Forked Thread: Changeover poll

[Lord Mhoram]

I started playing about 3 months after release.

I hated 2nd ed, and loved Hero. But at that point in time Hero looked dead, and I was looking for another system. Because of my intense dislike for the 2nd rules, and the fact I didn't really pay attention to previews, I just started reading the 3rd ed PH in the stores.

After I had read through it twice, I realized it would do a lot of things I really wanted. I wanted a strong simulationist game with very flexible character creation (as I said I loved Hero, and was looking for a replacement). 3.x seemed to be a good fit.

 

[Aus_Snow]

I was nearly tempted by 3.0 in 2002, being at the time (as now) extremely sceptical and, I guess 'hesitant' is close enough, regarding D&D of any stripe. I felt soured to earlier editions, and other systems had been relatively good to me, so poor old 3e had a hellish task, trying to convince me.

When it finally did - despite all my misgivings - it was 2003, and 3.5 had just come out. Which made things pretty easy for me. Even so, since then, I came to appreciate certain aspects of 3.0, and incorporated some of them into my house ruled 3.5 games. So, I ended up around 3.3-ish, give or take a lot else.

 

[CleverNickName]

To tell you how observant I was: I didn't even know that 3rd Edition had been released until I saw it on the shelf at Hastings. I had stopped paying attention to all of the D&D buzz when TS&R went under. All of the rumors about the "death of D&D" seemed to be true, so I just resigned myself to playing my older edition(s) for all eternity.

But then one day, I saw the new 3E PHB on the shelf...the one with a few DM notes and monster stats in the back. At first glance, I thought it was a compilation of older books, like another Rules Cyclopedia but for 2E stuff. I picked it up and flipped through it, and that was when I realized it was a whole new edition of the game.

When I saw the Druid class, I snapped the book shut and took it directly to the checkout counter.

 

[Phlebas]

Roleplaying for me had basically petered out with the death of TSR - I didn't join the vampire / ars magica group and since i was working all over europe i struggled to find time for the Earthdawn / Stats & Skills stuff my freinds were playing

when i settled down (actually i quit the job) I was ready for some roleplaying around the time 3,5e came out.

I was the big D&D fan in the group (prefer classed systems to point buy) and really appreciated the thought that had gone into 3e vs 2e so when it was hinted that it was my turn to DM, it was 3,5

one freind had read the books but couldn't find a groups so we did a quick / dirty campaign to learn the rules and now we have 3 campaigns running.

So the actual release date of 3e didn't really matter. we'd stopped playing 2e some years before, were trying other systems and it was real life that determined the timing

so i hit the 2 years plus option, but to be honest it had nothing to do with the release - if I'd quit my job a few years earlier it might have been less than a month!

today though its different - we have mature campaigns and an extended group (8 regular players + 4/5 interested if a gap came up) and no clamour for any fundamental change in game (though we might adopt PFRP if it stays backward compatible) . so 4e, which i'm sure i'll try sometime, is on the list of other games that we might play when we get a chance

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I didn't make any switch. 3E was my first D&D experience. And I wasn't to fond of it as start. I didn't get "vancian" magic nor "hit points".. Well, I grew to like the latter, eventually...

 

[BryonD]

Not really. If you didn't switch, this poll does not pertain to you.

I'm only curious about those who made the switch, since, let's face it, the vast majority of D&D players DID make the switch. Those playing earlier editions are a pretty small minority as it stands.

Those playing earlier editions USED TO BE a pretty small minority.

I'd also say there is a big difference between this and the thread you have forked. The prior poll said nothing about, how long did you take to switch, it about which game do you intend to play, or what level of mix you expect. There is nothing to make me think that any significant number (if any at all) of the 40% staying 3E plan to switch ever. If you claim that 40% of the community was planning to stay with 2E more than a month after 3E was released, then you experienced a different reality than I did.

 

[Dragon Snack]

I voted "Switched upon release", assuming that 'release' meant once all the core books were out.

But you may consider that "Within 3 monhs" if you want to be a stickler...

 

[Darrin Drader]

I had been running a 2E campaign when 3E was released. I wasn't planning on switching right away, but me and my players liked the new system so much that we converted the existing campaign over and never looked back.

With 4E, different players, we gave it a shot, and one player is pro-4E, I'm not liking it, another player isn't liking it, and one player is neutral on it. Although we did buy the books, we aren't switching. In fact I'm starting up a Pathfinder game in about a month.

 

[Greg K]

lutecius,
you pretty much summed up my experience (Although, I never did see many of the problems associated with high level in play, because I have always disliked DND above levels 10-12 and won't play it above those levels (which doesn't mean I didn't recognize the problems that existed).

My big disappointment with 4e is that third parties and WOTC (in some of their non-DND d20 games) introduced such great new ideas and mechanics that I was waiting to see how 4e would incorporate them into a new edition (as was one of the stated goals of the d20,d20M, and OGL licenses). Yet, despite liking a few of the new 4e mechanics (e.g., many non-biological racial abilities as feats, and passive perception) and most of the stated design goals (pruning the "Christmas Tree" and balancing spellcasters), I found most of changes and design decisions to be a huge let down.

I wasn’t playing dnd anymore, 3e brought me back. Almost every change seemed like a huge improvement over 2e (but I did like um… priest spheres)
Even though I wished they had gone further in some areas (AC as DR, completely ditch Vancian magic), 3e changes seemed like a natural progression. So it won me over quite immediately, the "problems" only became apparent after a while.

In comparison, even if I like some of the 4e changes, many more things have rubbed me the wrong way since the first few previews (weren’t they supposed to make me like 4e?) The release (or should I say the leak) only confirmed my doubts.
Which is sad because unlike many posters here, I wanted a new edition way before it was announced.

 

[Alt F4]

I wasn't actively playing when 3E was released. I'd grown tired of 2nd Edition and wasn't really expecting 3rd Edition to be much of an improvement. Still, when I saw the Player's Handbook in a bookstore, I was curious enough to take a look. I was totally blown away by what I saw, so I bought it. Then there was the seemingly interminable wait for the Dungeon Master's Guide to be released, followed by the mad chase around town to actually find a copy once it was released, because word had apparently gotten out about how awesome 3rd Edition was. After the Monster Manual came out I think it was another month before I finally got a group together and began to actually play.

So while I voted "within 3 months" in the poll, it was also "as fast as I reasonably could under the circumstances".