hardie@uf-csg.UUCP (Peter T Hardie [stdnt]) (11/16/84)
First of all, this is not a flame. I just want to find out if anyone else has the same opinion as I do of some of the faults in AD&D and D&D, too. 1. Magic System I dislike the forgetting of a spell as it's cast. Other games have ways to balance spellcasters w/o this seemingly bogus rule. 2. Hit Points I know the rationale for hit points going up with level, but it really doesn't wash. Example: Two fighters, 10th level and 1st level, identical stats, 80 and 8 hp respectively. They are in melee against a horde of bandits, aided (the fighters) by the 10th level's henchmen. Now both of them are hit by Hold Person spells, and both fail the save. Now, by the DMG, during melee, Held characters are hit automatically, for full damage, and twice as often as normally. So the bandits hew at them in the brawl. If the bandits are using longswords, the 1st level fighter is dead at the end of that round, but the 10th level will take 5 rounds minimum. Now since neither of them can move, what is the reason that the 10th level lasts so long?? 3. 1 Minute Rounds I've seen SCA fights, and there is no way that 1 minute can be a reasonable time quantum. One fight can be over in 1 second, and the number of effective strikes in five seconds can be upwards of 6, from not very experienced fighters. 4. Armor Class Rating This is a quibble. Why didn't they have the higher numbers mean better armor?? 5. Character Classes Again, a quibble, but fantasy is full of folks with some magical skill, some fighting skill, some acrobatic skill, etc. And they usually are humans, too. Why can't a thief learn the Knock spell?? And let's not forget, Gandalf used Glamdring, and quite well. 6. Magic Items How do the magic items get created? I mean specifically, what spells are cast into the mix for a +3 sword, or a Dwarven Hammer? Leaving the entire mess in the DM's lap is not giving him freedom, it's giving him a coronary. 7. The Weaponless Combat System An obvious patch. It is too involved and complex next to the normal combat system. It has several good things that I think should have been put into the normal combat, but as it stands, it is almost never used. 8. Everything You Never Wanted To Know About Polearms Another quibble. Who cares about the 101 names of a halberd? I would have preferred (sp?) more general weapons, like garotte, or some peasant weapons like scythes. I guess that's about all for this too-long note, so I'll go away. PDQ Bach: ...his plaigarism was limited only by his faulty technique... -- Pete Hardie, Univ. of Florida, CIS Gould acct:..!akgua!uf-csv!uf-csg!hardie