Why play 3.5 anymore?

[Fable Wright]

While "the DM makes something up" does in fact allow you to do whatever you want in any game, it works in any game and requires no design time. Presenting it as a strength of 5e is insulting.

And the design of 3.5's "look, here are the rules for it so I can build it and there's not a thing you can do about it" is so much better?

Look, I get it. Fifth edition takes options away from the player, and you don't like that. But think about it from the DM's side of the screen. "Oh, this is a neat magic item I want to see in play. Let's drop it in with the loot." Players look at it, shrug, throw it on the pile of items they can sell at the store, makes the usual combination of +1 Flaming Frost weapon with GMW thrown on for the rest of the bonus. Player goes "Hey, how about that industrial revolution, can we do that?" when the DM wants to make a campaign about killing the dragon that's terrorizing a small town. Can't stop them, because it's in the rules.

Fifth edition has that rare balance of magic items having definitive stats separate from a character's individual power along with enough freeform rules to eyeball cool effects together without it breaking game balance. This is not the case in 3.5 or 4th edition. In fifth edition, I can make a cool, unique magic item and a custom monster to throw at the party in, what, five minutes. In 3.5, I can spend at least an hour making the monster, looking at magic item creation guidelines to eyeball the wealth by level of my cool custom effect, fret about how to add a bunch of other loot to keep other players at parity, then sigh with resignation when the players just chuck the magic item on the loot pile and sell it. Expressly putting "the DM makes something up" in a crunch heavy system is a strength of fifth edition, because it clearly shows where the rights of the player end and the powers of the DM begin. And frankly, they did it in such a way that makes the whole system easier for everyone involved.

You know what allows things to stay possible for non-casters? Having them scale properly. All bounded accuracy does is stop you from ever being able to beat a random dude consistently at anything, which is insulting if you are nominally supposed to kill dragons or demon lords with ease.

And unbounded accuracy also stops your plucky PC from ever winning an arm-wrestling competition with the legendary dragonslayer, and keeps those plucky commoners or low level PCs with an iron arrow from ever having a chance to pierce the dragon's hide. Because really, since when should an underdog hero ever actually have a chance to win against a dragon? It takes a band of 4 heroes each only slightly weaker than the dragon banding together to kill it, obviously. Anything less might as well just slit their throats now.

So the game handles an iconic fantasy moment by telling you to ignore the rules. And you paid money for this. In other news, I have a bridge I'd like to sell you. Just PM me your credit card information and I'll be good to go.

Sure, right after you tell me how your level 1 characters would meaningfully impact a battle with a Huge, airborne dragon at level 1 in this exact same scenario. Go on, I'll wait. I've got this epic fantasy moment I can meaningfully contribute to without being a demigod to pass the time.