Is 4E still D&D to you?

[Fifth Element]

I know it's inflammatory to a lot of people, but I consider OD&D to be more of a prototype or incomplete edition than a fully realized, fully fleshed out edition. Personally, I consider D&D to have come of age as of 1e.

This illustrates the impossibility of ever answering the OP's question in any meaningful way. According to some, the original D&D game is "not D&D", apparently. What hope does that give to other editions?

 

[Fifth Element]

That is losing 43% of the audience. That is really telling.

Obligatory comment about "you're using a poll of a self-selected sample answered by a tiny minority of the people who play D&D to draw conclusions? Shame."

 

[apoptosis]

You are assuming that those 43% where part of Wizards audience to begin with. Hard to tell if that's true or not.

4e is D&D to me, just in a different way. D&D in my mind was never so much about the rules.

There is also the assumption (maybe not a bad assumption, but doubtfully 100% true) that people who didn't think 4E was D&D were not going to play the game.

 

[Spinachcat]

And unfortunately between a new baby and my company, I don't have time to learn a new heavy ruleset.

Do you crap in a toilet?

If so, buy the 4e PHB and put it in your bathroom. Each time you sit down to take a stinking reeking dump, open the book and read just one page. After a few hundred crap loads, you will have mastered 4e.

The "I have no time to learn stuff" is a non-excuse, not just for gaming, but anything else in our lives.

 

[Kralin Thornberry]

Old school, new school, it's still D&D to me.

(Sorry, Billy Joel...)

You beat me to it!

Yes, it is D&D to me. Of course, to me, D&D is sitting around with a group of friends, pretending we're someone we're not, doing things we can't, rolling funny little dice, having fun.

Can this be done with any rpg? Sure.

D&D (to me) is not about what set of rules I actually use (although I do prefer the streamlined 4E to rules heavy 3.x), but sitting around, playing and having fun.

 

[Styracosaurus]

4e is as much D&D as 3e or 2e or AD&D or OD&D.

d20 rolling to hit, d20 rolling to save, d8 rolling some damage....

Everyone meets a game system that is their favorite for a while.
We've got 3e forever due to SRD, so I'm set.

I'll play 4e while it is supported.

 

[redcard]

I don't think Hasbro/WOTC entirely cares if you think it's D&D or not. Clearly the hobby has been suffering as of late. The question truly is, can we get new people coming into the hobby who think this is D&D? Or.. are we going to lose the war to the electronic media?

Because gaming on the whole is going up. But non-electronic gaming is going DOWN.

As for me, it's D&D, because the controlling company says it is. Is it an optimal fantasy roleplay? Who knows. Everyone's got different opinions on that one. By and large, though, we'd all better hope it's successful. Because if it's not, and if Wizards goes under, we have some pretty significant problems on our hands.

My FLGS now is being kept alive not by RPGs, but by Games Workshop. If RPGs stop doing well, if this game fails, he's just going to dump RPGs entirely and go to board games, comic books, and minis.

And he's on an "industry" bb and, from what he's told me, he's not the only one about to do this.

 

[Khairn]

Is it D&D to me? Sure it is. It's got the name doesn't it?

Now if you were to ask me if 4E is "D&D" for me ... I would say no. Its lost too many of the iconic gaming elements that I associate with playing D&D.

 

[Razuur]

Obligatory comment about "you're using a poll of a self-selected sample answered by a tiny minority of the people who play D&D to draw conclusions? Shame."

Dude, I am entitled to my opinions. I am real glad some folks love it.

But I was numbers on this poll. And that is a LOT. I have been around here since it was Eric Noah's page, and back then when 3e came out, there was never this much of a divide between the fans of 2e and 3e. Oh sure there were some naysayers, but in general 3e was excepted and flourished like mad (diaglo excepted).

Tell me how you would have felt if the fourth edition had removed Miniaters and battlemats entirely and when entirely imagination based? The boards would be on fire and screaming.

Just be glad that you are in the "winning" side. WOTC did what they felt they had to do. I recognize that. But come on, they knew this was going to sever a subsect of the community. I would be willing to bet that 1/3 of DnDers don't cross over. Will that kill the industry? No. New kids and MMOer will come to the game. But as one of those DnDers, I am real sad to see DnD leave me behind.

Have some compassion for the other side.

DnD and D20 used to be a system for everybody. Now it isn't. That is the shame.

Razuur

 

[redcard]

DnD and D20 used to be a system for everybody. Now it isn't. That is the shame.

Razuur

I'll disagree with this quote.

D20 is strong for a lot of game styles, but it is painfully weak for others. Just ask the WW fans about that. Heck, my go to system for most other genres is Savage Worlds, simply because I don't think D20 does pulp as well.

There are different systems for different things depending on the players and what they want to accomplish.