Pathfinder 1E Pathfinder: Is it evidence that new editions don't need to be that different?

[Crothian]

I, of course, think of 3.5 as a houseruled variant of the Patfhinder RPG.

That's crafty of Wizards to take Pathfinder, house rule it, and then go back in time and release it before Piazo.

 

[Hunter In Darkness]

Wizards are shifty like that, can't never trust em. They cheat at cards too

 

[DaveMage]

My point is: With a "less aggressive" release schedule, there would be no material for a Dragon Compendium II. Or if there would be, it would be on in 16 years, and all the other material that was produced for 3E would have been stretched to that part.

Huh?

Dragon Compendium I included stuff from all editions converted to 3.5. Compendium II would have done the same - there is/was plenty of stuff already, but we never got to see it because of the edition change.

 

[Hunter In Darkness]

I also will never get my Age of worms and Savage tide hardbacks, Gods above I want a savage tide hardback, my mags are getting rough after so much use

 

[carmachu]

Actually, most new editions aren't that different. Champions/HERO has made fairly incremental changes over 6 editions. CoC new editions are more like reprints with errata AFAIK. GURPS changes aren't that big either, IIRC (but they're not insignificant). Etc.

*cough* someone forgot about Fusion edition of champions before 5th and 6th which was a radical departure...*cough*

 

[ProfessorCirno]

I think the "OMG SO MANY BOOKS" issue people have with 4e is less to do with the number of books they're releasing and more to do with the "Everything is core" idea. In times past WotC or TSR would release a book and you'd go "Eh, I don't really want the splat." With the "everything is core" there's a bigger push to get ALL the books, because god help you, you'll be seeing info regarding them on ever other book.

 

[Tallifer]

The big difference I notice is that in the old days, TSR put out one or maybe two rulebooks in a year, but it pumped out tons of modules. (for example I think the entire 16-module series of Dragonlance was published in about twelve months.) I think published adventures are far more useful. My friends and I can never run enough campaigns to take advantage of hundreds of classes and races and paragon paths; but a single party needs a dozen modules or more to experience all thirty levels.

Of course we can design our own adventures, but since that is undeniably hard work, it is that for which I would rather pay. Plus, even a seasoend dungeon master can find new ideas in a module, but a hundred new overpowered feats and magic items can cause headaches.
I am not sure why any customer would want a slower release of published adventures: I can only see how those would enhance an edition's staying power.

 

[AllisterH]

I think the "OMG SO MANY BOOKS" issue people have with 4e is less to do with the number of books they're releasing and more to do with the "Everything is core" idea. In times past WotC or TSR would release a book and you'd go "Eh, I don't really want the splat." With the "everything is core" there's a bigger push to get ALL the books, because god help you, you'll be seeing info regarding them on ever other book.

You know...I actually LIKE this.

I like the fact that if say I have a swordmage class, adventurer vault 2 will have items that benefit my character.

re: Modules

I'm not sure how modules could be profitable. Basically if a group is 5 players and 1 DM, a rules book is doing 6 times the number as a similarly produced adventure.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

*cough* someone forgot about Fusion edition of champions before 5th and 6th which was a radical departure...*cough*

I didn't forget Fusion...it was so awful that the subsequent edition treated it like an extended "dream sequence" and based its changes on the edition previous to Fusion.

Haven't seen 6th yet, though.

 

[ProfessorCirno]

You know...I actually LIKE this.

I like the fact that if say I have a swordmage class, adventurer vault 2 will have items that benefit my character.

re: Modules

I'm not sure how modules could be profitable. Basically if a group is 5 players and 1 DM, a rules book is doing 6 times the number as a similarly produced adventure.

I'm not saying it's a bad thing

Just that this is perhaps where the conception that 4e is pumping out books too fast is coming from.