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Message: <blockquote data-quote="AbdulAlhazred" data-source="post: 5695468" data-attributes="member: 82106">Yeah, I agree. I can confirm this with my experience as well. I actually had a couple of characters that were rolled up under 0e, played in 1e, played more in 2e, without any really significant modifications at all. Everything prior to 3e was really quite frankly one system for all intents and purposes. If you sat down at any table running any pre-3e version of the game (barring extensive house ruling) you pretty much knew the game. Worst case you'd have a few new options around the edges and a couple of numbers changed SLIGHTLY. Even going between Basic and late 2e wasn't a big deal, your elf was just called 'fighter/magic-user', big deal really.In other words the game was really pretty close to entirely stable for 25 years. I'd note this though. The original 'prototype' version of the game only survived for 3-4 years. I think the roll from 3e to 3.5 is similar. Whole new game in many respects, simply couldn't be pegged exactly on the first try.What WotC needs to do is NOT do radical things. Spend the next 5 years putting out a product that is 4e compatible, cleans up some of the issues around the edges, maybe offers some optional replacement rules modules, like a whole alternate set of feats for instance, a set of character classes/power sources built around more generalized lists of powers, etc. These can still be MOSTLY 4e compatible and as 'player option' or 'DM option' books you don't have to feel compelled to use them. The core rules can remain in force and existing adventures, monsters, etc will remain valid and usable. At the same time people can really get into sorting out what exactly they want and SLOWLY build a consensus around a next direction. Then in say 2014 they can rework the core rules to deal with issues that can't really be eliminated any other way and do some incompatible things, with say a 2015 release. This would represent a transition a BIT more abrupt than 1e -> 2e, but the game would still be recognizably the direct lineal descendant of 4e and not some entirely new experiment that itself will fail to work well enough to last more than 3-4 years. Yes, WotC is thus going to have to put up with bitching about 4e for a few more years, but they made that bed and they just have to sleep in it. I think over time, especially with well enough crafted options and some clean up around the edges that 4e will prove to be pretty well loved by a good chunk of the community, heck, it already is. Dusting those people and taking yet another violent turn in some other direction (and worst of all backwards) would simply be the end of the product line IMHO. I know I have no intention of buying new books any time in the next 5 years. Especially of another completely different game branded 'D&D' out of some misbegotten notion that the current one isn't a good game.</blockquote>

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