My love letter to WotC

[fumetti]

I would rephrase this letter to argue that DnD transcends editions and that WOTC can sell product to each edition, which will bring money back into the franchise. The brand is now multi-generational. Embrace it. Milk it.

IMO, players of 1E would buy new 1E adventures, etc. Same with 2E and BECMI. And I'm sure there's something the 3.5ers would like to buy. It wouldn't be a lot, but it would be enough to (1) bring in income, and (2) keep them from switching to some other fantasy rpg.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

I don't suppose it would cost much to convert a product (adventures, say) to othre editions when first published. It wouldn't have to have too many sales to be profitable -- and if you limited the older edition conversions to POD, you wouldn't have the inventory issues, nor the piracy risk. It might even support reprints of older edition core books (if you're in to that). I'd definitely buy a new BECMI Rules Cyclopedia; what if they published the 1E or 2E PHB, DMG, and MM in one "megavolume"?

 

[DEFCON 1]

Man, I feel sorry for Paizo.

It must be disheartening to see so many people who supposedly enjoy their game truthfully admit that they'd love to go running back to D&D if only WotC would learn from their mistakes.

It's like Paizo's the guy who's dating the really bad girlfriend, who is only seeing him because she's broken up with her Captain-of-the-football-team ex-boyfriend since he treated her like dirt. But truth be told, she keeps sending letters to him hoping against hope that he'll realize the horrible mistake he made... and if he ever came crawling back crying "Baby, I've changed!"... she'd kick the nice guy to the curb so fast, it'd make his head spin. Because, after all, he's not the Captain of the football team. There's status to think about here.

 

[Bacris]

Man, I feel sorry for Paizo.

It must be disheartening to see so many people who supposedly enjoy their game truthfully admit that they'd love to go running back to D&D if only WotC would learn from their mistakes.

It's like Paizo's the guy who's dating the really bad girlfriend, who is only seeing him because she's broken up with her Captain-of-the-football-team ex-boyfriend since he treated her like dirt. But truth be told, she keeps sending letters to him hoping against hope that he'll realize the horrible mistake he made... and if he ever came crawling back crying "Baby, I've changed!"... she'd kick the nice guy to the curb so fast, it'd make his head spin. Because, after all, he's not the Captain of the football team. There's status to think about here.

It's not really that black & white, tho. I know a lot of folks who play multiple game systems. Right now, there are folks that are 100% non-WotC - so they may play Pathfinder, and Shadowrun, and GURPS... Game systems don't come with exclusivity expectations like relationships do.

At this point, if WotC put out a system I liked, I'd play it - and still play Pathfinder, because there will likely be differences in the systems that suit different game styles.

 

[DaveMage]

See, I don't really want WotC to make a version of D&D I might like anymore *because* of Paizo.

I'd rather Paizo own D&D than WotC release yet another version.

I'd rather D&D be held by a private company that doesn't have the distractions/demands that a publicly held company does.

I'd also rather have D&D be the flagship of the company rather than a distant priority to some other line (such as Magic).

 

[Nemesis Destiny]

While I agree that WotC could do more to foster goodwill with their customer base, threads like this always seem to carry the tone of, "if only you'd go back to making the edition I loved," in this case, most people seem to be pining for 3.x.

See, the funny thing is, just as many people felt that way about the situation when 3.0 was released. Third edition was not "the last edition that everybody loved" or any such nonsense, so can we please stop pretending that it was?

The community was fractured long before that, and will be long after 4th edition is put to rest and something new comes along.

Now, before I get called out as nothing more than a 3.x/PF hater, I should tell you that I like something about every edition, I have enjoyed them all, and am glad that there are still enthusiasts for all of them, including 3.x.

 

[DEFCON 1]

The community was fractured long before that, and will be long after 4th edition is put to rest and something new comes along.

Exactly. And it's only because the 2E players are just so dang old that they don't know how to use these newfangled 'computer' things, that we don't hear more of them complaining about what 3E and Pathfinder did to their game.

(I kid! I kid! Sorry! After watching Gervais just kill people at the Golden Globes, I seem to have gotten a little froggy myself. Heh heh! Just jokes people!)

(And never mind the fact that I'm one of those old 2E players myself.)

 

[Alzrius]

While I agree that WotC could do more to foster goodwill with their customer base, threads like this always seem to carry the tone of, "if only you'd go back to making the edition I loved," in this case, most people seem to be pining for 3.x.

I'm sorry my letter sounds that way to you, but that wasn't my intention. In fact, I tried hard to avoid that tone.

When I sat down to write this, I had three goals in mind. The first was to keep it cordial. The second was to list things that were both what I would like to see, and were things I honestly thought (as a former fan and former buyer of their products) would help WotC out, financially and in terms of community goodwill.

The third goal was to not list anything that seemed unreasonable on WotC's part. While 3.X/Pathfinder is my game of choice, and I'd certainly turn cartwheels if WotC suddenly put all of 4E under the OGL, or even dumped 4E altogether and re-released 3.5...that's not a reasonable expectation to have; it's certainly not reasonable to ask them to do it.

I do, however, think that it's not inherently unreasonable to cater to fans of older editions a little bit - not much, which is why I said once a year would be more than enough, but enough to keep them interested and appreciative that WotC wants their business.

WotC is in a unique position as the only company that can cater to fans of every edition of D&D. Why not exercise that ability, even if only slightly? I firmly believe that there's a point where they can do that without unduly expending "opportunity costs" and make a profit.

 

[scruffygrognard]

Man, I feel sorry for Paizo.
It must be disheartening to see so many people who supposedly enjoy their game truthfully admit that they'd love to go running back to D&D if only WotC would learn from their mistakes.

I'm not in this camp as I'm a non-Paizo and non-WotC customer. Pathfinder didn't fix the issues I had with 3.X and 4th edition turned me off entirely.

All I know is that I'd be very happy to be spending money on an official (and well-supported) version of D&D that I love. I seriously doubt that WotC can provide this due to their track record over the last 7 years... but would happily be proven wrong. At this point it's up to them to "Wow" me.

 

[DEFCON 1]

WotC is in a unique position as the only company that can cater to fans of every edition of D&D. Why not exercise that ability, even if only slightly? I firmly believe that there's a point where they can do that without unduly expending "opportunity costs" and make a profit.

But here's the $64,000 question...

What exactly can WotC release NOW for 3.5 that they haven't already released previously, or that wasn't filled in by some third party product?

The reason why WotC moved on from Third Edition was because the had released EVERYTHING they reasonably could have without producing some tiny niche book that only would have sold a hundred copies. What exactly do you expect them to do now?

And just because you bring up one other point that gets made often by other people that I really have to bring light to the reality...

While 3.X/Pathfinder is my game of choice, and I'd certainly turn cartwheels if WotC suddenly put all of 4E under the OGL...

What you're basically saying here is that WotC should open up their game so that you don't have to buy any of their products. If OTHER companies could make a wide-ranging amount of 4E products instead, then maybe you'd play the game finally, because you won't play what WotC offers.

But this here exactly highlights why WotC should in no way open up 4E to the OGL. Because if THEIR GAME isn't good enough for you unless you can play other people's version of it... then get lost. You aren't a customer to them. If the work other companies do is so great... then let them create their own games for you to play. Why should WotC have to do all the hard work, while other companies collect all the spoils?