D&D 4E Who else is going to be a deserter when 4e comes out?

[Ranger REG]

My general experience with folks who claim that 3e is like a video-game are folks who usually haven't played video games very recently or don't much like them to begin with. Frankly, having D&D compared to the likes of Half-Life 2, Halo 2, Pirates, God of War, Final Fantasy or other games isn't an insult in my book. Especially since many video games (even ones like Burnout 3) owe a direct or indirect legacy to D&D, anyways. Calling D&D like a video game is like saying the comic adaption of the Spiderman 2 movie was like a comic book.

Just to clarify my position when I stated "videogame mentality." I'm concerned they will release new versions of D&D more frequently like new versions of any one videogame (hopefully not one of the Madden Sports series). It's one thing to accept paying $30 for just one of three volumes core ruleset. It's quite another spending for a new copy three years after (i.e., 3.5e) instead of five years after.

 

[Altalazar]

I'm pretty happy with 3.5 and d20 in general. 3rd edition brought me back to D&D. The current edition and system is pretty easy to customize, so I really don't see myself buying into a new edition when it comes out. All I can really see a 4th edition doing for me is making the current sourcebooks cheaper so I can actually pick them up.

I'm happy with 3.5 as well. In retrospect, I'm glad it came out when it did - because now the vast majority of my books, hardcover books, are all up to date, 3.5, whereas if 3.5 just came out today, then I'd have about a hundred pound of books that were out of date. So earlier actually turned out better than later, as far as 3.5 went.

I really would hate to see the books all put out of date by a 4E right now, but then, I don't think that is even on the remote horizon. There really is no need for there to ever be a 4E. 3E - that was needed for many reasons I don't need to explain here. It brought me back into gaming (though part of that was just because I had time to game again). There is no need for a 4E - I think they got it right with 3E. Moreover, who would make 4E? The staff has been cut massively at Wizards - original 3E was created over a very long time, with a ton of testing and a ton of talented designers, most of whom are no longer with Wizards. I'd put good money on a bet that there will be no 4E - perhaps never, certainly not within the next five to ten years.

 

[MerricB]

Moreover, who would make 4E? The staff has been cut massively at Wizards - original 3E was created over a very long time, with a ton of testing and a ton of talented designers, most of whom are no longer with Wizards. I'd put good money on a bet that there will be no 4E - perhaps never, certainly not within the next five to ten years.

There are more staff at Wizards than you might think. Both Stephen Schubert and Mike Mearls have been hired in the last year, and they've also got a bunch of freelancers helping out.

Cheers!

 

[Psychic Warrior]

Originally Posted by Ranger REG
2010, I will retire my RPG hobby without hesitation and sell/give away all my games. The videogame (or TCG) mentality have taken over the RPG industry. Sooner or later, we may see new editions of D&D coming every year, reaching two digits before 2020 ("D&D 14.0e").

Couldn't you just keep playing 3rd edition?

Well of course not. What a ridiculous suggestion. Don't you know that all 3E books are chemically primed to self destruct when 4E is published? I thought everyone got that letter in the mail.

RREG is the 3E equivialnt to diaglo.

 

[Zweihänder]

No. I'll probably just continue playing 3.5, and peruse the 4e books during an extended stay at a book store. If I'm suitably impressed, I'll buy it, no problem. However, under no circumstances would I desert D&D altogether; that's just silly.

 

[Zweihänder]

!
Despite WotC being the 4^10 lb gorilla in the market, the RPG industy is more than them. & the RPG hobby is much more. Your books don't break when a new edition comes out. You can still play 3e after 4e comes out just as I am still playing classic Traveller & Kaboom! today.

Exactly. My friends and I continue to blithely play old World of Darkness, despite White Wolf's statement that the world was destroyed and blah blah blah...

They were better than White Wolf's new crap. That's the only update I've seen so far that has been significantly for the worse.

 

[delericho]

While I don't share Ranger REG's intention of quitting when 4e came out, I do understand it.

I will play RPGs for as long as I continue to enjoy them, and as long as I can find a group of others to play with, and with whom I can spend time comfortably. (I don't necessarily require that the people I play with be my friends outwith the game, but I do need to be able to spend time with them without wanting to punch them in the head.) As soon as RPGs fail one of those two criteria, I will quit, and not look back.

I personally thought that 3.5e was an improvement over 3.0e. Additionally, with the amount of use I get out of the core rules, I didn't really object to having to invest in a new set. So, I wasn't offended or disillusioned by that release. However, if WotC were to do something that really did offend me (such as a 'rulebook' explicitly attacking my religion - something they wouldn't actually do, but I needed an example), then that would probably sour me on the game. At which point, yes, I would walk away. (Of course, I'd probably just move to another system, but I can well understand others not doing that.)

 

[Ranger REG]

RREG is the 3E equivialnt to diaglo.

Not really. IIRC, despite his preference for OD&D that he don't mind reminding us almost everyday here (whether we like it or not), diaglo still plays the most recent edition.

If I retire, if I make that decision to retire my hobby, I will retire completely.

 

[Darrin Drader]

Not really. IIRC, despite his preference for OD&D that he don't mind reminding us almost everyday here (whether we like it or not), diaglo still plays the most recent edition.

If I retire, if I make that decision to retire my hobby, I will retire completely.

Been there, done that. I retired completely back in the mid-90's. By about '98, the itch was back and stronger than ever. That was when I started a two-year campaign, which was probably be best one of my (so far) 16 year DMing career.

 

[BryonD]

3E brought me back to D&D.
3.5 improved it.


Whenever 4E comes out, if I switch over it will be with a smile on my face because 4E will have to be awesome to get me to switch.

If 4E comes out and it isn't good enough to pull me over, I'll still have a smile on my face because there is already plenty out there to keep me in campaign arcs until I'm dead.