How has the 4e/3e schism affected you?

[Keefe the Thief]

The shism made me regret spending my time on fora quite a bit. However, it showed me that the division online was often created by a vocal minority that reproduces the same lines over and over again. Even in this thread. What was it? ".... is just a miniatures game posing as a rpg"? Ahh, repetition, you are that which creates a split.
Anyway, when the "dragonsfoot-effect" sets in, things will become much calmer online. Offline = no split. People play what seems fun.

 

[jdrakeh]

Anyway, when the "dragonsfoot-effect" sets in, things will become much calmer online.

The Dragonsfoot effect? Is this this where the entire community bonds like brothers under one banner of New Edition hate

 

[wingsandsword]

There is no schism, I'm seeing. Pretty much all my gaming friends IRL are avoiding 4e like the plague. A couple were playtesters and vowed to never play it again when the playtest was over (and told their friends to stay away), one is a fiftysomething year old grandmother who only finally converted from 1e to 3.5 a couple of years ago and took one look at 4e and laughed (neutered wizards was the last straw for her). I've met a number of gamers in passing and at best some of them have a sort of "it's D&D so I'll be able to find players for it at least" attitude, but nobody who really liked it more than any previous edition.

Now, to be fair I've met a few people who have really liked it, but they were all casual gamers who seldom played D&D and all thought 3.5 was way too complicated to play and run.

The D&D brand name on it's own is going to get it a big following, but from where I'm sitting out here, when I'm away from the internet, I'd swear that 4e is getting minimal traction with veteran gamers.

If anything, I know a number of gamers who are getting really excited about Pathfinder.

 

[Mercurius]

Confusion--that's how it has affected me. Given that I haven't played in five years and am looking to get back into the game, all the love-hate for 4e has me confused: Do I want to play 4e or should I start looking for used copies of 3.5e?

I suppose much of that confusion will be alleviated when I get a chance to really get into the core books.

 

[Center-of-All]

It hasn't affected me. I don't know a single gamer that plans to stick with 3E.

 

[haakon1]

I really have no idea what those percentages will look like, but it could be a concern.

From the many polls here, it's looks like it's about:
55% fanboys (like 4e)
45% old folks (don't like 4e)

Though am an old folk, I suspect the ratios will change over time, as people get more used to 4e.

Eventually, I predict it will become about 65/35 in a few months, or and finally resting at about 70/30. I think WOTC will have permanent lost (or at least until 5e, if my "only the odd numbered editions are good" theory holds true) about 1/3 of the audience.


Of the people I know IRL:
-- Went with two people to the Game Day at Neumos in Seattle. One was big into DDO, never play on paper. The other had been big into AD&D twenty years ago and big into an online RPG (not WOW). Both flipped through the PHB I bought and were not interested enough to stay and play a game, despite having been intererest enough to drive into Seattle from the 'burbs to check out the event.

-- The game I'm a player in. Currently on hiatus, since our DM moved to Pennsylvania, but he's moving back and wants to play 4e. The reaction of all 5 non-DM players including me is "OK", but I'm the designated doesn't like it guy. I'm only the one who plays/runs any other campaigns. Nobody but me and the DM have bought any books yet. One of the main attractions is the Game Table, but the fact that it's not working means we have to wait for the DM to move back "in a few months" anyhow.

-- The game I run in person. Currently on hiatus, as 2 of 4 non-DM players are overseas. I'm running it, so I'm sticking to 3.5e. Nobody else has any interest in exploring the new books, but they thought it was cool that I went to Neumos.

-- The game I run on email. We've discussed it. One player, who started a huge gaming group in Vermont with many spinoff DM's, is totally opposed to 4e. Another player, who was a 3.5e DM, has offered to the group to run a new campaign in 4e -- no takers. One player, who never DM's but played in the 4e-likers old campaign, said no way to 4e. 3 other players have expressed no views, out of disinterest, I think.

So, in real life, I know:
DM's:
-- 2 4e haters (me and another guy)
-- 2 4e lovers (one mild, one quite enamoured with it, both jonesing for the Game Table)

Players:
-- 1 4e hater
-- 0 4e lovers
-- 13 who aren't much interested

Seems roughly inline with the online views here.

 

[Beckett]

Of course, we're talking about a town where another guy got into a physical altercation about the correct pronunciation of "drow" at the FLGS, too (dude assaulted the store manager when he was asked to leave the store following the a loud, unfriendly, argument about said pronunciation)

Sounds like something out of Knights of the Dinner Table.

Besides making some forums less enjoyable, I'm unaffected. My group has wholeheartedly embraced 4E and I'm looking forward to running it.

 

[Foundry of Decay]

Offline: Very little effect on myself or my players (I DM most of the time). One player does visit online forums and other D&Desque sites, while another player isn't online savvy and generally just visits the Wizards site (I haven't told him about ENWorld since I'm finding it harder to come here myself lately). We're generally a pretty adaptable group who are definitely in the 'old guard' camp (two of us have nearly half a century of D&D under our belts from the old boxed sets and up). We're all too old to care about the popular opinion of internet wisdom like we once did.

So generally we had extra income this time around, wanted to get away from the Warcraft beast that became so ungodly boring in the end, and are playing the new edition without any complaints.

We also haven't encountered any schism from other people in game stores or anything.

Online: I rarely frequent most D&D forums now. The schism has a depressive effect on me that I can just do without. Even pro 3.x/4.0 threads that are moderated tend to have a few Eeyore's with bean-bag sniper rifles that just *have* to add in why people shouldn't be happy playing their favorite game for whatever idealistic reason.

Outside my blog I don't mention that I play 4e because I don't feel like arguing my hobbies with anyone. I do mention and post online 'game reports' that are devoid of rules however and so far nobody has mentioned any differences that they may have picked up from reading those reports.

I can't say much for how my players are reacting to it online though. I'd assume one doesn't keep up with the news now that we have our books, and the other is in the 'couldn't be bothered to argue' camp as well, but those are just assumptions on my part.

 

[kiznit]

From the many polls here, it's looks like it's about:
55% fanboys (like 4e)
45% old folks (don't like 4e)

Though am an old folk, I suspect the ratios will change over time, as people get more used to 4e.

Eventually, I predict it will become about 65/35 in a few months, or and finally resting at about 70/30. I think WOTC will have permanent lost (or at least until 5e, if my "only the odd numbered editions are good" theory holds true) about 1/3 of the audience.

Ooooh, interesting analysis and speculation! I'm inclined to agree with your numbers

One thing I'm finding really interesting from reading the responses to this thread is that there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of personal non-internet impact of the edition change.

So it's not really individuals deciding whether to upgrade or not, for the most part it seems to be collective gaming groups deciding on the whole whether to try the new edition or not. Which sort of makes sense, assuming that your average gaming group is made up of like-minded personalities (in this case grumpy, grudge-holding grognards or easily-impressed video-game-sanitized power-fantasy nerds)

 

[haakon1]

So it's not really individuals deciding whether to upgrade or not, for the most part it seems to be collective gaming groups deciding on the whole whether to try the new edition or not.

In my experience, it's mostly DM's deciding and players trusting their judgment/ability to make it fun.

You have to be beyond a certain threshold of D&D interest to care.