TheYeti1775
Adventurer
First off, congrats on the new job. I wish you many long years at it at your own choosing.
I fully sympathize with your 2E feeling of void. It is probably very similar to what many of us felt with 4E.
I know I did, a feeling that D&D 'left me'.
I think the biggiest reason for it is in it's own conversion from prior editions to this current one (4e).
It takes some bearing with if you have the time or inclination to read.
Basic to 1E
Conversion pretty simple.
O look they added different classes for the races.
Dual Classing Humans / Multiclassing Demi-Humans
Charts and AC stayed the same, spells translated quite well.
1E to 2E
Straight forward conversion
Only real difference are now Proficiencies. And you lost a few classes Monk/Assasin.
This was a time of settings galore. Though it eventually doomed TSR, it can be rightly called both glory years and doom years in the later part.
2E to 3E
Spells translated comfortable enough.
AC goes up now. Well that makes since to most. -10AC was always a tough one to explain.
Proficiencies are now Skills are make a little more sense one difficulty checks.
Rolling High on everything is now considered good. Whereas prior editions was a mix mash of high or low depending what you were rolling for. 1's earned their rightful place in the Abyss and the 20's ruled from the Heavens.
A few name changes Thief to Rogue etc.
3E to 3.5E
No real change, just a few clarifications.
3.5E to 4E
Converting nightmare.
What the heck is a crushing blow for my fighter, why can't my 5th level Wizard cast Fireball blowing up a 20' radius for 5d6, wait what do you mean he is a controller now.
Shift/Pull/Push/etc
You can see how many of us were lost. While there are a few things I liked of 4E it fell into that realm of I didn't want to spend money on it. And I haven't. I've played it, had fun. But it isn't something I'm drawn in to playing willingly.
That is the hurdle you have before you. How to bring the ones like myself back into the fold.
I feel like I wouldn't do ya justice though if I didn't tell you the things I do like of it. It isn't a scrap it and start over that is needed.
1. LOVE the character builder. I wish I had one that robust for all the prior editions.
2. I really like the current method of Campaign Setting Delivery WotC is using. It allows the delve into us niches that love Darksun and other 'dead' settings. I like Darksun 2E a lot.
3. I like the removal of Vanican Spell Casting, though I miss it at the same time. The current mages feel more like sorcerors vice wizards.
I don't mind the game moving forward with itself, I think it just leapt too far forward at one time.
Now if you want a leap forward, 4E does lend itself greatly to a computer game especially if you incorporate the Character Builder into it. I think most of us would whole-heartedly gooble up a game that lets us build from scratch and play it.
I fully sympathize with your 2E feeling of void. It is probably very similar to what many of us felt with 4E.
I know I did, a feeling that D&D 'left me'.
I think the biggiest reason for it is in it's own conversion from prior editions to this current one (4e).
It takes some bearing with if you have the time or inclination to read.
Basic to 1E
Conversion pretty simple.
O look they added different classes for the races.
Dual Classing Humans / Multiclassing Demi-Humans
Charts and AC stayed the same, spells translated quite well.
1E to 2E
Straight forward conversion
Only real difference are now Proficiencies. And you lost a few classes Monk/Assasin.
This was a time of settings galore. Though it eventually doomed TSR, it can be rightly called both glory years and doom years in the later part.
2E to 3E
Spells translated comfortable enough.
AC goes up now. Well that makes since to most. -10AC was always a tough one to explain.
Proficiencies are now Skills are make a little more sense one difficulty checks.
Rolling High on everything is now considered good. Whereas prior editions was a mix mash of high or low depending what you were rolling for. 1's earned their rightful place in the Abyss and the 20's ruled from the Heavens.
A few name changes Thief to Rogue etc.
3E to 3.5E
No real change, just a few clarifications.
3.5E to 4E
Converting nightmare.
What the heck is a crushing blow for my fighter, why can't my 5th level Wizard cast Fireball blowing up a 20' radius for 5d6, wait what do you mean he is a controller now.
Shift/Pull/Push/etc
You can see how many of us were lost. While there are a few things I liked of 4E it fell into that realm of I didn't want to spend money on it. And I haven't. I've played it, had fun. But it isn't something I'm drawn in to playing willingly.
That is the hurdle you have before you. How to bring the ones like myself back into the fold.
I feel like I wouldn't do ya justice though if I didn't tell you the things I do like of it. It isn't a scrap it and start over that is needed.
1. LOVE the character builder. I wish I had one that robust for all the prior editions.
2. I really like the current method of Campaign Setting Delivery WotC is using. It allows the delve into us niches that love Darksun and other 'dead' settings. I like Darksun 2E a lot.
3. I like the removal of Vanican Spell Casting, though I miss it at the same time. The current mages feel more like sorcerors vice wizards.
I don't mind the game moving forward with itself, I think it just leapt too far forward at one time.
Now if you want a leap forward, 4E does lend itself greatly to a computer game especially if you incorporate the Character Builder into it. I think most of us would whole-heartedly gooble up a game that lets us build from scratch and play it.