scores and skills laid out for the player so that they don't need to wade through mountains of information to try and make informed choices right from the start.

I vote for more classes. At it's extreme, we have unearthed arcana's main 3 classes and thousands of feats..but there's no other option..unless you consider doing the calculus it takes to figure out how to 'obtain' a prestige class.

Check me if I'm wrong but the biggest problem that's going to be faced by new players is information overload. I don't see how having to choose between more classes will help given the incredible variety of characters possible with the 11 core classes.

 

[Emirikol]

>>>Check me if I'm wrong but the biggest problem that's going to be faced by new players is information overload. I don't see how having to choose between more classes will help given the incredible variety of characters possible with the 11 core classes.>>>

Great question:

How many feats are there? How many prestige classes? Now, imagine if players could go with a 'concept' instead of having to know all the feats first.

Prestige classes are another soapbox that I won't spend too much time on: OK, who here has a family, a job, and a life and has time to sit around for 15 years and memorize all the details that it takes to get to a prestige class that you may or may not qualify for 5+ levels from now (how many hours of gaming?). Prestige classes and feats should be right-out for Noobs and I wouldn't be too bothered if they just went away. They're just there to fill up books.

jh