The books aren't for you.
Let me say that again, because it bears repeating.
The books aren't for you.
You're an enworld.org reader. The very fact that you're on this message board implies that you take a view of D&D "beyond the game", so to speak. If it were only about playing the game, then it would be as simple as looking over the changes in 3.5, taking what you like, ignoring what you don't, and going on your merry way.
But that's not you, and that's okay. Because the books aren't for you.
They're for the NEXT guy. The guy who walks into his FLGS and wants to play this D&D game that he's heard so much about. "Here you go", the FLGS guy will say, "D&D, 3.5. Newest edition, most up-to-date rules. These older supplements (pointing to all previous D20 supplements on the rack) will work with a few tweaks, but this (taps the 3.5 book) will cover all the new stuff."
And the new gamer says "Wow", because he finally gets to be a part of the game that we (that being you and I) enjoy.
Now, for those of us who've been playing for a while. The books aren't geared to us. People have been clamoring that "we don't like the changes!" or "we don't want to pay $BIGNUM for a book with only a few changes!"
The SRD is for you, then. It's FREE. It details all the changes. Keep what you want, edit it, print it out as "errata" for your house campaign.
I've heard a lot of people swear that they'll never touch a 3.5-branded product. A few years ago, I was hearing just as many people swear that this "3rd Edition" business would be the death of D&D. And look how right they were. Oh, wait - they weren't. Silly me.
So, in closing, if you're one of those that feels the need to stand on your demagogic soapbox and proclaim your eternal distaste for the evolution of the game - I wonder how the blatantly obvious passed you by. If you're so set in your gaming style that you don't want to change it - DON'T CHANGE IT. You don't need to. If you're worried about the "stigma" of not playing to the absolute letter of the most current WotC-published rules, you've got your head on backwards, and you're obviously letting things outside of your game influence your enjoyment of it.
If you're not going to buy the new books, don't buy them and keep doing what you're doing. You'll be the happier for it. If you're planning to buy them, best of luck - enjoy the new product. I know I will.
~M.
Let me say that again, because it bears repeating.
The books aren't for you.
You're an enworld.org reader. The very fact that you're on this message board implies that you take a view of D&D "beyond the game", so to speak. If it were only about playing the game, then it would be as simple as looking over the changes in 3.5, taking what you like, ignoring what you don't, and going on your merry way.
But that's not you, and that's okay. Because the books aren't for you.
They're for the NEXT guy. The guy who walks into his FLGS and wants to play this D&D game that he's heard so much about. "Here you go", the FLGS guy will say, "D&D, 3.5. Newest edition, most up-to-date rules. These older supplements (pointing to all previous D20 supplements on the rack) will work with a few tweaks, but this (taps the 3.5 book) will cover all the new stuff."
And the new gamer says "Wow", because he finally gets to be a part of the game that we (that being you and I) enjoy.
Now, for those of us who've been playing for a while. The books aren't geared to us. People have been clamoring that "we don't like the changes!" or "we don't want to pay $BIGNUM for a book with only a few changes!"
The SRD is for you, then. It's FREE. It details all the changes. Keep what you want, edit it, print it out as "errata" for your house campaign.
I've heard a lot of people swear that they'll never touch a 3.5-branded product. A few years ago, I was hearing just as many people swear that this "3rd Edition" business would be the death of D&D. And look how right they were. Oh, wait - they weren't. Silly me.
So, in closing, if you're one of those that feels the need to stand on your demagogic soapbox and proclaim your eternal distaste for the evolution of the game - I wonder how the blatantly obvious passed you by. If you're so set in your gaming style that you don't want to change it - DON'T CHANGE IT. You don't need to. If you're worried about the "stigma" of not playing to the absolute letter of the most current WotC-published rules, you've got your head on backwards, and you're obviously letting things outside of your game influence your enjoyment of it.
If you're not going to buy the new books, don't buy them and keep doing what you're doing. You'll be the happier for it. If you're planning to buy them, best of luck - enjoy the new product. I know I will.
~M.
