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<blockquote data-quote="Alzrius" data-source="post: 5774721" data-attributes="member: 8461">I'm sorry you don't see a reason to be sympathetic towards the OP, but I see many reasons.You say that D&amp;D has &quot;evolved and improved,&quot; since the earlier days, but that's a statement of opinion - the OSR stands as a testament to the idea that D&amp;D doesn't always improve when a new edition comes out (and, come to think of it, Pathfinder stands as a testament to that also).Most other games either don't change, or get unambiguously better over time. Monopoly (the board game) is the same as it ever was. Video games regularly offer better graphics, sound, and game-play. But table-top RPGs seem to change with regularity, without offering anything that's inarguably better.Leaving aside all of that, if you consider that people are emotionally invested in a brand (Ryan Dancey recently spoke about this), then you grow comfortable with it, and it can be upsetting when it changes for (to you) no good reason. If you use the &quot;the new edition is the New Coke of D&amp;D&quot; analogy, then it's easier to understand.I find a lot of the people saying &quot;if you don't like it, just don't support it; they won't burn your books&quot; to not understand this latter point - something that's odd, since WotC's current rhetoric seems to be keenly aware of it. If you want to support D&amp;D, then you want to support D&amp;D as it is currently, not as it used to be. But if it keeps reinventing itself, it's hard to keep making the transition with it (even moreso if you don't like what it becomes).Remember how Clark Peterson kept cheering Fourth Edition? He said it was because he wanted to support D&amp;D, but even he eventually couldn't keep doing so (though a lot of that for him was due to the rules and GSL). It's that sense of fatigue - that you just can't keep up with the changes anymore - that I have sympathy for.If the game does have to change, and the changes aren't necessarily a clear improvement, and you honestly want to stick with it, then it's at least easier when you've had a longer period of time to rest and recover from the last change.So yes, I feel for the OP.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Alzrius, post: 5774721, member: 8461"] I'm sorry you don't see a reason to be sympathetic towards the OP, but I see many reasons. You say that D&D has "evolved and improved," since the earlier days, but that's a statement of opinion - the OSR stands as a testament to the idea that D&D doesn't always improve when a new edition comes out (and, come to think of it, Pathfinder stands as a testament to that also). Most other games either don't change, or get unambiguously better over time. Monopoly (the board game) is the same as it ever was. Video games regularly offer better graphics, sound, and game-play. But table-top RPGs seem to change with regularity, without offering anything that's inarguably better. Leaving aside all of that, if you consider that people are emotionally invested in a brand (Ryan Dancey recently spoke about this), then you grow comfortable with it, and it can be upsetting when it changes for (to you) no good reason. If you use the "the new edition is the New Coke of D&D" analogy, then it's easier to understand. I find a lot of the people saying "if you don't like it, just don't support it; they won't burn your books" to not understand this latter point - something that's odd, since WotC's current rhetoric seems to be [i]keenly[/i] aware of it. If you want to support D&D, then you want to support D&D as it is [i]currently[/i], not as it used to be. But if it keeps reinventing itself, it's hard to keep making the transition with it (even moreso if you don't like what it becomes). Remember how Clark Peterson kept cheering Fourth Edition? He said it was because he wanted to support D&D, but even he eventually couldn't keep doing so (though a lot of that for him was due to the rules and GSL). It's that sense of fatigue - that you just can't keep up with the changes anymore - that I have sympathy for. If the game does have to change, and the changes aren't necessarily a clear improvement, and you honestly want to stick with it, then it's at least easier when you've had a longer period of time to rest and recover from the last change. So yes, I feel for the OP. [/QUOTE]

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