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<blockquote data-quote="wingsandsword" data-source="post: 2282710" data-attributes="member: 14159">How is this a surprise?&nbsp; It is &quot;Dungeons and Dragons for Dummies&quot; not &quot;Fantasy Roleplaying Games for Dummies&quot;.&nbsp; Maybe an &quot;Roleplaying for Dummies&quot; book would be good, but Dungeons and Dragons has the name recognition, and for somebody who's first getting into RPG's, name recognition counts for a lot.&nbsp; To a lot of people outside the hobby, it's all D&amp;D.&nbsp; This is a licensed product and supported by WotC, and they're not exactly likely to want to share space in &quot;D&amp;D for Dummies&quot; with information about their competition or old products that are out-of-print and extremely unlikely to see print again.&nbsp; When you buy &quot;Windows XP for Dummies&quot; you don't get a broad introduction to operating systems and info about Linux and DOS or a chapter on Windows 98, and &quot;D&amp;D for Dummies&quot; doesn't have info about other RPG systems or older editions.Prior editions of D&amp;D have no commercial support, you can't walk into most FLGS and pick up a 1e or 2e PHB (maybe in a used game bin, if you're lucky), much less a Rules Cyclopedia and very much less OD&amp;D Booklets, and all that goes triple for mainstream, mass-market bookstores where newbies probably shop and where they'll buy D&amp;D for Dummies.&nbsp; Somebody first getting into gaming is going to have more problems down the line if they first learn to play an edition that's not widely played (people on Dragonsfoot and ENWorld aside, 3e is the vastly dominant version in terms of player base).&nbsp; Everything they learn they'll probably have to un-learn the first time they actually meet a group.This is a &quot;Dummies&quot; book.&nbsp; It's meant to give somebody who only has the faintest clue what the subject matter is about a basic introduction and introduce them to the matter, getting them started and simplfying the complex material needed to start off.&nbsp; Earlier editions and competing games really don't belong in one.&nbsp; If people buy this game, get into D&amp;D and meet other gamers, they'll be exposed to a wider variety of roleplaying and editions in time, but for their first time out, 3.5 Edition will do.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="wingsandsword, post: 2282710, member: 14159"] How is this a surprise? It is "Dungeons and Dragons for Dummies" not "Fantasy Roleplaying Games for Dummies". Maybe an "Roleplaying for Dummies" book would be good, but Dungeons and Dragons has the name recognition, and for somebody who's first getting into RPG's, name recognition counts for a lot. To a lot of people outside the hobby, it's all D&D. This is a licensed product and supported by WotC, and they're not exactly likely to want to share space in "D&D for Dummies" with information about their competition or old products that are out-of-print and extremely unlikely to see print again. When you buy "Windows XP for Dummies" you don't get a broad introduction to operating systems and info about Linux and DOS or a chapter on Windows 98, and "D&D for Dummies" doesn't have info about other RPG systems or older editions. Prior editions of D&D have no commercial support, you can't walk into most FLGS and pick up a 1e or 2e PHB ([i]maybe[/i] in a used game bin, if you're lucky), much less a Rules Cyclopedia and very much less OD&D Booklets, and all that goes triple for mainstream, mass-market bookstores where newbies probably shop and where they'll buy D&D for Dummies. Somebody first getting into gaming is going to have more problems down the line if they first learn to play an edition that's not widely played (people on Dragonsfoot and ENWorld aside, 3e is the vastly dominant version in terms of player base). Everything they learn they'll probably have to un-learn the first time they actually meet a group. This is a "Dummies" book. It's meant to give somebody who only has the faintest clue what the subject matter is about a basic introduction and introduce them to the matter, getting them started and simplfying the complex material needed to start off. Earlier editions and competing games really don't belong in one. If people buy this game, get into D&D and meet other gamers, they'll be exposed to a wider variety of roleplaying and editions in time, but for their first time out, 3.5 Edition will do. [/QUOTE]

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