The Return of "Basic" and "Advanced" D&D?

[francisca]

And in Dragon (#26, I think) Gygax stated something else entirely; that the basic and associated lines were meant to be a continuation of the tone of OD&D, while AD&D was meant to be an evolution of the rules. As well as stating quite clearly that AD&D was not meant to imply anything at all about skill level of the players.

That issue post-dates the preface I quoted above, and illustrates the evolution in thought about Basic D&D, IMO, rather than refuting the thoughts and intent of the Holmes Basic rules.

 

[Desdichado]

Oh, I don't disagree. Which is why my comments were specifically about the BD&D line as it evolved.

I don't know when that paradigm changed at TSR, but it seems to have been fairly early on.

 

[MrGrenadine]

All I have to say is that I don't see the OP as inflammatory in any way, I just see a question about preference of playing-style and no judgement about the superiority of one over another.

Agreed. The OP seems quite reasonable. Herschel, IMO your post is crossing a line of civility.

On topic: I think it's an interesting question, and I can kinda see how PF and Advanced share a more simulationist bent. Maybe the biggest similarity is that 4e is more of a gateway into the hobby, whereas folks who are already hip deep in it are more likely to seek out/ enjoy PF. Though this may have as much to do with 4e having the D&D brand behind it as it does with relative complexity--as others have said PF is far from rules-lite, but it makes some resolutions as simple as could be.

 

[Odhanan]

Whether or not WotC's gamble has been successful is an ongoing debate that often worms its way into edition wars. Personally, I believe it is successful thus far.

Well, I do agree that claiming 4e hasn't be successful at all, at this point in time, would be disingenuous or just misguided. I think the whole question that now motivates various debates and discussion regarding 4e's success is exactly "how successful" it is, and whether it fulfilled WotC's own original expectations, or not. This is still a valid question, IMO.