WotC's Annual Xmas Layoffs

waxbanks said:

Yeah, heavens forfend that the writing be easier for the damned WRITERS!

And <!-- BEGIN TEMPLATE: dbtech_usertag_mention --> @Therise <!-- END TEMPLATE: dbtech_usertag_mention -->, it actually is important (within the narrow band of very low universal importance that this whole thread occupies!) to recognize that 4e was misunderstood and ignorantly slagged off by an enormous number of fan-nerds, mainly for being 'not really D&D,' whatever that means -- and a whole lot of D&D players have since come around to evaluating the game on its own merits, for good or ill.

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Let me be more clear. They destroyed the Realms to make the writing easier for a set of newbie freelance authors. Elaine Cunningham, an experienced, long-time and much loved Realms author, had difficulty with the new setting such that she couldn't complete the final book in one of her trilogies. Other longtime Realms authors, like Salvatore, had to deal with their characters in ways they didn't like.

So in a world setting built on detail and deep relationships, history and lore, it's clumsily advanced 100 years and given a couple cataclysmic events, just to make things easier for new novelists. Because, presumably, they're cheaper. And quite a few of these new novels in 4E are terrible. So was it worth it?

There's more design innovation in 4e than D&D had seen in a long long time. You don't have to like its direction to see that it was purposeful and (arguably) admirable.

It's good, too, to remember that the Realms weren't revised to cater to older players. Those players, after all, could trivially convert old material to the new system if they wanted. The new Realms were for new work and new players. You were one of those, once.

As for James Wyatt's comments -- they poorly make a vitally important, should-be-obvious point that a hell of a lot of gamers don't get. He needed to write adult advice (figure out what's important in the game and stick to it; the world isn't important except insofar as it supports actual game activity; the rules engine doesn't do everything well, so be aware of where its borders lie and strengthen or speed yourself accordingly to deal with its limitations; etc.) for children. He could've done better, as others in this thread have pointed out. But his words certainly had impact. Ho hum.

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Again, let my clarify my position. WotC's (Wyatt's and others') remarks just prior to the time of 4E's release were a major factor in pushing me away from 4E initially. The entire pre-release PR was handled badly. I have, years later, played 4E rules and found them NOT to be "admirable" or even all that memorable. They're good for encounters, and they have some good points. But innovative? Admirable? Not really.

As to the new 4E Realms being "for new players", I'll grant that it was certainly the intent of WotC to try and pull in new players. Any gaming company should continually try to pull in newer players and get them interested in world settings. But I'd argue that this shouldn't be done in such a way that it completely divides the fanbase for said intellectual property / setting. Eberron was untouched for the most part by 4E. Yet the Realms were gutted and completely reframed, down to its cosmology. Look at places like Candlekeep or similar sites, and the divide is still strong. By catering to Realms detractors, I suspect that the people who hated the Realms in 2E and 3E might have tried out the new Realms for a short while, but there is very, very little active discussion left on the WotC Realms forums. It's practically dead.

Any totally new D&D players probably would've been satisfied by the new "Points of Light" setting with Nentir Vale and all that. So with the older Realms authors disconnected, and old Realms detractors having fizzled out after trying it, and the older fanbase chased off at launch (for the most part), who was really served here? Only their corral of new authors.

I agree. They blew up the Realms and almost everyone lost. I say almost because Paizo clearly benefitted from it. WotC destroyed their flagship campaign setting, and it clearly didn't bring in droves of new players like it was supposed to. 4E Forgotten Realms is a terrible, bland setting for both campaigns and novels. It did, however, drive many FR fans away to Pathfinder and Golarion. I wonder if WotC will aknowledge the failure of this debacle and change their plans going forward. My guess is no.

I wonder how much the trashing of one of their most popular campaign settings aided in the failure of 4E?