When did I stop being WotC's target audience?

[Simon Atavax]

When Hasbro started dreaming they could tap into the WoW market.

I don't think you need the smiley; it's fairly obvious that Hasbro is going after the WoW market with 4e. And it's hard to blame them from a business standpoint.

 

[The Little Raven]

So they are trying to take 3 markets, kids, adults, and mixed, and just make them one market...mixed, and it isn't working too well for D&D it seems for some.

Kids, adults, and families have been buying and playing D&D for 30 years. Suggesting that this is new or unique to WotC is ignoring the history of the genre. Most of us on this very forum were kids at one point, many of us are adults now, and many of us have played in groups that feature both.

What's new is the fact that they are pushing a digital initiative in an industry that has been focused on more traditional means of advertising (physical magazines), distribution (retail stores), and community building (RPGA; conventions).

 

[Simon Atavax]

I was listening to a Classic Rock station in Southern Illinois this past weekend.

They played Pearl Jam and I felt ancient.

-O

If it makes you feel any better, this says more about the radio station's poor understanding of what "classic" means, and less about your age.

 

[Simon Atavax]

I think they gauged the market pretty well. I also don't think they lost anywhere near half of their customers.

The 4E = WOW contention is seriously spurious. If I wanted to, I could hand-wave a "3rd Edition is nothing but Baldur's Gate for the tabletop" argument, and it'd have about as much weight. I have yet to see an actual list of similarities unique to 4E; instead, it's only "general feelings" and assumptions. As someone who plays both WOW and D&D, the association is ridiculous. They both have a class they call "paladins," and the similarities end there.

I don't play WoW or any other on-line RPGs, but is it not the case that the healing surges and "taunt" mechanics are heavily WoW influenced?

 

[Herremann the Wise]

When did Motley Crue become classic rock?

"And music still on MTV."

In a really bizarre way, I think you have precisely answered Jeff in one. Bowling for Soup is the answer. XP going your way sir.

Best Regards
Herremann the Wise

 

[The Little Raven]

I don't play WoW or any other on-line RPGs, but is it not the case that the healing surges and "taunt" mechanics are heavily WoW influenced?

Healing Surges have no counterpart in WoW. 3e and earlier healing is more like WoW healing in that there is a fuel cost (mana in WoW; spell slots/charges in pre-4e D&D), but no other cost (healing surges are a secondary cost for healing in 4e in addition to power slots).

Marking and "aggro" mechanics are quite different.

Marking imposes a penalty on an enemy if they select a target other than yourself (with a secondary effect based on your class, most likely), but does not dictate the behavior of that enemy, whether NPC or PC. It is a tool of a specific role to allow them to more easily do their job.

"Aggro" (also known as threat) dictates the behavior of an NPC, but not PCs. It does so by assigning "threat" values to the abilities that players use in order to determine who the NPC is forced to attack. It is produced by every PC, not just tanks (aka defenders).

 

[EATherrian]

I almost agree with snoweel. Interesting.

JW: if you have all of the many books and minis released for an edition that is the best for you, its not surprising you have little interest in the new one.

I have almost all of the books for 3+ editions of D&D and I feel the same way about 4th. I do enjoy playing it, but it doesn't inspire me to purchase any of the books. They don't read well. There's no reason to even look at the powers unless you are playing the class. I feel that the game is passing me also.

 

[Weregrognard]

I was listening to a Classic Rock station in Southern Illinois this past weekend.

They played Pearl Jam and I felt ancient.

-O

 

[Mouseferatu]

I have almost all of the books for 3+ editions of D&D and I feel the same way about 4th. I do enjoy playing it, but it doesn't inspire me to purchase any of the books. They don't read well. There's no reason to even look at the powers unless you are playing the class. I feel that the game is passing me also.

Interesting. I find 4E inspires me to run it more than 3E did. I agree that the rules don't read as well in some cases, but I find that they play better, and--as others have said--the game is far easier to prep for.

Then again, I also find the 4E cosmology and flavor to be far stronger than 3E's, and I vastly prefer the new cosmology (Shadowfell, Feywild, etc.) to the old Great Wheel.

 

[The Little Raven]

There's no reason to even look at the powers unless you are playing the class.

In previous editions, there's no reason to look at a class unless you're playing that class, or if your class has abilities that are identical to that other class.

I have no reason to look at the Barbarian's Rage or the Bard's Bardic Music if I'm not playing a Barbarian or Bard, so I fail to see how this is unique to 4e.