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Right you are. 4E says basically the same thing. I wonder why it took over two hundred pages to say what the Cook/Marsh Expert says in 64.
Oh, hey, "inspired by" is not the same thing as "directly compatible."
I'm not trying to say that it is. They are different games, of course. What I am trying to say is that the whole hyperbole about how it's "not D&D" and "They've totally changed the game so that it is unrecognizable" is just that. Hyperbole. Heck there's another thread right here which is saying EXACTLY the same thing I'm saying.
So, no, I'm not alone in this. A number of people do see the similarities. Mechanically? Oh yeah, very different. No argument there from me. But thematically? This is D&D to me.
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I double-dog-dare you to make your game sound super cool without comparing it to other editions. - paraphrased from Umbran.
So, no, I'm not alone in this. A number of people do see the similarities. Mechanically? Oh yeah, very different. No argument there from me. But thematically? This is D&D to me.
If I concede the thematic similarities, does that mean that I cannot feel that the mechanical changes are enough to make it “not D&D” to me?
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See, I just don't get the "not D&D" thing. What's "not D&D" about it? In the thread I linked above, there's a very good list of the similarities to the mechanics as well. Ah well, I guess it's all well and good. I wasn't playing D&D, according to lots of people, when I played 3e, so, I guess, when and if I play 4e, I'll be happy not playing D&D again.
For me, the fact that I'm doing roughly the same things - exploring, searching, fighting monsters, getting loot, expanding my character's powers, - that's enough D&D for me. I guess I'm just easy to please.
__________________ Currently running: Sufficiently Advanced over Maptool. Soon to change. If you'd like to join in a short 3-8 session campaign for various systems, drop by our forums.
I double-dog-dare you to make your game sound super cool without comparing it to other editions. - paraphrased from Umbran.
For me, the fact that I'm doing roughly the same things - exploring, searching, fighting monsters, getting loot, expanding my character's powers...
I can do that with Rolemaster, but it's not the same thing. Even if Rolemaster were purchased by WotC and released as 5th edition D&D, so that it could validly be called "D&D," it wouldn't be the same thing.
__________________ "You want to play "Semantics and Lawyers"? Go ahead. We'll be busy kickin' ass and chewing Stygian Black Lotus- the best!" - Predavolk
Feh, so tiefling's were always that horny eh? Am I the only one who thinks enormous goat horns make tieflings look more ridiculous than evil? How about we try other anatomical features common among barnyard animals? A big coat of sheepy wool? A chicken beak? Ooh! How about a curly piggy tail! Sheesh.
Well, as a suggestion, if goat horns and reddish skin are too much for you, perhaps Tieflings in your world could look just like regular humans, except that all of them have thin, arching eyebrows, and all the males have goatees or Fu-manchu moustaches...
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I can do that with Rolemaster, but it's not the same thing. Even if Rolemaster were purchased by WotC and released as 5th edition D&D, so that it could validly be called "D&D," it wouldn't be the same thing.
Well, maybe you can explain this to me then.
Was I playing D&D when I was using Tome of Magic and Book of Nine Swords?
If I was, then how am I not playing D&D when using 4e?
__________________ Currently running: Sufficiently Advanced over Maptool. Soon to change. If you'd like to join in a short 3-8 session campaign for various systems, drop by our forums.
I double-dog-dare you to make your game sound super cool without comparing it to other editions. - paraphrased from Umbran.
I'd say you're playing 4e D&D, but I understand "4e D&D" to be a very different game from the earlier editions. (I say the same thing about 3e.) I don't think "different game" is necessarily a slam on 3e or 4e. Heck, Mike Mearls said something similar: "OD&D and D&D 4 are such different games that they cater to very different needs."
__________________ "You want to play "Semantics and Lawyers"? Go ahead. We'll be busy kickin' ass and chewing Stygian Black Lotus- the best!" - Predavolk
Different games =/= not D&D. All editions of D&D are different from each oth...
You know, why do i bother? If you´re comfortably sitting in the nest of your preferred edition, what reason is there to admit that other editions can be D&D too? Especially if you don´t like them.
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Different games =/= not D&D. All editions of D&D are different from each oth...You know, why do i bother?
Some editions are more different than others, and the weight of the differences may be more or less significant. I just wrote a post about that in another thread.
__________________ "You want to play "Semantics and Lawyers"? Go ahead. We'll be busy kickin' ass and chewing Stygian Black Lotus- the best!" - Predavolk
Was I playing D&D when I was using Tome of Magic and Book of Nine Swords?
If I was, then how am I not playing D&D when using 4e?
I can’t tell you how it feels to you. I can’t tell you what your personal definition of “D&D” is. I can only give you my point-of-view.
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Anything I type is only my opinion unless explicitly stated otherwise, which should go without saying. Please assume that I've left out a smiley after every sentence. Thank you.