Lots of people seem to enjoy this game. Lots of people are idiots. The Venn diagram of "idiots" is merely a circle around another circle, that being "people who like C&C".
The issue with the system is sitting at the absolute core of it. The Siege Engine. Pretty simply it's B/X stats and you roll a d20, your target number is based on a "Challenge Base" which is merely derived on whether the stat you're using is "Primary" or "Secondary". Primary TN is 12, Secondary is 18. I'm going to stop right here. Everyone gets two Primary stats except Humans who get three. Because it's B/X stats the difference between someone with a minimum score (3) and maximum score (18) is a six point swing. (-3 - +3 = 6 points). The same is the difference between a TN of 12 and 18. So two people with 18 strength, one prime and one not, the difference in their ability is the same for a normal game system (B/X) where one person has a score of 3 and the other 18. This means that the differentiation in scores is, frankly, moot. But the stupid doesn't stop there.
On top of that there's a nebulous "Challenge Level" system where you add 1-20 (or more) to the TN to determine the true TN. This range is divided up to descriptors like "+1-5 = easy, +11-15 = very difficult". Funny enough there's no +0 or baseline ability for a roll. I find that a usual problem with a lot of mechanics not very well thought through. This is no different. So for the easiest task in the game a first level PC of average ability using a secondary stat is 10% success rate. I know the math doesn't add up, you get to add your level to every roll. There is a mentioned caveat that using this system to have a PC do something outside of the relevancy of their class (whatever that means) is simply insta-failure, but if YOU MUST, then don't add the PC's level. So in that case, the easiest task in the game for an average PC not versed in said task is 5%. This is a pass/fail check. There is no nuance.
Let's go to the other side of the spectrum. The most difficult task in the game has a TN of 38 for secondary abilities and 32 for prime abilities. A max level character adds 24 to their rolls just for their class level, plus likely a bonus between 1 and 3 for their ability score. So the most difficult BTB example for an exemplary character (prime 18) will still succeed 75% of the time, and if they're non-prime it's still 45%. In the end what the system calls a Challenge Level is just a means for the GM to reign in the rampant escalation of numbers and TRY to make the die rolls retain some form of meaning. That's all the number actually is. The pretense that "easy" is +1 and "super hard" is +20 is an intentional smokescreen. That's why it ends in "20 or more", and why all have a range instead of a set number. If you dropped the entirety of adding your level to one side and dropped the idea of challenge level from the other, the system would become far more passable. But it's inflation on both sides of an equation for no reason other than bigger numbers makes the justifications are meaningless. It's systemic bloat baked in to the core for gimmickry sake. And while I'm talking about the most recent version of the game, all versions have had this issue to some extent. It's retreated up it's own ass through abstraction and a need for huge numbers. It's a hack of D&D3E that falls into the 3E trap.
It's the D&D equivalent of level scaling all the monsters in Skyrim to where Bandits stopping you on the road are wearing the same uber-deluxe Dragon Bone armor you are. It's nonsense but "it keeps the game challenging". Only if you don't immediately notice the massive issues with that.
The creators don't want to be in the OSR or associated with the OSR and I'm fine with that. Their game is not very good. Some of the class builds aren't bad, but with a rotten core the game itself is rather unsalvageable. Well, let's try:
Discard the entire notion of Prime and Secondary Ability scores. Discard the notion of adding your class level to your rolls. Discard the notion of Challenge Levels as they are. Discard, if possible, all the links between class abilities and ability scores (which while I never mentioned it is also a huge problem in this game and could spawn a blog post in and of itself). Default Easy TN: 6. Average TN: 11. Difficult TN: 16. Heroic TN: 21. Situational modifiers can adjust this by as high as +4 or as low as -4. Human get something else for being human (+20% XP bonus or the like). The math is way smaller and more manageable, and TNs can actually be based on something factual and not subjective and based on a need to properly challenge a character level. IE not something gamey. There's enough gamey elements in the game already.
