... when I start hearing "you have to" instead of "it's fun to", I get a sinking feeling.
I will probably invest in the CB, but won't have it until Friday or so (dang CC payments).
It's tough to pick a feat when you only get one and the list is so huge... AND that +1 is SO IMPORTANT compared to how games used to be.
I know what you are saying, I've played every version of D&D- I was there with my (original) Red Box at the end of the 70s, start of the 80s.
That said I'm not one for the rose-tinted spectacles, my first PC was ambushed on the way to the dungeon and died- one blow from a Kobold club and my 3 HP Wizard was toast- my boon companions ran off. I served as supper for three Kobolds that nearly bested our group of three adventurers.
Once in to the dungeon in those orignal games, and we spent a lot of time in the dungeon, we went through characters like they were the disposable heroes of our imagination- it wasn't unheard of for every player at the table (and there were some big tables) to have to reroll a new character in a session.
Gandalf the III, begat Gandalf IV, and so on.
The only way we found to counter this was to populate these dark places as if they were palaces- magic items stood idly by, the best roll of an encounter came when the DM consulted the treasure table and we all became weighed down with our Axes of Dwarven Lords...
It was fun of course- but the balance was shot to hell, particularly the early editions- most sessions we either all died or none of us died, there was very little inbetween.
And then it got Crunchy with 2e and beyond, and we had realms to wander, and third party publishers with alternative takes on what fantasy meant.
And Greyhawk was beautiful.
The dungeons were still insane, remember the madness of the S-series, dungeons that would take months to play through, even for dedicated gamers that did little else.
And yet still we died, or else grew bored of not dying and retired our adeventuring Lords to run pubs or live in isolation in towers.
Third edition reignited the flame, and perhaps for the longest time- for me, all was well in D&D land. Save the bickering about Grapples and AoO, and the interminable amount of time spent figuring out what the saving throw was for the 9 HP Hobgoblin for half-damage versus Articjoke's Freezing Pants of Anhilation...
And then the players got to about 15th level and a whole evening would pass by just trying to play through one encounter, in which the DM was often accompanied by a stack of crunch books slightly taller than me, and were we using the Wilderness Companions new Environmental Dangers tables as it had been raining now for three days and surely someone should make a 'flood check'. And oh we did sigh as our friends became experts and much less interesting- there was always a rule that was counter to the last rule that...
And then 4e came along, and brightened my day, it's not D&D (as was) it's wargamers society with figures and maps and... the balance feels about right, the combat is too long, but- I get grappling, and AoO, and all the little rules fit in to place.
Don't get me wrong, I have enough rules now- I'm done, but that dead horse wont flog itself.
I love 4e, I can say that because at the start I hated it- hated it with a passion, but you have to have strong feelings to get to hate, the same sort of feelings that get you to love.
I love it because I can see it- on a map, in a compendium, we can talk about interpretation but... it's containable, gatherable- the rules are in one place and it works. I know that B happens if I do A, in previous editions I would have to look stuff up, not because I'm stupid but because there always seemed to be so many rules to handle.
In short I agree, DDi is a pain in the ass, but my shopping habits have changed completely- I'm not well off, I make my money. Back in 3e I used to spend £100/month (sometimes more) on D&D. Last count I have something over 5000 WOTC minis, I used to import and export them as a side-line, I have unopened booster packs (or whatever they used to call them)- lots of them, over 50 certainly. I sold my AD&D/2e and previous collection on e-bay about 5 years agon, I made £4,500. I have 20+ crates of 3e stuff in storage, all of the Dungeon magazines, and every piece of crunch and scenario I could lay my hands on- I'd say 90% of all 3.x scenarios ever published- I spent far too much money on it.
And now... now I have my subscription, and every now and then something new comes out- and I buy everything.
But on time spent, I spend far too much of my time now with my hobby, before I had loads of stuff and almost didn't play the game. Now I have much less stuff and play every day.
It's odd.
I'll admit it.
I'm hooked.
Damn you...
