D&D (2024) Does anyone else think that 1D&D will create a significant divide in the community?

[Parmandur]

In other words, anything that looks like D&D but wasn't created and owned by WoTC isn't D&D. When WoTC allowed 3rd party companies to create supplements and accessories for 5e via the OGL, those products in the eyes of some of the players became a part of D&D. PF1 is very much a part of D&D, again because of the OGL.

I mean, maybe some players, I guess. Not to me. Pathfinder is a distinct game.

 

[billd91]

What about the editions that came before 4e? Or was 5e the first edition to actually be play-tested by the players?

Not really. 3e got extensive play testing through a play test program that was, I believe, accessible through the RPGA. In the original 3.0 PH, there are loads of play repeat credits that all came through that program.

 

[Parmandur]

Not really. 3e got extensive play testing through a play test program that was, I believe, accessible through the RPGA. In the original 3.0 PH, there are loads of play repeat credits that all came through that program.

That was the precursor to WotC private playtest network, which they still run parallel to the UA program. That's a bit different than the Next or OneD&D process.

 

[billd91]

That was the precursor to WotC private playtest network, which they still run parallel to the UA program. That's a bit different than the Next or OneD&D process.

Different, yes. But still players external to WotC itself.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I don't think the rule changes are what's going to cause the "divide". It will be digital vs non-digital groups.

I think WotC is going to go "all in" with digital and create a need for it somehow. Whatever that is, I don't think groups are going to be able to "dip their toes" into it; it will be all in or all out. And all in is going to be $$$. This will create the divide.

Just my tinfoil hat opinion.

This seems extremely unlikely. Like, reprint 4e and call it OneDnD level unlikely.

They're not completely clueless fools.

 

[John R Davis]

I think going uber-digital will be my divide, as I have no interest.
Of the ten or so PF1 players I play PF with, I think only 1 has bought into PF2.

 

[Parmandur]

This seems extremely unlikely. Like, reprint 4e and call it OneDnD level unlikely.

They're not completely clueless fools.

Yeah,the money Hasbro wants is merchandising money.

Even on the digital side, the model that has worked so well for WotC in Magic is Free to Play: so I expect they will monetize the VTT in many ways, but making it easy to go and play will be key to their strategy.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Yeah,the money Hasbro wants is merchandising money.

Even on the digital side, the model that has worked so well for WotC in Magic is Free to Play: so I expect they will monetize the VTT in many ways, but making it easy to go and play will be key to their strategy.

Absolutely. The entry level will be quite accessible, and there will be a wealth of stuff you don’t need to spend big money on, just as there is now.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I mean, maybe some players, I guess. Not to me. Pathfinder is a distinct game.

If you couldn't see the books or character sheets being used but just had to watch or listen to a game being played, you can immediately tell a D&D-derived game, as opposed to something in the same dungeon-crawling genre like Dungeon World.

The things that make a game "D&D" for non-lawyers are a whole host of standards and sacred cows like level-based advancement, funny dice that are used to adjudicate actions in the world, armor class and hit points, etc. You don't have to have everything on the list (which is a pretty long list, if one sat down to create it) but once you lose too much of it, it becomes something different. But when you have most of them, the games are largely interoperable and all the players can speak the same language, even if they sometimes have regional accents and the like.

I have never played 13th Age or even touched a rulebook for it. I am confident I could sit down at a table and play it more or less immediately. Likewise Pathfinder or Shadow of the Demon Lord or Adventures in Middle Earth. I wouldn't even have to open a book to create a character and start playing OSE.

That's what I -- and the general public -- understand as a game being D&D.

 

[Blue Orange]

Of course it's going to divide the community. Every time they have a new edition some people like the old one better. If they screw up badly enough, the new edition resembles the one two before (as happened with 5e and 3.5e)...and some people will still like the one that gets replaced.

Now that they sell older editions, they can make even more money!