D&D General Does D&D (and RPGs in general) Need Edition Resets?

[Vaalingrade]

Are you sure about the bolded claim?

Yes.

 

[Zardnaar]

Within reason. Most groups may not have constant turnover, but all sign I have is its still fairly common.

Mine have fairly low turnover.

I've been described as a LN type DM. Don't like it leave.

The reason I do that as I often inherit players from those groups that fall apart.

Usually it's a lack of planning, DMs that aren't that organized, or inmates run the asylum and DM quits or the players are stealing or killing each other and the groups blow apart.

 

[Yora]

I've been described as a LN type DM. Don't like it leave.

I'm CN: Don't like it? I don't care!

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Are you sure about the bolded claim?

Given the digital age we live in, and the fact that the vast majority of current D&D fans are younger than age 30? Yeah, I think it is accurate to say that most players today would prefer to have some amount of digital tools involved in the process. Need to look something up during session? Keyword search your OCR-scanned PDF and boom, instantly you know what you need. Have a player that always forgets their modifiers? A digital tabletop can factor them all in for you. Can't meet for a physical session every week, but can find a time when everyone can at least have a couple hours at a computer? VTT and Discord. Etc.

It is foolishness in the extreme to think that exclusive reliance on physical pens, paper, and books will continue to support D&D's success over the next however many years. The vast majority of people I know who play 5e play it exclusively through internet connections, usually because one or more of their group members doesn't physically live where they do.

Folks who are "perfectly happy" sticking with those methods will continue to be supported. But they are already the minority.

Mine have fairly low turnover.

I've been described as a LN type DM. Don't like it leave.

The reason I do that as I often inherit players from those groups that fall apart.

Usually it's a lack of planning, DMs that aren't that organized, or inmates run the asylum and DM quits or the players are stealing or killing each other and the groups blow apart.

I'm CN: Don't like it? I don't care!

Such positive and supportive DMs you are....

 

[Starfox]

About DM alignment - its interesting how a LN and a CN GM are functionally the same - the difference is that while the LN GM kicks players, a CN GM makes them quit on their own initiative.

And I think Call of Cthulu is a good case study that thisnis feasible: after 40 years, it is still very popular, seemingly the most popular non-d20 derived game on the market from what I have seen. And given the prominence of H. P. Lovecraft int he DNA of the default setting...careful updating has been extremely necessary.

Quoted for truth. The only edition of Call of Cthulhu I own and have read thoroughly is the first, and I can still GM Call of Cthulhu at game conventions. Yes the players have to explain some new mechanics (like luck points) to me, but overall it is very much the same game. It helps that things with special rules like magic items, spells, and monsters are generally given in the scenario.

Call of Cthulhu is a very simple and brutal game system. You can fight in CoC, but it is deadly and not at all recommended. This is actually a great strength in this genre.

 

[Remathilis]

An incremental RPG will have to go digital as printing books of errata and additions will always cost more.

I don't think this is true unless you think the rate of change will be rapid. Most RPGs produce supplements that add new options or alternatives to the game and then every so many years, compile the best into the latest version of the core book. Vampire the Masquerade, for example, added new clans and disciplines pulled from various sourcebooks into their main book (while making tweaks and adjustments to both) between its first, second, and third editions.

Further most companies only add errata when a new print run of the books is needed anyway, so it's not like they are recalling hundreds of Sword Coast Guides to put out the newer versions just because someone discovered that the purple dragon knight is using d8s instead of d10s.

I'm sure the ability to edit D&DB is a boon for quick changes (for example, the numerous fixes done to Spelljammer after the hadozee issue, or the change of the art in Bigby) but RPGs can still run on incremental change using the tried-and-true method of splatbooks and updates when new print runs are ordered + errata documents.

 

[Minigiant]

I don't think this is true unless you think the rate of change will be rapid. Most RPGs produce supplements that add new options or alternatives to the game and then every so many years, compile the best into the latest version of the core book. Vampire the Masquerade, for example, added new clans and disciplines pulled from various sourcebooks into their main book (while making tweaks and adjustments to both) between its first, second, and third editions.

Further most companies only add errata when a new print run of the books is needed anyway, so it's not like they are recalling hundreds of Sword Coast Guides to put out the newer versions just because someone discovered that the purple dragon knight is using d8s instead of d10s.

I'm sure the ability to edit D&DB is a boon for quick changes (for example, the numerous fixes done to Spelljammer after the hadozee issue, or the change of the art in Bigby) but RPGs can still run on incremental change using the tried-and-true method of splatbooks and updates when new print runs are ordered + errata documents.

That's not what I'm talking about

VTM is not an incremental RPG. It has multiple editions.

The premise of this thread I'm correct is

"Does an RPG that keeps adding to itself over time still need edition resets?"

Well where will the additions be?

They can only be in a new digital file, an updated version of the old digital file, or a new physical book.

You must either go digital or buy an actual book.

 

[mamba]

You must either go digital or buy an actual book.

that is true whether you evolve (1e to 2e) or reset (2e to 3e, to 4e, to 5e)

 

[Minigiant]

that is true whether you evolve (1e to 2e) or reset (2e to 3e, to 4e, to 5e)

Exactly.

No matter what, if the games live your books/files will become old. Everything gets older.
There are stuff that we do today that we feel are fine that D&D players 20 years from now will say is silly, outdated, stupid, nonsensical, counterproductive, or even in worse cases offensive.

If you want to play the most recent version, you need to have the most recent version.
And if D&D survives, there will be a most recent version.

 

[Thomas Shey]

The rules in D&D are like the Ground Rules in baseball - set and interpreted by the referees. It doesn’t matter that there are 18 players and only 4 umps - their opinion on where a ball needs to land to be a home run is the one that counts.

One: You'll note this thread is not only about D&D. Two: That's not been something I agreed about in total for 30 years now so if that's an argument you're going to try to make to me you're wasting your breath.