Another snarky open letter

Dear d20 Enthusiasts,

Please stop saying stupid things like "D20's not complicated, you just roll one die, add a bonus, and compare against a target." That's disingenuous and you damn well know it. The core mechanic of a game doesn't say dick about whether the game is complex or simple. Or let me put it anther way: I don't know why you wimps are whining about the HERO System, you just roll 3d6, lower is better.

I know the core mechanic of the D20 system, okay? That d20 ain't gonna tell me how many fifth level spells a 18th level necromancer gets. Those 3d6 don't do me a damn bit of good when someone drowns because their Speed stat is too high. Just to be clear, I'm not in the anti-D20 camp. Just stop trying to paint the pig. The core rules for D&D amount to over a thousand pages. That's not exactly the hallmark of a streamlined design.

If you don't believe me consider the following challenge. A neutral third party will pitch a character concept to the both of us, something suitable for a high-level D&D PC. The challenge is to see who can build the concept as a PC, completely filling in a character sheet. You use your D&D corebooks and I'll use Risus. Who do you think will finish first?

Love,

Jeff