D&D 5E Rant About Patience

[mcbobbo]

We're talking about role playing games! Anything is enough to play the game!

Yeah, that's a solid point. Any concept that honestly that includes "make up what is missing" validates this as well. 'I think we have enough because' should be followed by something other than 'you can make up what is missing'.

Personally I am intimidated. What if everything I invent is wrong in the face of the official material? Seems like a colossal waste of time if that happens.

I can play the published modules, though, with what they gave us so far. So I am in the middle camp, if one is allowed.

 

[mcbobbo]

The 3.0e rollout was also slow. Hence the section at the back with some monsters and magic items, to hold people over.

And the AD&D 1e rollout was SUPER slow. You think this is bad, try one core rulebook every YEAR.

I recall 3e being one book each month, with the MM last. Could be wrong though, it's been 14 years.

That said, you seem to have trouble recalling how different D&D was in the pre-internet days.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

WotC gave you the 5e rules for free. Trapdoor Technologies and WotC are working as hard and fast as possible to give you what you want. They have promised you news on the ogl and the mags in the future. You have a promise. It's going to happen.

We've had many promises before from WotC. A large percentage were never fulfilled, or only partially fulfilled and years (literally) past due. So this is some serious "Words are wind, Jon Snow".

Seriously, haters gonna hate is the lesson today.

Of all the possible lessons from people being anxious about release schedules, you take "Haters gonna hater"? Man what? That isn't even a possible lesson here. "Haters" of WotC/5E don't given two shakes of a lamb's tail about release schedules, except rarely to use it to bash either (but this is easy to see through). Only fans get significantly anxious and het up about delays. Confusing fans and haters strikes me as a pretty serious error.

There is plenty to run the game. I'm not even using any of published adventures and there is still enough to run a game.

Absolutely true.

However, there isn't enough, yet, to make me, as someone who doesn't use published adventures, want to run 5E over other RPGs. I liked D&D in recent years for complete-ness and electronic tools, and 5E doesn't have either yet. I can wait, indeed I'm happy to (particularly running a lot of DW alongside 4E right now, which is amazing), but I'm unlikely to be spend anything until more is in place.

 

[ExploderWizard]

Personally I am intimidated. What if everything I invent is wrong in the face of the official material? Seems like a colossal waste of time if that happens.

I am befuddled by this attitude. If you make something up and you and your players enjoy the heck out of it, how can that be WRONG?

When did gamers become so dependent on others to officially rubber stamp their fun before they could properly enjoy it? If there is something missing that you want in your game then make it up. When the official version comes out you can decide if you like that better. You may surprise yourself and end up liking your own creations more. There may some new DMs who fear that their own ideas are inadequate but its not as if the fate of the world hinges on the merit of your creations. Give it try.

The hobby as a whole seems to have a rather acute self confidence problem. I wonder how much awesome stuff isn't being created by the many talented people who play these games because they are simply afraid to try. Something, somewhere has convinced them that some guy in an office is their only hope and source of material for a game of the imagination.

 

[mcbobbo]

I don't fear the imagination, I fear the retcon.

 

[Mistwell]

I recall 3e being one book each month, with the MM last. Could be wrong though, it's been 14 years.

That said, you seem to have trouble recalling how different D&D was in the pre-internet days.

There was nothing pre-internet about the roll-out of 3.0e. Given I was working at an internet service provider, and our DM was the CFO of the company, it seemed quite internet-related to me. We were certainly discussing it a lot here, anticipating every hint from the Dragon magazine articles on the topic.

 

[shadow]

I find it interesting that fans complain when books aren't coming out fast enough, but then when the production is rushed to meet expectations the same fans complain about the number of typos and errors in the book!

 

[mcbobbo]

There was nothing pre-internet about the roll-out of 3.0e. Given I was working at an internet service provider, and our DM was the CFO of the company, it seemed quite internet-related to me. We were certainly discussing it a lot here, anticipating every hint from the Dragon magazine articles on the topic.

Indeed. But I was referring to 1e. Sorry that was unclear. Things were different back then. I have no memory of anticipating new products, or preordering, etc.

 

[mcbobbo]

I find it interesting that fans complain when books aren't coming out fast enough, but then when the production is rushed to meet expectations the same fans complain about the number of typos and errors in the book!

It's probably possible to expand a project horizontally, especially for wide-industry tasks like proofreading.

 

[Crothian]

I find it interesting that fans complain when books aren't coming out fast enough, but then when the production is rushed to meet expectations the same fans complain about the number of typos and errors in the book!

I doubt it is the same people. But there is nothing wrong with wanting books that are mostly free from errors. If we lower our standards on what we as fans want we will go lower quality books. I imagine this falls into the same territory as when I had a house built. I had the options of having it done right, having it done fast, and having it done cheap. I could only pick two. I am more then willing to pay more for books that are well edited and done fast.