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Thanks for an interesting write-up unencumbered by rose-tinted shades. I'd XP you but I've done that too recently, apparently. I hope you post a play report. I expect it will prove most entertaining.

Make sure any result your table can generate is one you can live with but don't worry if the result suddenly demands a down payment of inspiration. That's one of the reasons I like random tables; they make me feel like the system is throwing me interesting, unexpected bones and waiting for me to...

WotC can easily release starter modules, free or otherwise. Don't get me wrong, though: I'm sure there will be support for a setting built into rule books right from the outset. But I don't buy the argument that the alternative limits the game to existing players either.

I prefer Greyhawk to FR but I would prefer an entirely new setting to be the default, and I'd also rather not see it permeate the rule books. There are advantages of having an entirely new setting. Old and new D&D players alike are all on an equal footing. A new setting is equally unfamiliar to...

One person's idea of pandering may indeed differ to another's, so your supposition can be correct. However, I don't agree that the idea of trying to take 'the best of' (define that how you will) is necessarily pandering to - appealing to, if you prefer - the lowest common denominator. Let's...

I'm no stranger to this. There are sources I don't allow in my games. Players don't always pay attention to them before bringing a character to the table. More common, however, is something I don't disallow but is so obviously min-maxed beyond randomness it's painful. I allow these character...

Okay, assuming you're right and you know what most people want, let's do that. Pandering to the lowest common denominator is widely recognised as being the smartest thing to do and usually leads to the best of everything. This is so not the case, I could write an essay on it. It's not - just...

Without wishing to derail, I remember attempts at short adventuring days from all the way back to my earliest experiences of 1e. These would tend to be predicated, as Hussar pointed out, by a healer who had run out spells. I italicised attempts because the good DMs would rarely let players get...

I think this is true. It certainly was the case in the eighties that published adventures (especially sequels) offered publishers returns that diminished far more quickly than the returns on another rule book. Now, Paizo seems to have come up with a different workable model. Rogue Agent's take...

I have the originals but I'm tempted to buy these anyway. My being in the UK could make that complicated (but I know people who would pick them up for me). Alternatively, they could provide the geekiest excuse for a holiday since I went to New York to watch the re-mastered Star Wars trilogy...

Damn it, I'm only here because someone mentioned hilarious debunking! I think there's something to what you say, PC, but there are almost certainly other factors behind the decision, too. Also, I think that WotC and Hasbro would generate even more goodwill and great PR were the world's biggest...

That's exactly where I discovered Vance.

That's an entirely reasonable point. How dare you? With thanks to Dannyalcatraz for expanding on my point up-thread, I would like to add that I was not suggesting that D&D players should not have other magic systems at their disposal or that, if they did, this would somehow require the removal...

As someone pointed out in another thread, almost every D&D-like system ever devised eschewed Vancian magic. That tells me two things. First, there are alternative systems available for those who do not want Vancian magic. Second, Vancian magic is one of the few systems that makes D&D different...

I switched from 1e to 2e for exactly the same reason as you, Hussar. The cleaner writing was a compelling reason. I quickly came to regret the decision, because of the watered down approach to demons, et al. The swing towards epic narrative in campaigns also put me off (especially as, by 1989, I...

Forgive me for not having read all of this thread but the thing I like about DMing an occasional brush with the guards at the gate (or similarly ostensibly mundane encounter) is that it presents an opportunity to set up a variation on the 'Lewton Bus' device. For those unfamiliar with the...

Actually, it's worse than that. A default orc hits with a falchion for 2d4+4 and he's CR 1/2! But orcs typically appear in gangs of 2-4 or greater. In other words, they're not really suitable for first level encounters. And yes, 3e's CR system is wonky and I treat it with a pinch of salt but...

Your assumptions are out of whack. In 3.5 the d8 becomes the average damage die for a CR2 creature. At first level, damage dice are more typically d3-d4. And sure, make the goal be that a front line fighter can stand up to five such hits but a not any PC, not the squishy wizard, as well. He can...

More than one poster has responded with scepticism about the 'everything to everyone' idea. Whilst being somewhat sceptical myself about the company's goals, can I point out that this precis is inaccurate? What WotC has claimed to be aiming for is 'the best of everything from previous editions'...

I think it's possible that the designers are thinking of the next edition as being the ultimate D&D incarnation.