Bryan Vining
First Post
Hi, all!
Well, let's have a heaping dose of reality, shall we?
There are pros and cons to the 3.5 release. The plus side is, as many have pointed out, that WotC has been listening to fan feedback and will be incorporating at least some of those concerns into the new revision. Furthermore, RPGs have, since their inception, been a form of game in which the players are encouraged to make suggestions for changes and additions and designers have constantly made changes and additions. The original D&D boxed set (1974) was not alone for very long. Shortly, there was the Greyhawk supplement, then Blackmoor, Eldritch Wizardry, and Gods and Demigods. The point here is that RPGS are always and have always been works in progress. The analogy to computer software that WotC has drawn with the numbering of this edition/revision is really rather appropriate. It is also, again as many have pointed out, appropriate that WotC try to make money off of its brand names. That leads us to the cons, though...
However it makes you feel and whatever you think of it, the 3.5 release is a marketing strategy, pure and simple. No arguments withstanding, this move was made primarily for one reason: so that all the folks who want to stay current (which is, I would guess, a sizable majority of the current 3E consumer base) will buy new PHBs. The DMGs and MMs are really just gravy, as it's been pointed out to us time and again (mainly by Ryan Dancey). The counterpoint made by some that the rules will be released for free in the SRD is a weak one. Most people, including myself, are not going to want to print out the hundreds (nay, thousands) of unadorned pages of material necessary to duplicate what will be contained in the three new core books and carry it around. Simple page count: the three 3.5 books are going to weigh in at over 800 pages of relatively small type. Granted some 20-30% or so of that will be artwork, but, when you think about printing that out on one-sided plain white paper, you're talking about well over a thousand pages, and most of us don't have easy (read: cheap) access to double-sided printers. I'm sure some folks will do this, but I'm betting most won't. Besides, many people will feel dorky sitting at a table with their 800-page PHB in a binder while everyone else at the table has a highly attractive, well-bound book in their hands. Yeah, I know that statement is going to piss some of you off... too bad. It's reality, and it's true. So, WotC has, rightly in my opinion, judged that the 3.5 revision will sell well, and they will make money off of it. That is reason numero uno why they're doing this. That is also makes a lot of fans feel like they're feedback is getting listened to and that the company wants to deliver the best product they can (both of which I think are true, BTW) is the icing on the cake.
I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I am grateful to WotC for saving and then updating D&D. On the other, three years really isn't very long, in my view, between editions. I played 2E for its entire run. In many ways, it did need revision from the moment it was released (and the release of a 3.5E implicity means that a lot of people held the same opinion of 3E, but I bet most won't admit it), but it sufficed to give me years of enjoyment before another edition came out. And, for those who are upset about the terminology, I'm sorry, but 3.5 appers to be, for all intents and purposes, to 3E what 2E was to 1E, a lot of changes that leaves the basic engine intact. So if 2E was a new edition, then 3.5 is, too.
I'd be interested to correlate the degree of irritation (or lack thereof) people have with the new release with how long they've played D&D (and whether they've played older editions). I have a niggling suspicion that most of those who are irritated are multi-edition, long-time players.
Well, that's enough hot air for now...
Well, let's have a heaping dose of reality, shall we?
There are pros and cons to the 3.5 release. The plus side is, as many have pointed out, that WotC has been listening to fan feedback and will be incorporating at least some of those concerns into the new revision. Furthermore, RPGs have, since their inception, been a form of game in which the players are encouraged to make suggestions for changes and additions and designers have constantly made changes and additions. The original D&D boxed set (1974) was not alone for very long. Shortly, there was the Greyhawk supplement, then Blackmoor, Eldritch Wizardry, and Gods and Demigods. The point here is that RPGS are always and have always been works in progress. The analogy to computer software that WotC has drawn with the numbering of this edition/revision is really rather appropriate. It is also, again as many have pointed out, appropriate that WotC try to make money off of its brand names. That leads us to the cons, though...
However it makes you feel and whatever you think of it, the 3.5 release is a marketing strategy, pure and simple. No arguments withstanding, this move was made primarily for one reason: so that all the folks who want to stay current (which is, I would guess, a sizable majority of the current 3E consumer base) will buy new PHBs. The DMGs and MMs are really just gravy, as it's been pointed out to us time and again (mainly by Ryan Dancey). The counterpoint made by some that the rules will be released for free in the SRD is a weak one. Most people, including myself, are not going to want to print out the hundreds (nay, thousands) of unadorned pages of material necessary to duplicate what will be contained in the three new core books and carry it around. Simple page count: the three 3.5 books are going to weigh in at over 800 pages of relatively small type. Granted some 20-30% or so of that will be artwork, but, when you think about printing that out on one-sided plain white paper, you're talking about well over a thousand pages, and most of us don't have easy (read: cheap) access to double-sided printers. I'm sure some folks will do this, but I'm betting most won't. Besides, many people will feel dorky sitting at a table with their 800-page PHB in a binder while everyone else at the table has a highly attractive, well-bound book in their hands. Yeah, I know that statement is going to piss some of you off... too bad. It's reality, and it's true. So, WotC has, rightly in my opinion, judged that the 3.5 revision will sell well, and they will make money off of it. That is reason numero uno why they're doing this. That is also makes a lot of fans feel like they're feedback is getting listened to and that the company wants to deliver the best product they can (both of which I think are true, BTW) is the icing on the cake.
I have mixed feelings. On the one hand, I am grateful to WotC for saving and then updating D&D. On the other, three years really isn't very long, in my view, between editions. I played 2E for its entire run. In many ways, it did need revision from the moment it was released (and the release of a 3.5E implicity means that a lot of people held the same opinion of 3E, but I bet most won't admit it), but it sufficed to give me years of enjoyment before another edition came out. And, for those who are upset about the terminology, I'm sorry, but 3.5 appers to be, for all intents and purposes, to 3E what 2E was to 1E, a lot of changes that leaves the basic engine intact. So if 2E was a new edition, then 3.5 is, too.
I'd be interested to correlate the degree of irritation (or lack thereof) people have with the new release with how long they've played D&D (and whether they've played older editions). I have a niggling suspicion that most of those who are irritated are multi-edition, long-time players.
Well, that's enough hot air for now...
