D&D General What Does New Coke Tell Us About Designing for D&D

[MGibster]

Is that a reason for a perceived need to radically change the game between editions (2e-3e, 3.5e-4e, 4e-5e)?

By the late 1990s, I was sick of AD&D 2nd edition and sold my entire collection which was a significant number of books and boxed sets. Without a radical change I wouldn't have come back to D&D in 2000. I went into 4th edition with open arms, but it didn't take me long to realize the game wasn't for me, and once again, without a radical change I wouldn't have come back in 2014.

 

[Doctor Futurity]

I wonder what a 3e+ AD&D would have looked like. Would we still have downward AC, saves vs dragon breath, or race/class restrictions? How much would the needle have moved if all 3rd and later did was ".5" levels of change?

I think it would have looked a lot like the Options rulebooks, given they were sort of a testing ground for evolving the rules.

 

[Doctor Futurity]

By the late 1990s, I was sick of AD&D 2nd edition and sold my entire collection which was a significant number of books and boxed sets. Without a radical change I wouldn't have come back to D&D in 2000. I went into 4th edition with open arms, but it didn't take me long to realize the game wasn't for me, and once again, without a radical change I wouldn't have come back in 2014.

Exactly the same here for me. I did keep running AD&D 2E until 3E came out, but 3E was a major breath of fresh air, a sort of house cleaning, and was great until around 2006 when it became clear the splatbooks were overwhelming and min/maxing was the default play style for everyone. I still remember 2000-2003 with vanilla 3E very fondly.

 

[Micah Sweet]

By the late 1990s, I was sick of AD&D 2nd edition and sold my entire collection which was a significant number of books and boxed sets. Without a radical change I wouldn't have come back to D&D in 2000. I went into 4th edition with open arms, but it didn't take me long to realize the game wasn't for me, and once again, without a radical change I wouldn't have come back in 2014.

For my part, I loved 2e and kept as much if it as my circumstances allowed, and got almost all if it via pdf as an adult. Never got sick of it.

 

[Bedrockgames]

For my part, I loved 2e and kept as much if it as my circumstances allowed, and got almost all if it via pdf as an adult. Never got sick of it.

I made the switch, somewhat reluctantly at first, but willingly once I played it a few times, to 3E. But I switched back to 2e during 4E and it has been great being able to use all the old books without doing any conversions. AD&D is much more to my taste I think than WOTC's vision of D&D

 

[Micah Sweet]

I made the switch, somewhat reluctantly at first, but willingly once I played it a few times, to 3E. But I switched back to 2e during 4E and it has been great being able to use all the old books without doing any conversions. AD&D is much more to my taste I think than WOTC's vision of D&D

Agreed. More than any WotC version really, though I like a lot of 3e's creativity and it's 3pp community, and the 5e rules are a good base for my homebrew.

 

[mamba]

Those all seem like profit motives to me.

there are not all that many products without a profit motive

 

[Oofta]

there are not all that many products without a profit motive

People do like to get paid for working. People that fund them like to get money back from their investments as well.

Wanting to make a profit on a luxury item like a game is not inherently a bad thing.

 

[Voadam]

That’s why CoC is on its 9th (?) edition,

7th Edition is the current one.

 

[Micah Sweet]

People do like to get paid for working. People that fund them like to get money back from their investments as well.

Wanting to make a profit on a luxury item like a game is not inherently a bad thing.

Of course not. My issue is always how much are you willing to sacrifice to maximize profit?