Should WoTC Bring back Classic D&D?

[Valdur]

To avoid hijacking the When the system gets in the way thread I've started this new thread.

I jumped on the 3e bandwagon at the very beginning. I initially embraced the new system but after playing for a few years became disillusioned with them for all the reasons (complaints) mentioned in When the system gets in the way thread. So many good comments to quote and it leaves me little to add except that while 3.x is a good product, it's not for everyone including my group.

It would be nice if WoTC revitalized the Classic D&D branch of the game. Leave d20 Basic/3.x alone and add a cleaned up version of the Moldvay/Mentzer rulebooks to the product line. The D&D market has already been split--as evidenced by numerous threads such as the above (I don't know how to hyperlink it) and the success of rules lite retro RPGs--so why not capitalize on it?

Perhaps issue it as a commemorative collector's set to test the market? The product would be marketed at players not interested in searching ebay or used book stores and desiring a newly minted copy of the rules. They can always do a little bit of clean up or add more classic artwork to the books if they're concerned about the used market hurting sales.
For very little investment WoTC could cash in on nostalgia sales and move into the rules lite market segment.

It might even serve as a testbed to see which direction future editions of 3.x should go.

 

[Corinth]

It shouldn't be done because the retro/rules-lite crowd isn't nearly big enough for WotC to make a profit off of it, and because the split isn't as big as you think it is.

 

[Glyfair]

It shouldn't be done because the retro/rules-lite crowd isn't nearly big enough for WotC to make a profit off of it, and because the split isn't as big as you think it is.

I somewhat agree. It's not as if the books aren't readily available. Look on eBay and you can get a complete set of the core rules for any D&D edition but one for less than it would cost getting a new printing. A handful of hard-to-find supplements are expensive, and those are usually available for sale as a download from Paizo, RPGNow or even WotC (for the free ones).

The only edition exception is OD&D, which had PDFs available but they seem to have disappeared (except for Blackmoor which you can get for free). Even so, I think it's a very small market that would be willing to play OD&D.

 

[prosfilaes]

I don't there's enough people who like the old-school, who are going to buy an old-schoolish version of D&D. For one thing, there's enough of a range between Basic D&D (1978) and later D&D and AD&D 1 and AD&D 2 that I don't see any new game managing to capture more than a small part of the remaining fans of that large group.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

When C&C threatens to sell as much as 25 percent as D&D sells, then WotC should jump into it. Until then, no, not worth their time.

 

[Philotomy Jurament]

The only thing I wish Wizards would do is to release the original D&D rules (the three books) as PDFs, like they've done with the Rules Cyclopedia, the Holmes blue book, et cetera.

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

Good grief no. We've made progress since then, and all you'd accomplish is splitting the market, which is what happened when AD&D and D&D were on the market together. Imagine WOTC trying to support two D&D lines now -- you'd lower sales (and therefore quality) for both.

The rulebooks and other books are still readily available enough via ebay and as pdfs for those who want to play with the older rules set.

 

[Glyfair]

Good grief no. We've made progress since then, and all you'd accomplish is splitting the market, which is what happened when AD&D and D&D were on the market together. Imagine WOTC trying to support two D&D lines now -- you'd lower sales (and therefore quality) for both.

I would, however, support something along the lines of the Holmes BD&D theory (no matter how it actually worked in practice). Create a basic D&D set that is a D&D lite set of rules that will allow some low level experimentation before "graduating to BD&D." The current plan is just too limiting.

 

[Whimsical]

The D&D Basic Game is as simple to learn and play as the classic basic D&D games. It makes a great gift for the young teenagers in your life.

 

[Agamon]

The rulebooks and other books are still readily available enough via ebay and as pdfs for those who want to play with the older rules set.

Then again, why put out a d20 Modern version of Dark*Matter? The original Dark*Matter book plus the Menace Manual is all you need to run a D20 D*M game (I plan on running one some dayand have no plans on picking the new one up).

Not to say two wrongs make a right, but it creates some precedence. I admit, though, a rules set and a setting are two different balls of wax. But I'd probably buy an updated Rules Cyclopedia.