I think I now have to consider the third edition of D&D to be a success. Not because of reviews or support or the WoTC website or sales or anything along these lines. No, I realized it was a success when I wasn't thinking about any of these things.

The other night I found myself thinking about the future of the human fighter/sorcerer I play once a month in my friend's campaign.

I had been considering the spell selections he would make at higher levels, what feats he would be choosing at the next opportunity and whether or not he should take a level of wizard.

You see, in the current cast of player characters I am the only arcane spellcaster. I had planned on taking the first level as a fighter to be able to kick ass with a quarterstaff (ambidexterity, two-weapon fighting and weapon focus quarterstaff) and then focus on gaining levels as a sorcerer.

So far it has worked well, he's been quick with his staff or his spells as the situation warrants. He even has a masterwork longbow in case he needs to conserve spells.

I had been considering the level of wizard to open up his flexibility as a spellcaster and perhaps increase his utility to the group. I decided against this path, though, since so many spells are level-dependant in their effects and he'd never be taking a second level as a wizard.

Instead, I started looking at a second level of fighter. At both his fourth and fifth level as a sorcerer he gains a new second level spell, such as Melf's Acid Arrow, a ranged tough attack. If he takes his sixth character level as a fighter (making him a 2/4 fighter/sorcerer) he can take two feats: Point Blank Shot and Precise Shot, enabling him to either fire arrows or cast ranged touch attack spells into melee with no penalties and, if within 30', improved to-hit and damage.

He'd also get another d10 of hit points, which would be quite nice since he currently has 12 (maximum, 10, at first level, and two rolled 1's at second and third).

What does this have to do with considering the 3rd Edition a success? Everything. The characters have flexibility to their power and progression that is unprecedented in the history of the game. And yet, they are still in balance with the rest of the campaign world.

The magic item creation rules are clear and work well. Again, power and flexibility while maintaining game balance.

The system isn't perfect, but then no system is. Still, I find I spend a lot more time thinking of how I can use it and what I can do with it than how I have to fix it. To me, that means it is a success.

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