Aeolius
Adventurer
I don’t see this as an Edition War, but more of a neighborly squabble, instead. We all agree to disagree. I picked up the 4e books the day they were released, read through them, and made an informed choice to remain with 3.5e. I made a similar choice the day that 2e was released, choosing instead to remain with 1e.
Others embraced the new edition. The reasons why really don’t concern me but I hope they understand I will never play 4e, just as they will never return to 3.5e. And of course there are others who play both editions fluidly. So here we are, walking that fine line between “whatever floats your boat” and “get off of my lawn”.
Personally, 4e did not present itself as a viable step forward from 3e because of the manner it was presented. I was in the middle of running a 3.5e game, when 4e was announced. It was strongly suggested that players and DMs alike finish their current campaigns to prepare to begin anew with 4e. That seemed strange, as my game at the time had gone from using the 1e ruleset to the 3e ruleset with minimal effort. Further information began to chip away at my preferred style of play, in favor of what the designers thought was “fun”.
And no, 4e does not smell like D&D, to me. It killed far too many sacred cows that had been preserved throughout prior editions; the World of Greyhawk, etheral plane, succubus/erinyes, undersea critters and hags, etc. Those changes might well have drawn others to 4e, but it turned me into a leap-grognard.
Still, I considered trying a 4e game. But, given the initial rules provided, the game I wanted to run, which required druids, greenhags, and the Awaken spell, was not supported. Sure, I could have converted them from a prior edition, but why bother when one could simply run such a game with the prior ruleset?
And yet, while I have have never had the desire to invest my interest in a setting other than GH, it turns out setting can play a role in attracting one to a different edition. Alluria Publishing released Cerulean Seas for the Pathfinder RPG, though it did not use Golarion as the campaign setting. I had never considered Pathfinder, as it was close enough to 3.5e not to warrant a second glance. Yet, as my 3.5e game is set underwater, the undersea aspects of Cerulean Seas piqued my interest.
So, I downloaded the book (PDF only, hardcopy due in April). I liked what I saw. It made references to Pathfinder’s Advanced Player’s Guide. I downloaded that PDF and liked what I saw. The next thing I know I had 5 Pathfinder PDFs and had picked up a few hardcopies at Amazon and Books-a-Million. Now I find myself wondering if a Pathfinder/Cerulean Seas campaign would find a wider audience than my 3.5e campaign.
We shall see.
Others embraced the new edition. The reasons why really don’t concern me but I hope they understand I will never play 4e, just as they will never return to 3.5e. And of course there are others who play both editions fluidly. So here we are, walking that fine line between “whatever floats your boat” and “get off of my lawn”.
Personally, 4e did not present itself as a viable step forward from 3e because of the manner it was presented. I was in the middle of running a 3.5e game, when 4e was announced. It was strongly suggested that players and DMs alike finish their current campaigns to prepare to begin anew with 4e. That seemed strange, as my game at the time had gone from using the 1e ruleset to the 3e ruleset with minimal effort. Further information began to chip away at my preferred style of play, in favor of what the designers thought was “fun”.
And no, 4e does not smell like D&D, to me. It killed far too many sacred cows that had been preserved throughout prior editions; the World of Greyhawk, etheral plane, succubus/erinyes, undersea critters and hags, etc. Those changes might well have drawn others to 4e, but it turned me into a leap-grognard.
Still, I considered trying a 4e game. But, given the initial rules provided, the game I wanted to run, which required druids, greenhags, and the Awaken spell, was not supported. Sure, I could have converted them from a prior edition, but why bother when one could simply run such a game with the prior ruleset?
And yet, while I have have never had the desire to invest my interest in a setting other than GH, it turns out setting can play a role in attracting one to a different edition. Alluria Publishing released Cerulean Seas for the Pathfinder RPG, though it did not use Golarion as the campaign setting. I had never considered Pathfinder, as it was close enough to 3.5e not to warrant a second glance. Yet, as my 3.5e game is set underwater, the undersea aspects of Cerulean Seas piqued my interest.
So, I downloaded the book (PDF only, hardcopy due in April). I liked what I saw. It made references to Pathfinder’s Advanced Player’s Guide. I downloaded that PDF and liked what I saw. The next thing I know I had 5 Pathfinder PDFs and had picked up a few hardcopies at Amazon and Books-a-Million. Now I find myself wondering if a Pathfinder/Cerulean Seas campaign would find a wider audience than my 3.5e campaign.
We shall see.
