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Mearls On D&D's Design Premises/Goals
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<blockquote data-quote="clearstream" data-source="post: 7759214" data-attributes="member: 71699"><p>It is not justified to count supplements for several reasons. The obvious reason is that we cannot say today how many 5th edition will go on to have, whereas there likely will not be any further WotC 3rd edition supplements. Then of course, supplements are not essential to play: they're optional. For a group that doesn't include them they add zero rules weight. Less obvious perhaps is the simple implausibility of the position. Hundreds of pages of <em>core rules</em> seems heavy weight to me. A lighter weight system might be something like Savage Worlds... which, of course, has a great many supplements.</p><p></p><p>That as may be, there are two kinds of argument being made here. The first is that both 3rd and 5th edition are heavy weight rule systems. The second is that they are of roughly even weight as such. Page count and rules density on a page is an indicator, but cannot be conclusive about weightiness in this sense. For instance, one could envision light weight rules, expressed verbosely. The two arguments can be sustained separately or together. In making this judgement, one has to think about where 5th edition D&D sits among contemporary RPGs. Then there is the question of, who for? RPGs that posters here might agree are light weight, could seem heavy weight to someone unfamiliar with the kind of manuals these boards address. </p><p></p><p>I think the question of weightiness is rightly a relative one - is 5th edition D&D relatively heavier than Savage Worlds? - and is rightly measured from the perspective of the community of hobbyists who are familiar with them. Having DM'd 3rd edition and 5th edition, running weekly sessions for years, I find that the systems of equal weight. That's the bottom line, for me. I've played both for hundreds of hours, and in play, 5th edition is as heavy as 3rd edition. I've played Savage Worlds, and it seems lighter than both to me.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="clearstream, post: 7759214, member: 71699"] It is not justified to count supplements for several reasons. The obvious reason is that we cannot say today how many 5th edition will go on to have, whereas there likely will not be any further WotC 3rd edition supplements. Then of course, supplements are not essential to play: they're optional. For a group that doesn't include them they add zero rules weight. Less obvious perhaps is the simple implausibility of the position. Hundreds of pages of [I]core rules[/I] seems heavy weight to me. A lighter weight system might be something like Savage Worlds... which, of course, has a great many supplements. That as may be, there are two kinds of argument being made here. The first is that both 3rd and 5th edition are heavy weight rule systems. The second is that they are of roughly even weight as such. Page count and rules density on a page is an indicator, but cannot be conclusive about weightiness in this sense. For instance, one could envision light weight rules, expressed verbosely. The two arguments can be sustained separately or together. In making this judgement, one has to think about where 5th edition D&D sits among contemporary RPGs. Then there is the question of, who for? RPGs that posters here might agree are light weight, could seem heavy weight to someone unfamiliar with the kind of manuals these boards address. I think the question of weightiness is rightly a relative one - is 5th edition D&D relatively heavier than Savage Worlds? - and is rightly measured from the perspective of the community of hobbyists who are familiar with them. Having DM'd 3rd edition and 5th edition, running weekly sessions for years, I find that the systems of equal weight. That's the bottom line, for me. I've played both for hundreds of hours, and in play, 5th edition is as heavy as 3rd edition. I've played Savage Worlds, and it seems lighter than both to me. [/QUOTE]
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