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<blockquote data-quote="woodelf" data-source="post: 1228759" data-attributes="member: 10201">In general, yes they do: the mechanics tell you that you cast spells by preparing them and then releasing them, rather than summoning ambient mana and concentrating on a form you want.&nbsp; They tell you that your climbing ability is governed exclusively by your strength, rather than your nimbleness.&nbsp; They tell you that the setting is one where Good and Evil are measurable objective qualities.&nbsp; And so on--mechanics assume *tons* of inherent elements of the setting. In general.&nbsp; I'm not saying this is bad, just that it's silly to say that the mechanics are completely divorced from the setting.First, an easy test: compare sales of products to review ratings on EnWorld.&nbsp; Well, theoretically easy, 'cause nobody releases their sales data.&nbsp; But i'd bet that the WotC books don't get ratings as much better than the others as they do better in sales.&nbsp; Anyway, this is a sample that is obviously and significantly skewed from the general populace of gamers (or D&amp;D3E players, or D20 System players): it is those who (1) have easy internet access, (2) have heard of EnWorld, (3) have time to participate in discussions, and (4) enjoy these sorts of discussions.&nbsp; Now, how each of these factors alters the demographic of the group i'll not conjecture--but i'd be pretty surprised if the end result was an accurate representation of D&amp;D3E players in general.*IF* the hypothesis that there is a potential market out there that'd never touch D&amp;D is correct, then they wouldn't be competing with themselves by making a game to target it. Now, your second argument is much better: they probably can't make everyone happy, even via multiple products.&nbsp; And, frankly, i suspect that they specifically couldn't provide the RPG to attract the anti-D&amp;D-stlye RPer, because their experience is very much in the vein of their current market.&nbsp; It'd be like expecting a skilled and popular technothriller novel writer to write a story to appeal to those who hate long books and hate anything modern espionage- or tech-related.&nbsp; She might be able to do it, but she wouldn't be your best bet.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="woodelf, post: 1228759, member: 10201"] In general, yes they do: the mechanics tell you that you cast spells by preparing them and then releasing them, rather than summoning ambient mana and concentrating on a form you want. They tell you that your climbing ability is governed exclusively by your strength, rather than your nimbleness. They tell you that the setting is one where Good and Evil are measurable objective qualities. And so on--mechanics assume *tons* of inherent elements of the setting. In general. I'm not saying this is bad, just that it's silly to say that the mechanics are completely divorced from the setting. First, an easy test: compare sales of products to review ratings on EnWorld. Well, theoretically easy, 'cause nobody releases their sales data. But i'd bet that the WotC books don't get ratings as much better than the others as they do better in sales. Anyway, this is a sample that is obviously and significantly skewed from the general populace of gamers (or D&D3E players, or D20 System players): it is those who (1) have easy internet access, (2) have heard of EnWorld, (3) have time to participate in discussions, and (4) enjoy these sorts of discussions. Now, how each of these factors alters the demographic of the group i'll not conjecture--but i'd be pretty surprised if the end result was an accurate representation of D&D3E players in general. *IF* the hypothesis that there is a potential market out there that'd never touch D&D is correct, then they wouldn't be competing with themselves by making a game to target it. Now, your second argument is much better: they probably can't make everyone happy, even via multiple products. And, frankly, i suspect that they specifically couldn't provide the RPG to attract the anti-D&D-stlye RPer, because their experience is very much in the vein of their current market. It'd be like expecting a skilled and popular technothriller novel writer to write a story to appeal to those who hate long books and hate anything modern espionage- or tech-related. She might be able to do it, but she wouldn't be your best bet. [/QUOTE]

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