07-16-2003, 12:03 AM
One of the problems I have with D&D marketing is the way that new add-ons are balanced
They are not
They don't even try
I started AD&D with first edition. They brought out the Unearthed Arcana. More spells, more powerful spells, weapon specialisation, and over-powered new races
I moved on to Second Edition. Those Skills & Powers books exacerbated the previous trend. Loads of new powers and completely customisable classes. I had a fireball specialist wizard in Plate Mail with Fighter hit points in my group all of a sudden
I moved on to Third Edition. Out came a series of books which to my great amusement were promptly labelled "splatbooks" by the online community. And they were. More spells, over-powered spells, loads more feats allowing extreme min/maxing and item creation feats that allow a power-gamer to take over the world. I read a forum report not long ago of an 8th level character doing over 200 damage per hit. Splat!
3.5 seems to me to be caught between a revision for balance and the time-honored tradition that the way to sell new books is to power up people's characters
Take the example of 7 skill points for a Ranger
Originally, in 3.0 the balance is this:
combat specialist, spellcasting specialist: 2 skill points per level
all-rounder, versatile characters including Ranger: 4 points per level
skills specialist: 8 points per level
Reading your posts here chaps it seems to me that you are rather falling for D&D's traditional marketing approach - buy this product and your character gets better
Not that there's necessarily anything wrong with that so long as you're both doing it with your eyes open
But I certainly think it's unfair to criticise your GM for not upgrading. From what I've read about 3.5 and my experiences with previous editions I think that the original product is likely to be a much better game than the souped-up one
They are not
They don't even try
I started AD&D with first edition. They brought out the Unearthed Arcana. More spells, more powerful spells, weapon specialisation, and over-powered new races
I moved on to Second Edition. Those Skills & Powers books exacerbated the previous trend. Loads of new powers and completely customisable classes. I had a fireball specialist wizard in Plate Mail with Fighter hit points in my group all of a sudden
I moved on to Third Edition. Out came a series of books which to my great amusement were promptly labelled "splatbooks" by the online community. And they were. More spells, over-powered spells, loads more feats allowing extreme min/maxing and item creation feats that allow a power-gamer to take over the world. I read a forum report not long ago of an 8th level character doing over 200 damage per hit. Splat!
3.5 seems to me to be caught between a revision for balance and the time-honored tradition that the way to sell new books is to power up people's characters
Take the example of 7 skill points for a Ranger
Originally, in 3.0 the balance is this:
combat specialist, spellcasting specialist: 2 skill points per level
all-rounder, versatile characters including Ranger: 4 points per level
skills specialist: 8 points per level
Reading your posts here chaps it seems to me that you are rather falling for D&D's traditional marketing approach - buy this product and your character gets better
Not that there's necessarily anything wrong with that so long as you're both doing it with your eyes open
But I certainly think it's unfair to criticise your GM for not upgrading. From what I've read about 3.5 and my experiences with previous editions I think that the original product is likely to be a much better game than the souped-up one