Mearls is the new manager of D&D

[renau1g]

@Mearls Let me add too that if you want to generate a lot of instant good will on the part of even those of us who don't play 4e and don't really want to: release the older WotC material in some way where we can access it again. Its a crying shame that WotC has all this wonderful stuff in their vaults and they refuse to share it anymore because its not 4e. Whether as republished "classic" books, PDFs, or some new ebook form, I don't care but release it and watch the love blossom on our part.

This'd be cool as I never got to read any of the 1st edition stuff (I got in at the later part of 2e, around when Baldur's Gate II came out).

 

[Thornir Alekeg]

Congratulations. Henri managed to post most of my thoughts earlier.

I will be introducing my kids to the game today using the free Monster Slayers game. I hope you manage to make D&D into an amazing game for many years to come so they have many opportunities to grow up with the same love of the game that I did.

 

[lutecius]

It's like showing up to a baby shower and saying "This food you made is awful and this house is ugly, but congrats on the newborn!" You have the right to say it, but it's just rude. There are things like decorum. Just because you can say something doesn't mean you should, or at least that it's appropriate time and place to say it ...

but this isn't a baby shower or a "congrats Mike" page, it's a rpg news thread.

discussing what you think of M.Mearl's work and how this promotion could affect d&d in the years to come is very appropriate.
it's not like he just lost his job either. there's no need to go easy on him.

 

[Fifth Element]

but this isn't a baby shower or a "congrats Mike" page, it's a rpg news thread.

Well, then if it's alright to complain about 4E in the thread, it's alright to complain about the complaining.

Put me in the "We realize you don't like 4E, you don't have to mention it in every single thread" camp.

 

[crazy_cat]

but this isn't a baby shower or a "congrats Mike" page, it's a rpg news thread.

discussing what you think of M.Mearl's work and how this promotion could affect d&d in the years to come is very appropriate.

Agreed. Well done to Mike on the promotion - heres hoping he can do good things for D&D in the role.

Opening up the GSL a bit for 3PPs and bringing pack the older edition PDFs would be a nice start, especially if WOTC are serious about rebuilding bridges with some of the non 4e parts of the D&D community.

 

[Zaukrie]

Congrats Mike. I for one really enjoy DMing 4E, and I'm sure if I ever find more time in my life, I'll enjoy playing it also.

 

[Umbran]

Folks,

Someone just had something good happen to them. Dumping on that is kinda rude. Getting into arguments over the dumping is also rude, as it derails the conversation something fierce.

You're more than welcome to have your opinions on the man's work, but we expect you to express them in ways that don't make you look like a jerk - do remember that he's is not some distant entity, but a guy who sometimes posts on these boards.

 

[BryonD]

First, big congrats to Mike. I really like what you said. And there are a lot of us that would readily to WotC if Wotc wants to come back to us. I don't know if this role will really give you enough freedom to make that happen, but I'll certainly be watching with an eager and open mind.

Best of Luck!!

But come on, people. Is there no where we can look past which edition camp we're at and just treat one another like human beings who share a certain hobby?

Put me in the "We realize you don't like 4E, you don't have to mention it in every single thread" camp.

Does treating "one another like human beings who share a certain hobby?" somehow mean that your opinion counts and mine doesn't?

And I 100% agree that it doesn't need to be mentioned in every single thread. And boy am I relieved that it isn't.

But, there certainly are threads where it is completely appropriate. And a thread about changes in the person with his hand on the rudder of where D&D goes is most certainly an appropriate place to comment on hopes for a change in course.

 

[Haffrung Helleyes]

Congratulations

I'm another one of those people who would like to like WoTC again.

It's hard to know from the outside whether you getting this promotion will allow you to effect change, or what those changes would be. But it's the best news I've heard regarding WoTC in a long time.

Good luck!
Ken

 

[Steel_Wind]

I wish Mike Mearls well and hope he has great success.

In all honesty, my gaming circle has never really given 4th Ed a fair shot. I think we played a total of 2, (maybe 3 sessions?) -- in two separate campaigns -- of 4th Ed.

Four of the seven people in my circle own the D&D core rules for 4th Ed. Nobody among us have purchased more than that, exception (me) as I bought an extra copy of the PHB.

The interest just wasn't there and there was a lot of resistance in my group. My gaming circle had made a tremendous investment in 3.xx books. I'm guessing between all the members of the 7 people in my gaming circle, we probably own, collectively, between 380 and 400 3.xx hardcovers? Something very close to that -- and the book count might even be higher than that, too.

Explaining the core reason for my group's resistance to 4E does not get much more complicated than that. The release of 4th Ed was just too soon for my group. I expect in another year or at most, two years, that will change. At that point, we'll give 4E a serious kick at the can. Right now, the group has "let go" of 3.xx and has move on to Pathfinder as of a few months ago.

I say "let go" because we aren't using any of those 3rd edition books in our Pathfinder campaign. We've started with the PF Core Rules and approached the game with a clean slate.

So that's just anecdotally my group's situation. Whatever it is that we did or didn't do in relation to 4E didn't have any real connection with the design of the game in terms of like or dislike. My group's reaction was rooted in the investment we had already made and was a reaction instead to the timing of 4Es release. My group's emotional reaction to the cancellation of the print editions of Dragon and, most especially, Dungeon Magazine certainly didn't help though.

When we get around to actually playing 4E and give it a fair shake, we might have something fair to say about the design of the game. Right now - we can't.

FWIW, my group has been recently playing Star Wars: Saga Edition and has been enjoying it a lot. Yes, even the skill challenge system has gone over reasonably well amongst the players of a group comprised of 30+ year veterans of 1st ed (and OD&D, too).

Seeing as there is a lot of SW:SE's DNA in 4th Ed, and the Skill Challenge system itself was retrofitted on to SW:SE from 4E, that probably tells Mike Mearls as much as he can meaningfully discern from our group's tepid reaction to the release of the 4th Ed of Dungeons and Dragons.

Sometimes, the reaction of D&D fans may be a genuine and informed reaction to the core mechanic of the game. In other cases, the reaction may be rooted in other marketing decisions which are beyond the control of a game designer. For now, our group's reaction falls in the second category. We just haven't given the game enough of a fair shake to be able to comment meaningfully on the game's design itself.

Other groups have other experiences which are necessarily different. I don't purport to speak for those groups. My comments are intended to sincerely reflect and deconstruct the reaction of the gamers/customers in my own gaming circle, only.