Grognard view of One D&D?

[Thomas Shey]

Problem is, if all your friends decide to stay on the bus, then what?

You're standing there on the roadside right where you want to be, by yourself, as the bus pulls away with your friends still aboard. That's the problem many face every time there's a major update or edition change, and the only perfect solution is to never again change editions.

I don't think WotC is going to go that route, somehow.

I don't even think that's a perfect solution; its always possible a group will end up getting on an entirely different bus. Many decades ago, we had one player who was really grumpy when our group largely en-masse moved from D&D to RuneQuest, but he just had to go off and find another D&D group because we were all pretty firm about it. So you not only have to never have a new edition, you have to have a group that never loses interest in the system you're playing in general.

 

[Old Fezziwig]

This can be achieved by releasing two versions - dare I call them Basic and Advanced - with Basic as the simple ready-to-roll gateway.

If they didn't make everything that was published compatible with both versions, they'd end up splintering their market. It's likely to happen anyhow as some people stick with 5e or migrate to other games, but doing it intentionally seems like it would end badly for WotC. I also wonder if there's room for a Basic game on the market that would function as its own game and not a funnel pushing players into an Advanced edition.

 

[Jacob Lewis]

Problem is, if all your friends decide to stay on the bus, then what?

Find more friends (or new ones) to share your interests. You are allowed to have more friends, play more games, and meet with other groups.

I don't think WotC is going to go that route, somehow.

I don't let WotC determine my path anymore.

 

[Smackpixi]

Problem is, if all your friends decide to stay on the bus, then what?

You're standing there on the roadside right where you want to be, by yourself, as the bus pulls away with your friends still aboard. That's the problem many face every time there's a major update or edition change, and the only perfect solution is to never again change editions.

I don't think WotC is going to go that route, somehow.

So, I liked this post even though I don’t exactly understand where you’re coming from. It’s sad and I appreciate sad, but what it‘s sad about I just don’t truly get. I haven’t played this game for decades, and I’m surely less attached to it than many here, but to me, the most important thing about it is who you play with, that being so vastly more important than anything else, how you play seems insignificant.

it’s, for me, a game about sitting around a table, or computer screen now, and pretending to be someone or something you’re not. For me, that requires a level of trust I just don’t have with everyone in this world. If I’m going to play act as an elf, who lost their mom when they were young, and is questing to find the orcs responsible, hates all orcs because of this, but struggles with their racism toward orcs…if I’m going to do this, and do it seriously, I’m going to need to be around awesome people I love and trust to not feel absolutely ridiculous doing it.

how crossing the broken bridge and owlbear attack are resolved is important, but secondary to being around the right people.

And I feel like being around the right people allows post session, between session, discussions to happen like, “did anyone else think the 30 minutes we spent resolving that broken bridge situation really torturous?” to happen. And we decide if it was torturous or the epitome of gaming fun, and decide how to do it the same or otherwise next time. And we thus, over time, make our own game using or not, the published rules that change over time.

maybe I’m weird, but I find the rule systems just a framework to help people tell their stories and have adventures. And those rules will evolve according to the stories and battles that the group has and wants to have.

i get having more experience or believing what your group is up to could be resolved in more or less gamified ways, but at the end of the day, being around a trusted group matters more than how we resolve crossing the broken bridge.

 

[MNblockhead]

I played Red Box D&D and AD&D 1e starting in the early/mid 80s, skipped 2, 3, 3.5, and 4, and started playing again with 5e. I've really loved 5e but would appreciate a few tweaks here and there. I'm cautiously optimistic about One D&D. If it gives some new options, has some new ideas for making aspects of game easier to run, and provides increasingly useful digital tools--all while allowing me to continue to run years worth of adventuring and setting material I've bought and a homebrewed--then I'm all in.

I've never felt abandoned or ignored by WotC as an older player and appreciate them making a game that rekindled my love for TTRPGs.

Now, if they change the game so much that it makes all my existing material unplayable with the new rule, I'll just stick to 5e with some home-rules. I've bought enough material to keep my playing into retirement. But from what I've seen so far, it doesn't look like that will be the case.

Note that this is all from the perspective of a DM. As a player, I'll play whatever rules the DM is using. If I like the DM and his or her style, I rarely find that the rules get in the way of my enjoyment of playing.

Glad I missed all the earlier edition wars. I find it hard to relate. The only gaming-related battles that challenge me are finding the time to game as much as I would like.

 

[Lanefan]

If they didn't make everything that was published compatible with both versions, they'd end up splintering their market. It's likely to happen anyhow as some people stick with 5e or migrate to other games, but doing it intentionally seems like it would end badly for WotC. I also wonder if there's room for a Basic game on the market that would function as its own game and not a funnel pushing players into an Advanced edition.

Being a funnel into the Advanced version would be most of the point of Basic, though ideally it would and could also be played as it's own thing without ever moving to Advanced if that's what the group wanted from it.

 

[Lanefan]

Find more friends (or new ones) to share your interests. You are allowed to have more friends, play more games, and meet with other groups.

I was using "friends" as an analogy for the greater D&D community, rather than referring to one's specific personal friends.

I've never understood the groupthink among so many people that says they have to have the latest new thing even if it doesn't function as well as what they already have; and this is true not just of D&D editions but also of cars, technology, fashion, and a gajillion other things. Corporations love it as it keeps the treadmill going, but it often makes no sense for the consumer/end user.

Someone deciding to stay put with what they have gets, in effect, left behind as the spotlight of official support and hype moves on to the newer version.

 

[payn]

I was using "friends" as an analogy for the greater D&D community, rather than referring to one's specific personal friends.

I've never understood the groupthink among so many people that says they have to have the latest new thing even if it doesn't function as well as what they already have; and this is true not just of D&D editions but also of cars, technology, fashion, and a gajillion other things. Corporations love it as it keeps the treadmill going, but it often makes no sense for the consumer/end user.

Someone deciding to stay put with what they have gets, in effect, left behind as the spotlight of official support and hype moves on to the newer version.

"The only thing constant in life is change" -Heraclitus

 

[Jacob Lewis]

I was using "friends" as an analogy for the greater D&D community, rather than referring to one's specific personal friends.

Oh, I see what you're saying.

Still, the "greater community" isn't someone that I personally need to appease or cater to, unless I am running a business. I can assure you that, currently, I am not.

I've never understood the groupthink among so many people that says they have to have the latest new thing even if it doesn't function as well as what they already have; and this is true not just of D&D editions but also of cars, technology, fashion, and a gajillion other things. Corporations love it as it keeps the treadmill going, but it often makes no sense for the consumer/end user.

100% agreed.

Someone deciding to stay put with what they have gets, in effect, left behind as the spotlight of official support and hype moves on to the newer version.

Maybe. I think the OSR movement might say otherwise. Nostalgia can be a powerful thing.

 

[AnotherGuy]

They will read the new "power nap" rules....regain all your stuff every 15 minutes...and will be very much "wow!".

The difference between a grognard and not-a-grognard is the number of power naps the player needs as opposed to the character.