From Gencon Events - "All D&D games at Gen Con being placed with RPGA"

[Vyvyan Basterd]

They went out of their way to make sure 4e wasn't as inclusive as 3e or 3.5.

The OGL seemed to create a sense of entitlement, IMO. The percentage of open games is very small. And the GSL, like it or not, is still way more open than any policy in place for D&D before 3rd Edition.

But since WotC has made it clear that such a community is not a goal of theirs, I think its understandable that their actual motivation for making this would be questioned.

Can you provide a link to where WotC stated they do not have this goal? I think it is your perceptions, not WotC's actual intent that is clear.

Now, if they'd only make room at the DDI table for other editions...

Baby steps...

 

[Wicht]

My apologies Wicht, I shouldn't have characterized you like that.

All is forgiven.

And I might be misunderstanding the announcement if its only for events and not spur of the moment games. And I do figure the Paizo people will be setting up their own events apart from the WotC room.

Still, like I said, I think it would be good to have them right next to others so the two team captains could display to their players the proper way to show respect to the opposition. While, as businesses, there is no doubt that the two companies are in competition, there's no reason it can't be a friendly competition and they can't both get ahead - a rising tide lifts all boats after all. There are few myths so socially damaging as the image of the limited good. When more people realize that one person's gain does not have to be someone else's loss we'll all be a lot happier.

 

[filthgrinder]

Monte Cook twitter about this today and said it was cool, so I guess he is on their so-called "uncool" evil plot as well.

Also, at the WotC "Save My Game" panel at PAX East yesterday, they answered questions from 3.5 as well as 4E questions. How evil!

 

[UniversalMonster]

Well, I might also be wrong.

At DDXP (which is an all-RPGA convention) this year, Baldmangames (which is an independent organization run by Wavester here) mentioned that he had set aside an area for Mike Mearls to run some OD&D. I'm not sure if it took place or not, but the offer was out there. It can only be a good thing to share the space with other D&D players. The only way it could be a bad thing is if people showed up specifically to be jerks.

However, just so everyone is clear: room at a convention isn't free, they have to pay the convention and the venue and whatnot.. so even if Baldmangames is providing some open space, he clearly gets to decide who gets to be there. Nobody's entitled to anything, it's just a cool gesture.

 

[Khairn]

Can you provide a link to where WotC stated they do not have this goal? I think it is your perceptions, not WotC's actual intent that is clear.

What I was referring to in my post is WotC's apparent lack of interest in promoting and supporting a D&D Community that caters not just to players of the current edition, but the older ones as well. And in my opinion its that lack of interest in players of earlier editions which makes gamers question their sincerity and motivation when they suddenly invite those same players to come together as a single community of D&D players.

As proof of that lack of interest in creating such a community please look at the WotC site and try to find anything geared towards 3E, AD&D or even older edition players. Anything geared towards them under the RPGA umbrella? What about the DDI? What about E-Drag or E-Dun, anything there? Does WotC even allow 20+ year OOP products to be sold via pdf? Has WotC done anything in the last few years to support or promote any D&D but 4E? Certainly not that I've seen, and if you could show me otherwise, I'd love to see it.

WotC is running a business, and promoting their latest edition is the right thing to do. But providing any kind of support for players of earlier editions has never been part of their marketing plans, and to say otherwise would seem to fly in the face of their own actions.

Now if what we are seeing from this Gen Con announcement, is the start of a new plan to bring players of older editions "back into the D&D fold" I am all for it. I think if managed right this could help defuse the current schism between 4E and 3E players, and it might end up increasing the number of 4E players. ICE operates that way, providing support for all editions of Rolemaster and it works fine.

 

[darjr]

There is a ton of OD&D stuff around in the community site. I think the wiki has some. Mostly it's older edition fans with blogs posts and thread discussions.

But if you want PDF's of older edition material...

Previous Edition Dungeons & Dragons Downloads

There are articles that harken back to older editions as well

Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Official Home Page - Article (Magic Items)

And while I can't find them now, I will later, there are adventures from at least one of the Basic sets. It's the one included as a sample that needed to be completed by the DM. If my memory serves it was one from the 'Blue' Holmes box and one from the Mentzer.

 

[JediSoth]

I suspect, as a few others have mentioned, that this is actually a move by Gen Con to make better use of alloted space. If they start sticking other D&D games in the under-utilized space of the RPGA hall, that frees up other rooms for more workshops, seminars, and games. Space at the convention center is at a premium while they expand and remodel, so it doesn't make sense for them to let half a room sit empty most of the convention.

Maybe (I hope against hope), this will allow Gen Con to offer more Open Gaming space.

 

[darjr]

As proof of that lack of interest in creating such a community please look at the WotC site and try to find anything geared towards 3E, AD&D or even older edition players.

There is a whole article type for it
Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Official Home Page - Archive

Admittedly mostly they are for looking back and bringing some elements into 4e but here is the article with the two starter dungeons

Dungeons & Dragons Roleplaying Game Official Home Page - Article (Start Here)

Not a ton, sure, and no products but it is there.

I'll have to check about the RPGA, but there are a few 4e tips of the hat to older edition adventures and tropes.

 

[Dire Bare]

Were you one of those many people who lost the access to their PDFs of WotC products when "the plug" happened ? I was, and I do consider any WotC move from that point on with a hint of paranoia.

The plug? If you are referring to when WotC decided to no longer sell PDF copies of both their OOP older books and of the newer 4e books, of course I was around. I didn't lose access to any of the PDFs I had purchased, I just can't purchase any more. I think that this was a poor decision on WotC's part and I wish they hadn't done that, but I hardly see it as underhanded or requiring me to adapt a sense of paranoia.

 

[mudbunny]

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