D&D 3E/3.5 3E sucks, but keep playing it for next few months

[Agamon]

Anyone else notice this conflicting message? One of the big points in the presentation is to "keep playing your 3E game for now." It's been mentioned in a few interviews, too.

On the other hand, we're treated with examples of how 3E is horrible and will be made so much better in 4E. Damn those grappling rules and attacks of opportunity! I'm so confused! I'm not sure I can keep playing!

 

[Hammerhead]

Acknowledging something has flaws does not mean that it sucks. Just because a RPG is already awesome doesn't mean you can't make it better.

Although I never really understood the confusion over grappling rules or attacks of opportunity.

 

[Lanefan]

Anyone else notice this conflicting message? One of the big points in the presentation is to "keep playing your 3E game for now." It's been mentioned in a few interviews, too.

On the other hand, we're treated with examples of how 3E is horrible and will be made so much better in 4E. Damn those grappling rules and attacks of opportunity! I'm so confused!

Well, it's either that or they tell us to stop playing at all until next summer, which makes even less sense...

They're on a double-edged sword here. They had to announce 4e way in advance so playtesting etc. could be done in the open and the hype could get rolling, but in so doing they've knowingly made 3e a lame duck for almost a year. Tough decision.

Lanefan

 

[Agamon]

Acknowledging something has flaws does not mean that it sucks. Just because a RPG is already awesome doesn't mean you can't make it better.

You haven't seen the intro video with the German dude, then. Yeah, it's tongue-in-cheek, but the implication is there.

 

[Klaus]

Acknowledging something has flaws does not mean that it sucks. Just because a RPG is already awesome doesn't mean you can't make it better.

Although I never really understood the confusion over grappling rules or attacks of opportunity.

Me neither. For Fiery Dragon's BattleBox I summarized the Grapple rules in a Magic-sized card.

Sure, it was THE most filled card in the box, but still, one card.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

You haven't seen the intro video with the German dude, then.

German dude?

 

[Agamon]

Well, it's either that or they tell us to stop playing at all until next summer, which makes even less sense...

They're on a double-edged sword here. They had to announce 4e way in advance so playtesting etc. could be done in the open and the hype could get rolling, but in so doing they've knowingly made 3e a lame duck for almost a year. Tough decision.

It just seems strange to me to implicitly say, "Keep playing your 3E games." I keep hearing it, so it's likely something they're supposed to say. I don't remember that kind of rhetoric 8 years ago.

And it seems even more strange when they tell you what's apparently wrong with the game in the same breath.

 

[pawsplay]

I read an interesting article a few years ago about how in America, Orwellian doublespeak had not infected politics so much as the corporate world. "The world's best! ... Now even better!" Such and such has always been the best and will always be improving, etc. It's very odd, but it's the kind of nonrational stereotyping that drives mainstream advertising.

I don't see it as very significant. It is a necessity they sell the new edition as an improvement on the old one. That they have made the launch a cultural event just shows how much they have invested in this.

 

[Agamon]

German dude?

Swiss? Czech? The guy with the European accent so bad, I can't figure it out.

 

[Agamon]

Me neither. For Fiery Dragon's BattleBox I summarized the Grapple rules in a Magic-sized card.

Sure, it was THE most filled card in the box, but still, one card.

The funny thing is, when 3E was coming out, the biggest complaint was that D&D was getting "dumbed down". LOL