Dragon Editorial: Fearless

[The Little Raven]

Not a surprise. Did it sell more than 1e over the entire 10 year run of 1e? If so, cool.

I think everyone has 1e as "best-selling" firmly in their mind because that's the edition in which D&D truly entered the mainstream consciousness, and where pretty much all the stereotypes (basement dwelling nerds; D&D promoted devil-worship; Mazes & Monsters; BADD) come from. D&D is just a part of our culture now, so it doesn't stand out as much as it did 30 years ago.

 

[hong]

Not a surprise. Did it sell more than 1e over the entire 10 year run of 1e? If so, cool. I didn't know that. (I knew it blew 2e out of the water, but that's no shock -- it did a great job of bringing back 'lapsed' gamers and drawing in new ones, and the OGL explosion sort of cemented it as the dominant game in the crucial first few months.)

4e has a lot to live up to, sales-expectation-wise.

When I picked up the Worlds & Monsters book, I asked the game store guy if they also had Races & Classes. He said they'd sold the last one just 10 minutes ago. To which I replied, there's more WotC bitches out there than I thought.

 

[Donovan Morningfire]

Chris Youngs (though still credited as Chris Thomasson) wrote an article on how the math of 4e has affected his playing style:

http://wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/dred/20080220a

Bit late to the party it seems, but I have to say after reading this and from having played Saga Edition, I am really starting to look forward to 4e.

Used to be I could only truly get reckless with a PC at a one-shot con game, where you really didn't give a crap about the outcome. But if 4e allows me to run PCs with a penchant for "reckless heroics," then so much the better

 

[Primal]

When I picked up the Worlds & Monsters book, I asked the game store guy if they also had Races & Classes. He said they'd sold the last one just 10 minutes ago. To which I replied, there's more WotC bitches out there than I thought.

Did you ask him about his mom? He might have sold her, you know, and probably you would have gotten more our of her than R&C.

 

[hong]

I'd actually be interested to hear a source/explanation on this... I kind of figured that clerics and warlords got something like Cure Light Wounds as an at-will ability, just like wizards get Magic Missile. (I had actually assumed that Second Wind was per-encounter as well, but I'm probably wrong on that one.)

As others have pointed out, if there's a hard daily limit on healing spells, we're still stuck with the "15-minute workday."

I ran a game with barely any per-day powers, except for healing (4 Bo9S characters, 1 tweaked dragon shaman, reserve points from UA). I didn't have any 15-minute workday problems.

The key here is that healing is a contingent ability. Using it depends on external factors, so the rate at which you can expend it is capped: if the group doesn't take more than X damage, you don't have to use up more than X healing. Contrast with offensive powers which can generally be expended as fast as you like, until they're gone. If you cast 2 meteor swarms, that will end the battle faster than if you cast 1.

Now, it is true that you can't keep going indefinitely if healing is limited. But there should still be plenty of scope for multiple dynamic battles in the one day, which are interesting in themselves rather than being there solely to wear down resources. The idea is that each battle isn't so tough that it forces the party to use up all their healing while still providing plenty of opportunities for challenge, tactical thinking, and/or spectacular moments of violence.

 

[hong]

Did you ask him about his mom? He might have sold her, you know, and probably you would have gotten more our of her than R&C.

R&C has pictures of dragonborn with boobs. Does YOUR MOM have that?

HAW HAW!

 

[Primal]

R&C has pictures of dragonborn with boobs. Does YOUR MOM have that?

HAW HAW!

Um, is *your* mom a Dragonborn?

That explains a lot... (such as you trying to buy this book to see boobs -- there are *magazines* that have such pictures, you know? And they're cheaper, too.)

 

[Lizard]

When I picked up the Worlds & Monsters book, I asked the game store guy if they also had Races & Classes. He said they'd sold the last one just 10 minutes ago. To which I replied, there's more WotC bitches out there than I thought.

This would be more informative if I knew how many he had in stock.

"I bought 500 and sold them all!" (Impressive, and proves PT Barnum was right, as if we had any doubt...)[1]

"I bought one back in October and FINALLY someone bought it!" (Less impressive.)

I know that my FLGS has had the same copy for R&C on the shelves for months, and as far as I can tell, hasn't even ordered W&M. (I ask to be shown all new gaming stuff, and that never came up...) By the same token, he says a lot of the local gamers ARE hot for 4e, so, who knows?

[1]20 bucks for crunch-free fluff, said fluff speculative and out of date by the time of publication, also, all over the internet?

 

[hong]

Um, is *your* mom a Dragonborn?

Insert generic food metaphor here.

That explains a lot... (such as you trying to buy this book to see boobs

You say this like it's a negative thing.

 

[catsclaw227]

I can't even get through 3 pages without commenting...

I think that no matter what, there will be those that find fun and excitement in a WOTC preview article, and those that will find problems and no-fun in the article.

If you aren't interested in looking for how your game might be improved and are looking for reasons why 4e will suck eggs, well, you can find it, if you try hard.

But if reading an editorial with no mechanics and general descriptions of events (which all sound pretty darn fun to me) can lead one to think 4e will have a "Care bear" game style, create "suicidal lemmings", and will bring "no meaningful risk in the game", then geez... I am not sure what to say.

Wait for the rules before washing the new edition with broad strokes of bad-fun.

The Rouse gave some very clear examples of there being danger and risk. The sum of the game is not an editorial from a WOTC staffer stoked about his experience and sharing it with everyone.

<Humming> "Same ol' song and.... same ol' song and dance"