D&D 5E Can D&D Next Unite Fans of Different Editions? I think there is some hope now.

[Pseudopsyche]

There's another reason why I think D&D Next has a good chance to succeed: It reminds me of Savage Worlds.

Not only did Savage Worlds change how I look at roleplaying games, but it has proven itself to be an easy path into roleplaying. The casual player, a majority in my experience, grasps it better and faster than any other system I've run.

My recent playtest experience was the closest to that I've seen out of D&D, and it left me feeling good about the system.

This. WotC can talk all they want about uniting existing gamers (and with whom else would they have a dialogue anyway?), but if they're smart their real target will be new players and especially new DMs. For now D&D is still the primary entry point into the hobby, so the wider a net they cast, the more satisfied customers they'll catch. Before Next, a new gamer who bounces off of 4E-style D&D moves on to Pathfinder. After Next, a new gamer who prefers 3E-style to 4E-style D&D might stick around.

 

[Azgulor]

Good luck for 5e/Next's fans. I hope it's the game you want & you enjoy it immensely.

However, I am so over this "unify the fan base" nonsense. The 4e era has been a golden age of gaming for me and my groups via all things Pathfinder. Best wishes, but I don't really need to be unified/reconciled with WotC D&D.

 

[DaveMage]

This. WotC can talk all they want about uniting existing gamers (and with whom else would they have a dialogue anyway?), but if they're smart their real target will be new players and especially new DMs. For now D&D is still the primary entry point into the hobby, so the wider a net they cast, the more satisfied customers they'll catch. Before Next, a new gamer who bounces off of 4E-style D&D moves on to Pathfinder. After Next, a new gamer who prefers 3E-style to 4E-style D&D might stick around.

4E targeted new players.

 

[Manbearcat]

Queue Michael Buffer

 

[Ahnehnois]

This. WotC can talk all they want about uniting existing gamers (and with whom else would they have a dialogue anyway?), but if they're smart their real target will be new players and especially new DMs.

Isn't it the existing gamers who create new players and DMs? Realistically, not that many people start from scratch. If you're saying that the game needs to be a friendlier experience for true beginners (much moreso than 4e or what we've seen of 5e, certainly, and even in comparison to older versions there's room for improvement) than I agree. But however much money they pump into ads, the existing fanbase is likely going to be a major point of entry to the hobby, and what we think matters.

And indeed, the current story of the hobby is about mass market advertising versus grassroots marketing. Which one's winning?

 

[Warbringer]

And indeed, the current story of the hobby is about mass market advertising versus grassroots marketing. Which one's winning?

Don't think Ive ever seen mass marketing in our hobby.

 

[Pseudopsyche]

Sorry, I should have been more clear. My point is that WotC's strategy should be to unite the play styles of former editions, not necessarily to convince the existing players of former editions to switch.

I run D&D Encounters, and a couple of players at my table last season are mostly active in Pathfinder Society. More than once, they responded to a new player's reasonable complaint about 4E by saying that it's better in Pathfinder. If WotC can make D&D Next inclusive of all play styles, then new players will have less reason to try anything else.

So my point is less about WotC designing the game for new players and more about WotC designing the game to support players who want a tactical skirmish game, and players who want a theater-of-the-mind game, and players who want a mechanically simple fighter, and players who want fighter mechanics to be as intricate as wizard mechanics, and players who want spells to be mechanically different from martial exploits, etc.

Even if plenty of existing Pathfinder and 4E players don't switch to Next, WotC will still be okay if they capture much of the growth in the market, by supporting as many play styles as possible.

 

[Ahnehnois]

Don't think Ive ever seen mass marketing in our hobby.

Fair enough; I may not have chosen the right words. There has been some advertising, but not truly mass market. In any case, there's still a comparison to be made.

 

[Ahnehnois]

Even if plenty of existing Pathfinder and 4E players don't switch to Next, WotC will still be okay if they capture much of the growth in the market, by supporting as many play styles as possible.

I tell everyone I know who is interested in D&D to start with 3e. Not 4e. Not 5e. Not PF, or anything else. If they're interested, I tell them why; what's good about D&D and where the problems are. I'm still telling people this in 2013.

The more people like me there are (advocates not just for 3e, but for older versions, and now newer versions), the less your statement is true.

 

[Warbringer]

If WotC can make D&D Next inclusive of all play styles, then new players will have less reason to try anything else.

Existing players will always be biased to favored editions, especially where game mastery gives them the feeling of "being special".

Next has to be focused on making it easy and fun to create and play the characters you "envision" easily. It also has to make DMing easy as well. If it fails to do this, it won't succeed.