Mercurius
Legend
I haven't been able to keep up with all of the 5E threads, but there's a wonderful, palpable excitement in the air. This is a time that we should be enjoying, reveling in, the development of a new edition of Dungeons & Dragons, and a process that we can (to some degree, at least) participate in.
Dial back (pun intended) 13 years with me to a time that haven't played D&D in a few years, although still follow the game on a back-burner of my mind. It is the late 90s, the early days of the internet boom when online communities are still forming or at least rather young. Sometime in 1999 in my journeys on the internet I run across a little website called "Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News." It is a very simple site, with red letters on black if I remember correctly, that lists various rumors and news regarding the upcoming 3rd edition of the D&D game, looking vaguely like this.
It was an exciting time that resulted in a new Golden Age of D&D, from an industry, community, and for many, personal gaming and interest, standpoint. We may forget, but the period from '99-'03 or so was a very exciting time to be a D&D player.
I experienced a similar hiatus in the mid-Aughties, shortly after 3.5 came out and my life took me in directions about from gaming. Then, in late 2007, I ran across the 4th edition announcement and felt a similar, if more muted, sense of anticipation that was fulfilled in June of '08 when the 4th edition books came out: It was exciting (and I was one of those folks calling Amazon, wondering why my gift set was delayed) but didn't have the same impact, perhaps partially because of the Aftermath That Shall Not Be Discussed.
Here we are in early 2012 and for the last six months or more, Mike Mearls and then later Monte Cook have been discussing design philosophies that have gotten me truly excited about the next "iteration" of the game, more excited than I've felt in over a decade. I may not agree with every little idea they've posited, but the overall gist--from complexity dials to honoring and incorporating every edition of the game, to open playtesting--is one that I can embrace.
I am writing this to remind everyone what a special time (in terms of D&D fandom) this is: the early days of development for a new edition. Unlike previous editions, we can have significant input. I do think that the good folks at WotC have learned the hard lessons of 4E and we're going to see a very different creature emerging over the next year and a half (or so). And in some ways the feeling of excitement has little to do with what "new shiny" comes out of it, but the very process of discovery, exploration, and development....hmm, that sounds very similar to the gaming experience itself, doesn't it?
I will leave you with a few words from what is, to me, still the greatest fantasy movie every made (You can replace "Arthur" with "Monte & Mike" or even "Morrus" if you like ;-).:
STAND BACK! Be silent! Be still!That's it... and look upon this moment. Savor it! Rejoice with great gladness! Great gladness! Remember it always, for you are joined by it. You are One, under the stars. Remember it well, then... this night, this great victory. So that in the years ahead, you can say, 'I was there that night, with Arthur, the King!'
For it is the doom of men that they forget.
Dial back (pun intended) 13 years with me to a time that haven't played D&D in a few years, although still follow the game on a back-burner of my mind. It is the late 90s, the early days of the internet boom when online communities are still forming or at least rather young. Sometime in 1999 in my journeys on the internet I run across a little website called "Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News." It is a very simple site, with red letters on black if I remember correctly, that lists various rumors and news regarding the upcoming 3rd edition of the D&D game, looking vaguely like this.
It was an exciting time that resulted in a new Golden Age of D&D, from an industry, community, and for many, personal gaming and interest, standpoint. We may forget, but the period from '99-'03 or so was a very exciting time to be a D&D player.
I experienced a similar hiatus in the mid-Aughties, shortly after 3.5 came out and my life took me in directions about from gaming. Then, in late 2007, I ran across the 4th edition announcement and felt a similar, if more muted, sense of anticipation that was fulfilled in June of '08 when the 4th edition books came out: It was exciting (and I was one of those folks calling Amazon, wondering why my gift set was delayed) but didn't have the same impact, perhaps partially because of the Aftermath That Shall Not Be Discussed.
Here we are in early 2012 and for the last six months or more, Mike Mearls and then later Monte Cook have been discussing design philosophies that have gotten me truly excited about the next "iteration" of the game, more excited than I've felt in over a decade. I may not agree with every little idea they've posited, but the overall gist--from complexity dials to honoring and incorporating every edition of the game, to open playtesting--is one that I can embrace.
I am writing this to remind everyone what a special time (in terms of D&D fandom) this is: the early days of development for a new edition. Unlike previous editions, we can have significant input. I do think that the good folks at WotC have learned the hard lessons of 4E and we're going to see a very different creature emerging over the next year and a half (or so). And in some ways the feeling of excitement has little to do with what "new shiny" comes out of it, but the very process of discovery, exploration, and development....hmm, that sounds very similar to the gaming experience itself, doesn't it?
I will leave you with a few words from what is, to me, still the greatest fantasy movie every made (You can replace "Arthur" with "Monte & Mike" or even "Morrus" if you like ;-).:
STAND BACK! Be silent! Be still!That's it... and look upon this moment. Savor it! Rejoice with great gladness! Great gladness! Remember it always, for you are joined by it. You are One, under the stars. Remember it well, then... this night, this great victory. So that in the years ahead, you can say, 'I was there that night, with Arthur, the King!'
For it is the doom of men that they forget.
