D&D 5E The Beauty of D&D, Attitudes Towards Change, and a Letter from 1992

[Jacob Lewis]

You can let someone else drive the bus and hope they take you where you want to go. But when you feel like you missed your stop, don't just sit there and be pulled away from your destination. Know when to say "that's far enough, let me off here." Only then can you begin making your own way, even if it's by your own two feet.

As for me, I'm doing fine without the new stuff.

 

[cbwjm]

Reading those old letters can be a lot of fun, I remember some where people were all up in arms about the upcoming 2nd edition.

 

[payn]

Reading those old letters can be a lot of fun, I remember some where people were all up in arms about the upcoming 2nd edition.

Some things never change.

 

[Benjamin Olson]

I think to some extent this letter is as much about growing past the need for licensed product as anything else. A system like D&D is all so vast, exciting, and new when it's new to you, and official product feels authoritative and important. But the people who immerse themselves in it all the most are the ones most likely to figure out, to varying degrees, how to make up what they really need for themselves, exactly to their tastes, and eventually the official product just seems like an inferior version to what they would produce themself.

Which is all fine, and not really a problem. Unfortunately if you also enjoy being part of a wider D&D subculture it's a bummer to watch that (or at least the center of that) pass you by.

 

[Stormonu]

Oh, going back and reading some of those letters of yore and the outrage within is a gas.

I made my mind up a couple years back that I wasn't going to move off of 5E unless they really wowed me with whatever comes next. I'm just happy where I am and don't feel like I need to be dragged along to "keep up with the cool kids". 5E is my favorite D&D, I've been through everything but OD&D and I think that's plenty. I'm planning to get off at the end of this leg of the trip.