Has D&D jumped the shark?

[Kanegrundar]

Speaking for myself, I am not the same sort of killjoy when it comes to nixing new material that some forum members seem to delight in being.

But I have said, and take no shame in saying "uh, no." A player's investment is a pretty weak excuse considering I probably spend more on the game than all my players combined.

I'm in the same camp. Due to the variant rules I use, I pretty much need to go over anything that goes into my game. If it doesn't get the OK from me, I'll disallow it outright. I don't care how much of a monetary invsestment the player has made in new books that he/she wants to use on her character.

Kane

 

[Psion]

In response to Zero's argument, I'm not entirely sure that a game will stagnate without new rules.

To be fair, I think RPGs often do stagnate without something to keep them fresh, be they rules supplements or otherwise. But the type of supplements that might keep some games alive might not work so well for others, depending on the tastes of the audience.

 

[diaglo]

I love walking through the zoo every now and then to watch...

...folks rattling their sabres...

 

[KaosDevice]

If you think that the D&D R&D team is as sloppy at letting new stuff into the game as Palladium, you really aren't considering the issue carefully enough.

While not as bad as Palladium (hard to imagine that really), there is a Palladium-esque vibe to some of the things that I have read that have given me pause.

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

So I think that at some point in the recent past, at least the rules of D&D have jumped the shark.

Do you agree or disagree with this? And if you agree, when exactly do you think that D&D has jumped the shark?

You're talking about supplemental stuff, not THE RULES - as in Core Rules. The Rules are just fine.

And the definition of "jump the shark" derives from television where a show gets far afield in search of plots, character, stories, or mere viewer interest (but not yet having been cancelled and putting everyone out of their misery). D&D, even if one feels compelled to use every freakin' rule that's printed for it (a numbingly stupid notion) is not so far gone that it should have already been "cancelled".

 

[Wulf Ratbane]

...folks rattling their sabres...

Not exactly the right metaphor, but touche nevertheless.

 

[Psion]

While not as bad as Palladium (hard to imagine that really), there is a Palladium-esque vibe to some of the things that I have read that have given me pause.

I've seen some examples, principly from third party publishers (though wizards is not immune *coff*NymphsKiss*coff* ) with books like College of Necromancy and Monstrous Wizards Compendium. Fortunately, blatantly unbalanced stuff is like blood in the water at RPG forums, and we don't see so much of that any more.

 

[TerraDave]

Hmm. Let's see.

WotC stops producing for AD&D2.

"Whaaaaa! They're killing AD&D2 by not publishing any new stuff for it."


Quasqueton

There was no end of complaining about TSR releasing too much stuff under 2nd ed. And then they went bankrupt.

 

[Man in the Funny Hat]

What I'm saying is that you have to look at all the things these mechanics offer to the whole of D&D, not just how they fit into one book.

Yes and no. These things are released along the lines of certain themes, races, classes, etc. If it doesn't even fit well with the book for which it's been written it's not likely to work well for use in a less specific game. Where I think the problem comes in is it's all getting horrifyingly scattershot. Everyone just pumps out rules by the metric buttload and rather than TRULY FIT them into a game before submitting them for approval by the general public they simply shovel it out there under the assumption that somebody might like SOMEthing about it.

I know _I_ don't buy this shovelware (for that's truly what it seems like to me). Just because someone else is less discriminating about their purchases doesn't mean any of it relates to the Core Rules in a significant fashion. What should be stressed repeatedly with this stuff is that it's OPTIONAL. You buy it, and apply it at your own risk no matter how interrelated each of the books might be. Similarly when it's discussed it should ALWAYS be from the standpoint not of GAME rules but of HOUSE rules, because that is the niche they are occupying.

 

[Desdichado]

...folks rattling their sabres...

I'm rattling my saber RIGHT NOW.

IYKWIMAITYD.