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

[shadow]

I'm already a deserter.

I'm already a deserter! After 3.5e came out my group go really fed up with WotC. We now play Castles & Crusades. I really loved 3e, however I HATED 3.5e. I hated every single change that 3.5e made. I can't think of one positive thing that I liked about the revision! My group felt the same way. They resented what they felt was a "money grab" by WotC. They hated turning D&D into a collectable miniatures wargame. As a result we turned away from D&D for other systems.

 

[Jesus_marley]

It appears to me that DnD has fallen into what I call the "Palladium power trap". It seems that whenever a new supplement comes out, whether it's by WotC or one of the other OGL publishers, the power level increases.
I'm not speaking of those things designed for high level gaming, but rather the unbalancing effect of new classes and races that are a part of most new releases. Like the game known as Rifts, it appears the only solution that is considered after an obvious power creep occurs, is to release another supplement with more power creep to counter the previous error which further unbalances the game.
Granted, the power lies with the consumer in that if one does not like what is being sold, one does not have to buy. The problem is that there are many good ideas and rules options that don't get used because of reluctance to buy into the new supplements.

I think that, if done properly, a 4th edition would be quite viable so long as the developers actually learn from the errors of the previous edition and work to improve them.

 

[Turjan]

It appears to me that DnD has fallen into what I call the "Palladium power trap". It seems that whenever a new supplement comes out, whether it's by WotC or one of the other OGL publishers, the power level increases.

Although there are a few prestige classes in supplements that are somewhat too good, and although some of the changes turn a given balance upside down (like the spells in Complete Arcane), I dont' have the feeling that D&D supplements fuel the power creep. The comparison with Palladium is really not adequate.

 

[Sunderstone]

I will desert if it is a minis game with RP dressing. I have no desire to play a skirmish game.

Im in that boat too.

The other negative is the constant conversions needed. Though conversions are not all that difficult to do, they are time consuming.

The skirmish type game does scare me some, im not that heavily into minis and my group only uses em for big battles.

 

[Ranger REG]

I can't think of one positive thing that I liked about the revision!

Such revisions like doing away with the unarmed attack bonus and the confusion over whether it stack with BAB or not (which can be a drag if multiclassing, be it prestige class or character class), for example?

Or adding a ranged combat style for the Ranger?

TWF is now a combination of 3.0e TWF and Ambidexterity?

You hated all of them and wished it did not change?

 

[jeffh]

Think about what would happen to the SRD and Open Gaming License when 4E comes out? Everyone will be screwed, not just 3.5 players and DMs.

Why? Nothing CAN happen to the OGL, it is not a given that anything will happen to the SRD, and even if I'm wrong and something does (which, I say again, is IMPOSSIBLE in the OGL case) the only people who will be "screwed" are some of the third-party publishers.

 

[jeffh]

I woudn't know. My only drugs are food and D&D.

I think he was referring to you talking as though they were going to end the FR line when it was specifically stated that that was one of the two they were keeping. (In fact, the post you were replying to was complete non-news, as several others pointed out).

 

[Hussar]

Will I stop playing if 4e comes out? Nope. I'll probably still be slogging through the World's largest Dungeon anyway.

Heck, I barely made the jump to 3.5. I still do not own a 3.5 DMG or MM. I bought the PHB, made do with the SRD and this and that and now there's no reason for me to buy those books. At least, not right at this moment. If 4e came out, I'd probably do the same. Buy the minimum I need to make the change and then carry on. I've got 3 Creature Collections worth of critters plus the SRD to make adventures with. I've got xp calculators online to help me figure out rewards and I've got a veritable heap of free pdf's from umpteen publishers to keep me happy.

I've got no reason at all to change right now. Like some of the others here, I'm perfectly content with the rules as they stand right now.

Heh was bored and figured I'd cast a bit of Threadomancy and set the Wayback machine to 2005. This thread is a smidgeon over 3 years old, so, at the time, we had no idea of 4e's development. Rereading what I said here, it seems I was actually pretty precient. I bought what I needed and nothing more. And, yup, I'm perfectly content to stay with 3.5.

If you posted in this thread, where you seeing the future clearly or did your opinion change. I notice a few names and their opinions seemed, like mine, not to shift too much.

Funny how we got things both right and wrong at the same time.

 

[JustKim]

My posts in this thread bewilder me. But that has nothing at all to do with D&D.

 

[DaveMage]

It's going to be interesting to see what happens when 4E releases.

If it's a radical change that nullifies the value of my current collection, then it had better be as good as the change from 2.0 to 3.0 to make me follow. I'd be very impressed if that were to happen.

Reading some of Monte Cook's comments about design of 3E has been very enlightening - especially his discussions about D&D "icons" if you will, such as hit points, 3-18 ability score spread (vs. just +1, +2, etc.), magic missile always hitting, etc.

If those icons were to go away, and I no longer feel connected to the game that sparked my imagination all those years ago as a 10-year old kid, then I will most-likely not play a new edition.

Spot on for me.