D&D General I'm a Creep, I'm a Powergamer: How Power Creep Inevitably Destroys Editions

[payn]

So you don't mind that 2E put D&D on the course of being owned by a megacorp???

 

[mamba]

Are there any other examples?

none are needed for my statement to be true. Are you claiming only a game that is very similar to 4e could possibly avoid power creep?

 

[Micah Sweet]

So you don't mind that 2E put D&D on the course of being owned by a megacorp???

An unfortunate consequence, but the 2e content made it worth it even so.

 

[Micah Sweet]

none are needed for my statement to be true. Are you claiming only a game that is very similar to 4e could possibly avoid power creep?

You have provided no proof otherwise, and I would want some if we're discussing the general D&D sphere.

 

[RealAlHazred]

Reading this thread, it occurred to me, my favorite system, Hero System, is essentially immune to this. Everything is points. The only way to get "MOAR POWAR" out of something is to put more limitations on it, which, by definition, limits it. Effectively, it prevents power creep from occurring in the first place. In previous editions, they did put new powers in sourcebooks occasionally, but in the current edition, all powers are in the Core Books. That's why they're weighty tomes, you literally don't need anything else, ever.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Reading this thread, it occurred to me, my favorite system, Hero System, is essentially immune to this. Everything is points. The only way to get "MOAR POWAR" out of something is to put more limitations on it, which, by definition, limits it. Effectively, it prevents power creep from occurring in the first place. In previous editions, they did put new powers in sourcebooks occasionally, but in the current edition, all powers are in the Core Books. That's why they're weighty tomes, you literally don't need anything else, ever.

This is fairly common with crunchy supers games. There are hardly any new mechanics in Mutants & Masterminds past the corebooks, and the whole thing is point-based anyway.

 

[Lanefan]

isn't the flip side of that making it feel like nothing about your character but their items are special?

The items provide much of the mechanical "specialness" over and above what the character's class (and to a smaller extent, species) gives. It's on you as player to provide the non-mechanical specialness and memorability through your characterization and roleplay.

 

[DrunkonDuty]

Reading this thread, it occurred to me, my favorite system, Hero System, is essentially immune to this. Everything is points. The only way to get "MOAR POWAR" out of something is to put more limitations on it, which, by definition, limits it. Effectively, it prevents power creep from occurring in the first place. In previous editions, they did put new powers in sourcebooks occasionally, but in the current edition, all powers are in the Core Books. That's why they're weighty tomes, you literally don't need anything else, ever.

This was pretty much my first thought on reading the OP.

But one thing I think that falls under power creep was when 5th ed. expanded on what you could do with autofire attacks.* I think that added a lot of oomph for minimal points cost. Then again the rules for the various skip fire, etc. etc talents are so convoluted I could be reading them wrong.


*Steve Long is a big fan of autofire attacks. Has everything to do with his favourite PC being a dude with a lot of autofire attacks.

 

[bmfrosty]

So you don't mind that 2E put D&D on the course of being owned by a megacorp???

This is such a complicated subject. As much as I don't love WotC, it was probably the best outcome from the trajectory TSR was on. What other steward would have absorbed 30M in debt? TSR was a hive of toxicity, infighting, and poor business decisions. I keep reading different histories, and they all seem to touch the same themes.

 

[Distracted DM]

This is such a complicated subject. As much as I don't love WotC, it was probably the best outcome from the trajectory TSR was on. What other steward would have absorbed 30M in debt? TSR was a hive of toxicity, infighting, and poor business decisions. I keep reading different histories, and they all seem to touch the same themes.

WotC was a great save for D&D! At the time, it also was not owned by Hasbro.
But even WotC-owned Hasbro has been, overall, a good steward of the IP... except for when it isn't. Mainly the 4e and 5e debacles, primarily 5e since Hasbro has been taking a much more active hand in WotC goings-on.. possibly to prove that its management is integral to WotC's success, for fear of being separated from its money-maker on the stock exchange.