D&D Experience and the NDA

[Wolfspider]

I'm pretty pro-4e, but I have to agree with Wolfspider here. That would be incredibly lame if you couldn't even ask about what your character can do.

I'd probably walk away as well.

Well, he was talking about the 3e experience. Hopefully the 4e preview games won't be handled in the same ham-fisted way.

 

[Wolfspider]

The limited information about the game system in Majoru Oakheart's story may have been prompted by secrecy, but I'll bet anything that more of it had to do with the convention environment. When I'm trying out a new RPG in a four hour time block, I don't spend time trying to learn every last detail of my character sheet, or looking in someone else's copy of the books to figure out what things do. I play the GM's adventure, asking about specific things when they might be relevant, which it seems was this GM's policy. I'd be pissed as hell if I was in a group of four, none of whom were familiar with the game, and one of the other players insisted on monopolizing the GM for a half hour learning all his details. It's not like the GM hid things about how AC, attacks or saves worked. The only thing the secrecy element probably meant was that you couldn't go sit down with the GM later and look through the books together.

Asking a reasonable and relevent question like "Can I use spellcraft to figure out how the magic works?" is not monopolizing the GM's time.

 

[thatdarnedbob]

Asking a reasonable and relevent question like "Can I use spellcraft to figure out how the magic works?" is not monopolizing the GM's time.

You're right; it was one example of many questions about skills that, if all of them were answered, would cause a large delay.

 

[Wolfspider]

You're right; it was one example of many questions about skills that, if all of them were answered, would cause a large delay.

Better to have a delay than to make playing the game completely pointless.

Player: "I want to try to jump the chasm. How far can I jump with a skill rank of five?"

DM: "Don't ask questions about skills."

Player: "Errr."

Best not to even bother running a game if players can't find out how to play.

 

[Plane Sailing]

When we asked what our skills or spells did from our character sheet we were told that if we needed to know she'd tell us as we needed them. Mainly that meant that if she asked us for a skill check we should roll them but otherwise, they didn't do anything and not to ask since she was not allowed to tell us.

Sounds like that was the most railroady experience in the world, I have to hope that it was an overzealous GM inexperienced in how best to handle that kind of situation.

However, I imagine (as others) that (a) the NDA will remain in place until release (b) different people have different levels of access to materials even at the moment (c) they wont try to get players to sign NDAs.

 

[Majoru Oakheart]

Sounds like that was the most railroady experience in the world, I have to hope that it was an overzealous GM inexperienced in how best to handle that kind of situation.

However, I imagine (as others) that (a) the NDA will remain in place until release (b) different people have different levels of access to materials even at the moment (c) they wont try to get players to sign NDAs.

To be fair, the person WOTC sent us had apparently never run D&D at all before, she had been a player only and it was because our con was so small and she was originally from my city that they sent her to give us the 3e preview.

I also made it sound slightly worse than it actually was, but she still seriously wouldn't answer almost any questions.

 

[Saracenus]

<Shrug>

Either we will get a good look at D&D Experience or we won't. I would give it a shot and see how it plays.

Saracenus

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Sounds like that was the most railroady experience in the world, I have to hope that it was an overzealous GM inexperienced in how best to handle that kind of situation.

However, I imagine (as others) that (a) the NDA will remain in place until release (b) different people have different levels of access to materials even at the moment (c) they wont try to get players to sign NDAs.

I think the NDA for the actual playtesters could remain in place indefinitely, meaning the might not be able to share much about the way playtesting was conducted, and what in detail they experienced during the playtests. But they can off course discuss the rulebooks once they hit the shelves, since that's not information they gained from the playtests.

 

[LightPhoenix]

To build on that, there may have also been playtesting going on for other classes/races/etc that won't be in the PHB, but may come out later. In which case, that stuff probably would still be under the NDA anyway.

 

[Majoru Oakheart]

<Shrug>

Either we will get a good look at D&D Experience or we won't. I would give it a shot and see how it plays.

Oh, I have no doubt that you'll leave with a WEALTH of information that you didn't know before. You are still going to be moving around in combat, making attack and damage rolls, using your powers. You'll likely get a chance the whole weekend to see all the premade characters that will be there, since they likely will be available at the Dungeon Delve.

Heck, if you join the dungeon delve, you get a 30 minute timed 4th Edition adventure that you can play as many times as you want. I'm sure if you play enough times you might become a near expert on 4th Ed rules.