I was never a big fan of the third generation either, but I think they were in part influenced by things like Magic and the other card games. Agree on the rules...I spent too much time in some games with a DM who couldn't be bothered to read the rules correctly and ended up screwing us about 75% of the time. Rules are important, but they should just provide a framework and never get in the way of the game (at least in ways that don't make sense for the environment).
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