Quote Originally Posted by Wyntonian View Post
Good stuff.
You make a very good argument, to the point that I'm going to change most (if not all) of the stuff I've added (contacts, reputation, etc.) from "Mechanics of the World" to "Recommended Features." At the end of the day, the most important element of a game is to have fun. To that end, each table should add and subtract the parts of the engine that they enjoy or detest, and I'll be sure to include that note when I put up the final draft of this setting.

To a certain extent, I look at this project as building a game in addition to building a setting. Like you implied, 3.5 isn't a perfect system, and I've been thinking about ways to improve it for a while now. However, that's not the goal of a setting, and I thank you for reminding me!

The only issue I take with your argument is one that lies pretty close to the heart of the Old vs. New debate. Namely, in my mind, the system that would best accompany this setting is something simple and streamlined. The most important goal of that system is to take the task of creativity and possibility from the range of mechanical options available, and put it back into the hands of the player.

My dream for this setting (one that I put on the back burner pretty early on) was to find/create no more than six flavorless classes: a tank, a striker, a buffer, a controller, etc. If need be, each would have a melee and a ranged variant, and--beyond their mechanics--each would be a blank slate onto which the player could project whatever character they wanted. For example, the tank could be a big, hulking armored brute just as easily as he could be a tiny, dodgy gnome who taunts his enemies into attacking him. The controller could be an all-powerful wizard slinging spells like the madman he is, or some kind of zen-calm Aikido master, descending onto his enemies like a waterfall.

In my opinion, a rules-light, simple system that features a few barebones elements that can be flavored as-desired is a good system, particularly for this setting. That's not the way everyone thinks, though, and I'm okay with that. In the future, I'll be working hard to include what's best for the setting, and to suggest (but not demand) what's best for my own tastes.