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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mercurius" data-source="post: 5468165" data-attributes="member: 59082"><a href="http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/300894-d-d-experience-all-roads-lead-rome-23.html" target="_blank">This thread</a> became dominated by a discussion on skill challenges--no problem, have at it, guys--but I wanted to reply to TerraDave, DannyAlcatraz, and comment on Mike Mearls' <a href="http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Article.aspx?x=dnd/4ll/20110208" target="_blank">excellent piece,</a> all in one fell swoop.LOL - OK, now which portion? But yeah, Mearls is saying pretty much what I was saying. Where's my shout out, Mikey boy?Hmm? Really? Here's the quote in question:I put the relevant sentence in bold-faced.I'm going to have to disagree with you, Danny, even vehemently (well, I'm not really feeling vehemence, but you get my point). I actually think the entire article is a great exposition or mission statement for "D&D unity" - that is, unity of the community, no matter which edition or sub-variation or house rules one plays. What he is saying is that D&D is the experience that you and your buddies make, no matter what rule set one uses.Now we can go back to my delineations of primary, secondary and tertiary, with primary being "official" versions of D&D, secondary being retro-clones and heartbreakers, and tertiary being other rules sets being used to emulate D&D themes - and yeah, that would be more precise. But that's not the point - both with my original post on "All Roads Lead to Rome" and with Mike Mearls' article. I cannot speak for Mearls, although I think he is getting at something quite similar, but the point, in my mind, is that the "core essence of D&D", as he put it, is not defined by the rules, but by the experience itself. We can talk about the rules, about different definitions and delineations of what D&D is, but all of that is secondary to the experience itself, the stories, the adventure, the fun.I think we, the diehard base, lose sight of that, and may actually turn the casual-on-the-cusp-of-serious gamers away from the table, and in so doing inhibit the health and growth of the hobby itself.The bottom line being: D&D is my game, and it is also yours. Make of it what you will. And enjoy.</blockquote>

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