Congratulations WotC...

[Ibrandul]

I actually thought I'd gone insane or had memory problems when I played 3E FR a bit (we mostly didn't play FR in 3E), because some stuff wasn't where I was very sure it was. Turns out WotC just accidentally gaslighted the hell out of me by not actually telling people they did this.

There was an article about the map changes in Dragon magazine a few months before the FRCS was released. They should have put a brief note in the book itself though.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

There was an article about the map changes in Dragon magazine a few months before the FRCS was released. They should have put a brief note in the book itself though.

Yeah I wasn't reading Dragon back then, and I didn't even get the FR book immediately when it came out (year or two later I think), so I was like "HUH?" "What?" at stuff but I didn't even consider "Oh they changed it", because it was just not something that would happen lol.

 

[Jadeite]

I actually thought I'd gone insane or had memory problems when I played 3E FR a bit (we mostly didn't play FR in 3E), because some stuff wasn't where I was very sure it was. Turns out WotC just accidentally gaslighted the hell out of me by not actually telling people they did this.

They did tell people about it in Dragon 283 (May 2001), p26.

 

[SkidAce]

I've been playing DnD in one form or another since 84 or so. Started with 1E, but have played the older stuff later, including chainmail. I've been a staunch purchaser of books put out by TSR/WOTC over those decades of playing and still own crates of books, magazine, and boxed sets devoted to my favorite hobby. 4E was my least favorite version of DnD and I think that was mainly due to the execution and homogenization of classes. But that was purely a personal opinion and I still bought, and continue to won, all the 4E books and supplements. 3E was a golden era for me (with warts and all) because of the sheer amount of third party content that was being added.

I say this not as a brag, but as context.

The OGL has likely pushed me away from purchasing any future WOTC DnD books.

And this pains me. It pains me because a lot of my joy is seeing new rules and settings and adventures even if I don't agree with or like them. Cause even bad content can give inspiration.

Planescape is my favorite setting and I'll miss the upcoming book as a result.

Yes I know I can still use all my old rules.
Yes I know that my decision is a relatively minor one in comparison to WOTC's current revenue.
Yes I know there are alternatives and to be honest I play or have played many of them.

It still pains me though.

Quoted for so very much Truth.

I am also pained.

 

[darjr]

WotC had a real treasure. The Philosophers Stone of RPGs!

And they broke it open, smashing it to rubble, to see if the gold was inside.

 

[Art Waring]

WotC had a real treasure. The Philosophers Stone of RPGs!

And they broke it open, smashing it to rubble, to see if the gold was inside.

And now try capturing that lightning in a bottle a second time. 20 years of goodwill fizzled in an instant.

 

[CleverNickName]

 

[Temporalgod]

Since WotC shot themselves in the foot, are we going to make another Pathfinder then?

 

[Krachek]

After decades DnD was become a nice hobby, not weird, and even trending, and now guess what, it is now become again shameful. Misery!

 

[Greg K]

View attachment 272175

Lol@. I was just going to post, I have started seeing memes "Congratulations! Habro/WOTC, in one week you set your brand on fire!" (or something to that effect).

 

[deganawida]

My 17 year old daughter said that there’s not been a misreading of public opinion on this scale since Euro Disney (she likes watching them party failure videos).

 

[Haplo781]

As I said in another thread, I really think 4e's design was a double-edged sword. As many people liked it as hated it.

5e's deliberate inoffensiveness and "blandness"(I'm not using that as a criticism per se) is actively working against it here. When times were good, it worked well, few were especially upset at the idea of playing 5e, but it's not the kind of game that inspires fervent defenders when times are tough. Rather, it's the kind of game where you think "Hmm, this is good, but it could be better if I just.." When everyone is involved in the 5e ecosystem, that's really effective design, because you can find the 5e mod you're looking for! But by actively kicking everyone out, now they've unleashed the desire to "really fix" 5e that's been bubbling for years. We've entered the era of 5e Heartbreakers, and nothing is stopping this train now.

They'd literally be better off they'd just decided to revive 4e. Already carved out from the OGL, already designed for a VTT, already has a small but dedicated fanbase.

 

[Haplo781]

If I wanted to clone 4e, I'd have to write like 500 powers without infringing copyright... not easy or quick.

Actually... it's over nine thousand!

 

[Clint_L]

My 17 year old daughter said that there’s not been a misreading of public opinion on this scale since Euro Disney (she likes watching them party failure videos).

Euro Disney is now extremely successful. So that is maybe not an example to bring to Hasbro's attention.

 

[Burt Baccara]

WotC had a real treasure. The Philosophers Stone of RPGs!

And they broke it open, smashing it to rubble, to see if the gold was inside.

Not only that.

WotC created a thing called OneD&D and the result looks to be a fracturing of the industry.

Also, this year is the 50th anniversary of the year that Dave showed Gary his game he called Blackmoor, the year of their collaboration on the draft that would become D&D. And this is the year WotC decided to turn a triumph into...well, we will see.

 

[Lojaan]

And then Hasbro learned a valuable lesson:

Never screw over your own influencers

 

[MichaelSomething]

Like I said in another thread, I'll be convinced when these feelings turn into action. Angry words online is different from playing and supporting different games. It's been said that living well is the best revenge.

 

[Krachek]

Euro Disney is now extremely successful. So that is maybe not an example to bring to Hasbro's attention.

Coca Cola survive the New Coke flop, so any mistake can be repair.
Just have to pay the price.

 

[THEMNGMNT]

I also find myself thinking about what influencers are going to be at the next D&D product roll out. I'm guessing...not many.

 

[THEMNGMNT]

To build on my previous point...

D&D's content creators are virtually all social media influencers. And a lot of influencers are also content creators.

So WotC has turned every D&D influencer against the company in one fell swoop.

Kind of an amazing accomplishment if you think about it...