D&D General [rant]The conservatism of D&D fans is exhausting.

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

We’ve never played with the Free Parking houserule and we’ve always auctioned off properties when someone lands on them and it is STILL not a « quick and breezy game ».

I bet you're not playing the three and four hour games that people who don't get all the properties quickly sold off and who keep injecting more money into the game do.

 

[Kromanjon]

Except that you are flat out wrong.

While you are correct that a new refrigerator may have a shorter half-life than an older refrigerator, it's still a fact that the newer one will be cheaper in the long run. You are ignoring far, far too many things in your quest to prove that "older is better". And cell phones? Seriously? While, again, yes, an older cell phone may last longer than a new one, there's just no comparison. Let's see you post to En World from a cell phone produced before 2005.

More and more books at a faster rate? Again, seriously? Good grief, for the past ten years all I've heard is the constant bitching about how WotC isn't producing fast enough for people. Endless DEMANDS for more material.

Chill out man. Who cares. Nothing matters and everyone dies. I don’t have your stamina for this nonsense so I guess you win. Soak it in.

 

[Alzrius]

Does anyone think that 2024 is a "seismic" shift?

Apparently some people do.

 

[SkidAce]

 

[payn]

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Grind an ax instead!

 

[Remathilis]

Which is just so crazy to me because as much as people get spun up over backwards compatibility, I think 2e remains the only edition that really had backwards compatibility baked in because TSR management was so adamant that it had to work seamlessly with 1e material - probably the last time executives for the D&D game were ever that deeply concerned about that issue ever again. I think we played nearly every 1e adventure, as well as several Basic adventures, with 2e over 10 years and it was pretty easy to use with the 2e rules.

Which became its own issue because a lot of 1e players just took 2e compatible stuff and back ported it to 1e. Which is why most OS memories are a jumbled mess of 1e, 2e, Basic and house rules held together with duct tape and gentleman's agreements.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Which became its own issue because a lot of 1e players just took 2e compatible stuff and back ported it to 1e. Which is why most OS memories are a jumbled mess of 1e, 2e, Basic and house rules held together with duct tape and gentleman's agreements.

We pLaYeD bY tHe RuLeS aS wRiTtEn!

 

[rhythmsoundmotion]

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[Remathilis]

IMHO, the conservatism also applies to things like what classes exist in the game. The Sorcerer in 3e existed primarily as a non-Vancian alternative to the Wizard. The Warlock in 3e likewise existed mostly as an alternative casting system. They were both designed mechanics-first. A number of classes seem to exist primarily for purposes of "TRADTION!" and backwards compatibility. There are likewise a number of D&D 5e heartbreakers that seem to keep these classes for the sake of familiarity.

It would be nice if the raison d'etre of existing classes in D&D were properly reevaluated and readjusted without that aforementioned sense of conservatism.

All classes were basically designed this way. The cleric was designed because someone wanted to play Van Helsing and it got merged with a knight templar and miracle worker. The ranger was made because someone wanted to play Aragorn and OD&D's fighting man was too limited. The reason the sorcerer exists is because the wizard is married to a book. The druid was made redundant the moment the cleric could be religion-specific but endured another 40 years.

Basically, you can rationalize away, any (indeed every) class with enough effort. The reason any class exists at this point is tradition.

 

[Aldarc]

All classes were basically designed this way. The cleric was designed because someone wanted to play Van Helsing and it got merged with a knight templar and miracle worker. The ranger was made because someone wanted to play Aragorn and OD&D's fighting man was too limited. The reason the sorcerer exists is because the wizard is married to a book. The druid was made redundant the moment the cleric could be religion-specific but endured another 40 years.

Basically, you can rationalize away, any (indeed every) class with enough effort. The reason any class exists at this point is tradition.

Yes and?