I've been think quite a bit about D&D lately. Mainly because lately we've actually been trying to play it. It's odd, for all the various gaming I've done over the years very little of it has been actual D&D of any flavour. Even in terms of of computer based RPGs the only D&D I've really managed was Planescape Torment, and that was only because the fantastic story managed to outweigh the atrocious game mechanics.
See, as far as I can tell, there's only really one major issue with D&D. Put simply, it isn't very good. At all.
No matter what version I've played I always seem to encounter problems with it that are, frankly, baffling. I'm sure there's a workable system buried in there somewhere, but they seem to go out of their way to sabotage it in a way that can only be described as confusingly deliberate. And so, this being the internet, I thought I'd take some time to complain at length and in detail about what I don't like about D&D. Obviously this will all be simply my opinion, based on my own experiences and tastes. And whilst I intend to suggest improvements and changes, there is of course one simple to solution to all the issues anyone has ever had with any system ever that I should probably address first.
If you don't like it, don't play it.
Simple as that. If it bothers you so much quit your damn whining and go do something else. And, as arguments go, this is one that is hard to refute. However, I intend to persevere in spite of this obvious bit of common sense. Firstly, because I have to admit that there are a lot of design decisions that I really don't understand in the game. I can't see why anyone would make them in the first place, I can't see why anyone would put up with them in a game, and I certainly don't get why it is that game has become the default go to product in it's genre. Writing up my thoughts is a way of dissecting the issues and hopefully arriving at some sort of understanding. It's not enough to simply say "This is shite". We need to know WHY it's shite, and what could be done to improve it. Secondly of course I'm writing this for fun. If there's one sort of article that's easy to write it's ones complaining about about stuff and taking the piss out of it. Also hopefully I'll get all these niggly complaints and bugs out of my system and be able to get on with something more useful.
By default I'm going to be referring to 3rd/3.5 edition, as that's what we started trying to play before moving onto Pathfinder (and then trying to mod THAT to make it work for us, but that's another story). This is where I'll be concentrating my efforts, but I'm sure other editions will be mentioned in some form of contrast. For example you'll know when I'm talking about 4th ed when I start mentioning Warcraft.
Having said that, let's get on with it shall we?
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