That is essentially the argument I've heard from one of the guys in my gaming group, and I don't get it. He's playing a transmuter and doing a really good job of it. His spells have swung the whole flow of the battle before in really dramatic ways, and yet he'll comment on how something is "bad design" or "poorly written" if it's not exactly what he wants at the time, and it leaves me scratching my head.
Case in point: we just hit the point where he gets level 5 spells. Looking through them all, he saw Polymorph. By most measuring sticks, polymorph is an incredible spell. It's powerful, versatile, and applicable to a staggeringly huge number of situations. It isn't the be all end all spell it used to be, but it was severely broken in 3.5 so I'm not complaining... and I'm an inveterate twink/minmaxer/character optimizer (pick your description of choice).
Seeing how it duplicates the effect of a number of lower level, purpose-specific spells, he poo-pooed polymorph because "it's crap." By the same logic, the shadow conjuration and shadow evocation spells are worthless too, despite how versatile they can be in duplicating lower level spells. I made the case that you're sacrificing a level 4 spell slot to be able to case a whole SCHOOL'S WORTH of spells up to level 3 at the price of a single spell slot. Worth it? It depends on what you mean by worth it I guess. I think it is, especially for sorcerers or the frugal.
Another case: in ultimate magic, there's the arcane discovery, "Staff like Wand" a wizard can take. Since it requires being an 11th level wizard with the craft staff feat, the earliest opportunity you can take it to my knowledge is level 13. He got so insulted when he realized this that he flew off the handle a bit. "It's bad writing. It's poor design." Really? Because there's an implied restriction to level 13+ wizards? While on the one hand he has a point that there's a practical restriction in that it requires a feat you can only get at level 11+, there's a difference between "you must be a level 13 wizard" and "you must have craft staff and be at least a level 11 wizard."
The first case keeps multiclass characters at bay for 2 more levels. The second doesn't. For a single-classed wizard, the requirements are effectively the same.... but not everyone is going to play a single-classed wizard character, so I think these distinctions are important. Besides, there may be a way to get craft staff as a bonus feat that I haven't thought of, so it may be possible to get that discovery even earlier.
My main point in this is not any specific issue with these two examples, it's the greater tendency to pronounce anything his character can't use effectively to be poorly written, badly designed, or worthless. I'm playing a cavalier in that game, but I don't use a lance (my mount has pounce, so I don't want greater reach than she has). Does that mean Spirited Charge or Unseat (both good feats) are poorly written? In his eyes they may very well be were our situations reversed.
Do you encounter this often/have you encountered this kind of thinking before?
"Anyone driving slower than me is a moron, anyone driving faster is a maniac."
Thats all he's really saying.
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All the time actually, yes.
I live in a moderately small town and as I am aware of it, there are something between 6-9 different small gaming groups who all play D&D or similar products such as ours. Out of these say 50 people I play with who I do because of the fact that we are all on the same page in that the game is meant to be played, and enjoyed. This means if the rules are a bit fudgy, or have to bend for the sake of a concept, fun, or just plain utility and flavor, then why not. The neo-grognards of my peers is quite astounding in fact. For example, I was playing in a FF influenced game with a few guys from down at the FLGS. I wanted to try out playing a moogle blue mage but between all the rules lawyering the DM wanted to put me through with the practical use and gameflow I knew right off that I had to do everything "By the book."
I've also just come to terms with the fact that some people really just like to complain about a lot of things. This applies just as evenly to gamers as other social groups.
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I stopped suffering complainers after a guy complained so much about EVERYTHING that he ruined whole sessions of gametime. Now i have a very simple way of dealing with complainers...i tell them to shut up, suck it up and play like everyone else, or go home. Maybe not in those words but the gist is same. I have a friend now, that complains about frivolous things, but i know he does it pro forme so i don't care...plus he never does it when it counts...
I encounter the exact same thing every week. I'm willing to be he just doesn't know how to handle more complicated spells. A guy I play with declares that everything is crap if he doesn't know how to use it and he puts no effort into trying to figure something out.
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I encounter the exact same thing every week. I'm willing to be he just doesn't know how to handle more complicated spells. A guy I play with declares that everything is crap if he doesn't know how to use it and he puts no effort into trying to figure something out.
My advice (from months, almost a year of experience with this kind of crap) is to talk to the player, and if he/she is a friend, talk to the player some more. And then ditch the player if nothing changes. Usually, it is not worth the hassle.
The complaint about Polymorph seems strange to me; while it duplicates some lower level spells, the big advantage is that Polymorph doesn't have range "personal" and hence you can cast it on your allies. That's a big advantage.
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They are entitled to their onions.
Breathing, however, is a luxury they must earn.
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Yes, onions.
Its really easy to be down on someone when they are not here to defend them self not that I think your lying but people see things differently all the time. Why don't you invite him to the boards and see what he thinks maybe he has a argument for why he feels this way rather then labeling him and attacking his character(and I don't mean the gaming kind).