Most of the new changes to the 3rd edition were brought about to make playing the game easier. It was thought that the ruleset only interested a limited number of people because it was too difficult to implement. (unless you were just REALLY REALLY into it). Some hard core fans are no doubt going to dislike some of the changes to the game, but the general idea was to attrack a much wider fan base. Dungeons and Dragons, (although generally thought of with a negative tone by the masses)(along with J.R.R. Tolkien) has been a driving force in the Fantasy Science Fiction genre. Setting the standards that identify new races (elves, dwarfs)and the way that Fantasy Sci-Fi worlds are written about.