A mini-rant re: Pathfinder and D&D

[Argyle King]

I asked for a Coke in this waffle house in Tennessee, and they gave me a Pepsi.

I asked why and they said "Pepsi is Coke here".

Originally I had typed a longer response which had addressed that. I lived in Georgia for a while, and I remember there being a few places where 'Coke' was used a universal word for soda in general.


Anyway, my point was that I'd be confused if I opened the Pathfinder Beginner's Box and found D&D 4th Edition Essentials. I understand the OP's point, but I do not view 'D&D' as being synonymous with rpg. Likewise, I view Pathfinder as a different brand -even if it's a brand which is extremely similar to Coke 3.5.

I had a friend who tried snorting Coke once. He said the ice cubes kept getting stuck in his nose.

 

[MoxieFu]

I remember many conversations like this:

A: I'm going to the store, want anything?

B: Yeah, get me a coke.

A: What kind you want?

B: Doctor Pepper.

A: Okay.


I know it probably sounds weird or perverse to some, but it's just that way in the South, or at least here in Texasvania.

 

[prosfilaes]

Perhaps a lot of bad blood can be prevented if both camps agree that D&D is a trademark

So is "bad blood". So is a lot of things. So what? If you are worried about the trademark status of D&D, remember that trademarks are always supposed to be adjectives; it's not D&D, it's D&D(tm) brand roleplaying game.

to not use D&D to mean TRPG

That misses the point. Very few of us use D&D to mean TRPG. However, there's a set of games with an ill-defined set of common characteristics that are easiest to describe as D&D even if some of the set aren't D&D (tm) roleplaying games. I don't know what better to call them. We could follow the example of cola and Coca-Cola and call them dragons, but someone would have to get the terminology rolling.

 

[Desdichado]

Originally I had typed a longer response which had addressed that. I lived in Georgia for a while, and I remember there being a few places where 'Coke' was used a universal word for soda in general.

A few places? How about "pretty much all of the South?"

Anyway, my point was that I'd be confused if I opened the Pathfinder Beginner's Box and found D&D 4th Edition Essentials. I understand the OP's point, but I do not view 'D&D' as being synonymous with rpg. Likewise, I view Pathfinder as a different brand -even if it's a brand which is extremely similar to Coke 3.5.

And maybe the slightly unintentional point you're making is that "context is important." Whether you call Pathfinder a D&D game or not depends on your audience and the discussion specifically that you're having when you say it. Trying to make a rule about whether or not to call Pathfinder D&D and apply it universally is not going to work.

Just like telling a waiter that the kind of Coke you want with your meal is Dr. Pepper wouldn't make any sense in New York or DC--despite the fact that it's perfectly logcal in Atlanta or Dallas.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

A few places? How about "pretty much all of the South?"

And maybe the slightly unintentional point you're making is that "context is important." Whether you call Pathfinder a D&D game or not depends on your audience and the discussion specifically that you're having when you say it. Trying to make a rule about whether or not to call Pathfinder D&D and apply it universally is not going to work.

Just like telling a waiter that the kind of Coke you want with your meal is Dr. Pepper wouldn't make any sense in New York or DC--despite the fact that it's perfectly logcal in Atlanta or Dallas.

I spent time in Appalachia, where soda was sometimes called 'beer'. Confused my parents....

The Auld Grump

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

I spent time in Appalachia, where soda was sometimes called 'beer'. Confused my parents....

I spent some time in Russia, where they make a weak beer (like, slightly stronger than O'Doul's "near beer") from fermented raisin bread. It's called kvass, and it tastes amazingly like Dr. Pepper.

Confused my taste buds...

 

[TheAuldGrump]

I spent some time in Russia, where they make a weak beer (like, slightly stronger than O'Doul's "near beer") from fermented raisin bread. It's called kvass, and it tastes amazingly like Dr. Pepper.

Confused my taste buds...

Gods, I haven't had kvass in years - there is a place in Richmond Maine that used to make it. Richmond was a Russian Orthodox town for about fifty years. (The restaurant that made it used to be a mortuary - it has these tables that fold up into the wall....)

The Auld Grump

 

[Aldarc]

I spent time in Appalachia, where soda was sometimes called 'beer'. Confused my parents....

The Auld Grump

As someone born and raised in Appalachia, I have no idea what you are talking about.

 

[MoxieFu]

I am SO tired of this "you must spread some experience around" jazz.

Auld Grump, I want to be in the same place YOU are partying sometime!

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

The restaurant that made it used to be a mortuary - it has these tables that fold up into the wall...

Where "drinking you under the table" could have more than one meaning...'cause of the vampires.