4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons announced, nerds in uproar

[The Lizard]

This past weekend was GenCon, the big role-playing game convention and general nerd-fest. Wizards of the Coast (owned by Hasbro), the current publisher of the Dungeons and Dragons game, announced that a new fourth edition of the game will be introduced starting in April of 2008. Much debate, wailing and gnashing of teeth has resulted in the D&D community as a result of this surprise announcement.

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/welcome


The controversy surrounds the fact that the 3rd edition of D&D was introduced in 2000, requiring all who wished to play it to invest in all new books. Then, in 2003, Wizards of the Coast reprinted all those books again in an adjusted "3.5 edition" format that was supposed to have fixed a bunch of problems with the gameplay. Now, a mere four years later, the announcement comes that all 3.5 edition books and expansions will soon end to make room for the all-new 4th edition books that will also include online supplements (available for a subscription fee of course).

The haters are screaming that Wizards is just trying to pump up their profits by introducing a new edition that will require the purchase of all new expensive books plus online fees.

Others say that this is just a necessary evolution of the game to keep it viable for 21st century gamers more used to MMORPGs.

Then there is the vast majority who don't give a crap about the geeky world of role-playing games at all -- but I suppose it's too late to claim that I fall into that category isn't it?

 

[Master Chief]

Times like these I'm proud to have never picked up on anything with a lot of rules.

 

[Speedball]

I've always wanted to get into D&D, but I don't know anyone who plays.
The closest I've come to playing it is KOTOR.

 

[Jack Rabbit]

Times like these I'm proud to have never picked up on anything with a lot of rules.

D&D

 

[Drakon]

Go to hell, Lizzie.

In honesty, though, this does surprise me. Though, I do think that 3.5 coulda lasted another couple of years.

 

[Spade]

Not trying to be negative, but I never saw the appeal in D&D to really learn more about it. I have friends who have started clubs to play it, but I've just never really been interested enough to play. Online gameplay garners more interest for me.

 

[Drakon]

Well, to be honest, there's several reasons.

For me, it's the social aspect. Sure, we play on Thursdays, but if we had an eight hour game session, we'd actually get about three hours or so of story. The rest of the time is just BSing with your buddies.

I played with another group, and we did a completely different setting, with a completely different DM [Dungeon Master]. This was a lot more serious, but just as fun in a different way. Sure, you're rule crunching like a mofo, but how many times in real life can I say I killed someone with a poison tipped grappling hook off of a speeding boat?

Also, there's a family time thing with it. I mean, sure, you can go with Monopoly or whatever, but this covers game time AND the bedtime story.

 

[Green Lantern]

Goddamnit I JUST bought the sourcebooks for 3.5 Money grubbing bastards.

 

[Tropico]

The way people are flocking to online games it doesn't surprise me all that much, it's a way to keep the money coming in. In regards to the online content, it doesn't sound all that bad from what I read in the Ampersand article. That is, IF they keep it supplementary if they try to make it indispensable then the trouble starts. It's been years since I played, but it might be worth it to keep track of this especially if the new tools make it possible for hassle free virtual play (long distance playing).

 

[Tropico]

Well, to be honest, there's several reasons.

For me, it's the social aspect. Sure, we play on Thursdays, but if we had an eight hour game session, we'd actually get about three hours or so of story. The rest of the time is just BSing with your buddies.

I played with another group, and we did a completely different setting, with a completely different DM [Dungeon Master]. This was a lot more serious, but just as fun in a different way. Sure, you're rule crunching like a mofo, but how many times in real life can I say I killed someone with a poison tipped grappling hook off of a speeding boat?

Also, there's a family time thing with it. I mean, sure, you can go with Monopoly or whatever, but this covers game time AND the bedtime story.

That's the part most people overlook, Drak, the social. They mostly think it's a bunch of nerds getting together and stringing along a chain of rules and actions for "something to happen". You can socialize in MMORPG's but it's not the same as face to face.

I have VERY fond memories of the time I played. I also loved the freedom you have with a tabletop game. You can actually use your skills creatively, not b!t¢h in some message board about how you can't use "Rez Like a Mofo" skill for this and that situation.

 

[Ghostvirus]

The more I learned about D&D. The more I realised it is no different than religion. There is this all knowing book, that even though there are rules that at some points make no sense. You are just supposed to follow them ,& not question the book.

 

[The Lizard]

Go to hell, Lizzie.

In honesty, though, this does surprise me. Though, I do think that 3.5 coulda lasted another couple of years.

Hey, did I claim that I wasn't one of the aforementioned nerds or geeks?

But yeah, I also would have thought that a 4th edition was still 3 years away. I think that's behind some of the uproar. A lot of people were thinking 2010 would be the year of change and just plunked down money for the Monster Manual 5, only to discover it's not going to be supported in a few months.

I don't really play that often - about once a month or so - so there's plenty of 3.5 junk we haven't used yet to tide us over until late 2008 when it will be obvious if 4th edition is a winner or a scam.

 

[Green Lantern]

The more I learned about D&D. The more I realised it is no different than religion. There is this all knowing book, that even though there are rules that at some points make no sense. You are just supposed to follow them ,& not question the book.

Not really, the sourcebooks (plural) are not unbreakable law... You can argue against ANYTHING in them, and ultimately its the DM's call on what happens. The Sourcebooks are just guidelines that make it easier to run the games. You could feasibly create and run your own tabletop game without any books.

 

[Ghostvirus]

Not really, the sourcebooks (plural) are not unbreakable law... You can argue against ANYTHING in them, and ultimately its the DM's call on what happens. The Sourcebooks are just guidelines that make it easier to run the games. You could feasibly create and run your own tabletop game without any books.

Yes, but these books are sometimes used to determine the rules of RPG video games. Those can't be negotiated. & sometimes I find myself wondering why I can't do this, or why I can't do that.

Case in point playing KOTOR for the first time. I realised that wearing a certain grade of armor will render you unable to use some force powers. For any other game that would be fine. But for a star wars game that made absolutely no sense. But since it is was in the D&D rule book. Then it was law.

 

[Drakon]

The more I learned about D&D. The more I realised it is no different than religion. There is this all knowing book, that even though there are rules that at some points make no sense. You are just supposed to follow them ,& not question the book.

How's it any different from Harry Potter? There's people wildly defending the book left and right, you've got your crazed fanatics, some who just don't care, and everyone forgets that in the end, it's just a book.

Hey, did I claim that I wasn't one of the aforementioned nerds or geeks?

But yeah, I also would have thought that a 4th edition was still 3 years away. I think that's behind some of the uproar. A lot of people were thinking 2010 would be the year of change and just plunked down money for the Monster Manual 5, only to discover it's not going to be supported in a few months.

I don't really play that often - about once a month or so - so there's plenty of 3.5 junk we haven't used yet to tide us over until late 2008 when it will be obvious if 4th edition is a winner or a scam.

I know. You know I love you with all my [warm-blooded ] heart.

This does kinda mess us up, though. Now it makes me want to wait to see what they do with the rest of the D20 books, since we're basing our superhero mod almost entirely on D20 Modern/Future and Urban Arcana.

 

[Green Lantern]

We weren't talking about KOTOR using some of the same principles, we were talking about the D&D sourcebooks being 'law' for D&D, when they aren't actually. KOTOR and table top games are entirely different entities, if KOTOR used some D&D elements, that was the decision of the programmer, not because its unbreakable RPG law that you have too. That said, I think the armor issue makes a great deal of common sense, and results in a more balanced game in KOTOR. You don't want your character too powerful or the game would be no fun.

 

[Drakon]

KOTOR actually takes its core rules from the D20 ruleset, even down to a lot of the skills they talk about, such as computer use and persuade. There is actually a D20 Star Wars game, which is where a lot of the setups came from, such as the idea of what classes play how.

 

[Green Lantern]

Is that one a Wizards product or a generic knock off?

 

[Drakon]

Official WOTC. They own the rights to the d20 system.

 

[Green Lantern]

I thought other companies make D20 Supplements?

 

[Drakon]

None to my knowledge. I could be wrong, though.

 

[The Original Bamfer]

None to my knowledge. I could be wrong, though.

Let's be friends.

 

[Drakon]

 

[The Original Bamfer]

Fine, offer retracted! Good day to you, sir!

 

[Addendum]

http://www.cybermoonstudios.com/8bitDandD.html