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Message: <blockquote data-quote="T. Foster" data-source="post: 3730001" data-attributes="member: 16574">They are. The 1981 Basic/Expert version of the game is pretty fast and simple too (and if reworked a bit could've been even moreso -- extend the Basic Set up to level 6, include more monsters and treasures and all the rules needed for dungeon/underworld adventuring and it becomes a complete stand-alone game; the Expert Set covers higher levels and adventuring outside the dungeon and is an option/expansion, not a requirement (also change the names from Basic and Expert Set to something like Classic DUNGEONS & DRAGONS: Core Game and Classic DUNGEONS & DRAGONS Expansion Game: Beyond the Dungeon)).The idea that all of the complicated detail and rules-heaviness of AD&D and 3E is necessary in order for the game to "be D&D" is completely false. Yeah, that level of detail should exist and be available for those experienced/dedicated/hardcore hobbyists who want it (which is the purpose AD&D served vis-a-vis OD&D and B/X D&D in the 70s-80s) but the default game, the casual/popular/mainstream version that's expected to appeal to people who aren't hardcore hobbyists, should be much simpler -- something like a 64pp rulebook (my preference is actually for a slighter longer rulebook (~96pp) in smaller format (9x6 or 10x7 -- trade-paperback or comic-book-sized)) that a complete newbie DM can read and grasp within a couple days and that potential players aren't expected/required to read at all -- perhaps the rulebook could include a 1 or 2 page spread covering the absolute basics that the DM could photocopy and pass out to newbie players.I remember a couple years back somebody posted notes from a WotC presentation where they divided the D&D fanbase into several segments -- curious, casual fans, and hardcore "lifestyle gamers" -- and stated that their goal was to shepherd as many people as quickly as possible into the 3rd category. I always thought that was a bad idea and still do. The hardcore gamers are responsible for the most sales per capita (I assume) and are likely to stick around longer than casual fans, most of whom will probably only play the game for a few months up to a year or two beforing moving on to something else, and may never make a purchase beyond the core rules, but they're almost by definition always going to be a subset, and likely a fairly small subset, of the casual fanbase. Therefore, the way to grow the hardcore fanvase isn't by trying to make all the casual fans into hardcore fans, but rather by increasing the number of casual fans (which will, proportionately, increase the number of hardcore fans as well).</blockquote>

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