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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Tony Vargas" data-source="post: 6331049" data-attributes="member: 996">It's not my opinion that WotC is trying to appeal to the whole fan-base, in spite of (and specifically to 'heal') the rifts of the edition war, they've come out and said.  They've also said they want to attract new players, but the way they talk about doing that is by making the game more like it was when /they/ were new players.  That strikes me (my opinion, now) as either a mistake, or just another way to appeal to the existing fan-base (nostalgia - play the game that's like it was when you were young!)  I do not have that data, and don't think you do, either.  But, I'd be shocked if there was any awareness at all of the new ed of D&D among that demographic.  Heck, in spite of 2 years of public playtesting, I still bump into existing fans who are barely aware of it.  What's WotC doing to create awareness - let alone demand - among potential new players? The 1st level of 5e is a low-hp, high-danger crapshoot.  Genuinely-new player need a more forgiving first experience then that.  Unless, as I said, the idea is to appeal to old players wanting to introduce new players to the old traditions of D&D in a sort of indoctrination or hazing ritual.  ("Yeah, we all died.  Dhat's because we didn't have a cleric: 1st rule of real D&D, always have a cleric....   Yeah, we all died.  Second rule:  never split the party....&c") But just the idea that a set of new players will buy the starter box, one of them will DM, and that randomly deadly 1st level won't result in confusion, disappointment and frustration enough to drive at least some of them away, strikes me as unduly optimistic, and maybe smacking of projecting long-time D&Der attitudes and expectations on said new players.  I'm not saying you'll never get new players to try the game - D&D does have /some/ name recognition in the mainstream - I'm just saying that 1st level is set up to enchant old players looking for nostalgia, not new ones trying to understand & enjoy the game for the first time.Obviously, it's not something we're going to get to see first hand, since any group of new players we get to see first hand is going to be influenced by the old hand watching over them.  <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />  Nor are we likely to hear testimonials from potential new player who never heard of, never try, or try and immediately give up on, the latest D&D.</blockquote>

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