Why don't I get warm-tingly feelings when I buy a 3E product like in 1E/2E/Basic D&D?

[dead]

When I used to buy Basic D&D, 1E AD&D, or 2E AD&D products (early era) my heart would be flushed with these warm tingly feelings and I'd kick my legs in delight as I ripped off the shrink wrap.

Why is it that I don't get that feeling in 3E?

(Actually, to be honest, I started to lose this feeling at the tail-end of 2E -- after the "revised" books where released [those ugly ones with the black covers].)

I enjoy the 3E system and 3E is still clearly "D&D" so the problem doesn't lie in a dissatifaction with the current edition.

Is it just that I'm getting older?

If I were a wee whipper-snapper, would I be getting those tingly feelings (and legs kicking in delight) as I buy the latest 3E product?

Is it just childhood glee that's now lost?

Or is it more than that? Is it that all 3E books are rulebooks? Is that the 3E books just don't "look" as good? Is it that 3E is more "mainstream" now?

I don't know, but I feel like I'm missing something and would like it to return . . .

 

[Doug McCrae]

Try something new if you want that feeling of excitement back.

 

[Napftor]

Well, it could be because you're "dead." (sorry, I couldn't resist)

You don't get that fuzzy feeling probably because there is so much stuff available for the game. Before this era of D&D, you had to wait for one company to pump something out. And if you were just waiting for a specific product line, then the wait was even more rewarding when it came out.

 

[FireLance]

Why is it that I don't get that feeling in 3E?

Because you're dead?

Seriously though, you may have simply grown in maturity as a person and as a gamer, and are thus able to face the prospect of new books, new materials and new rules with greater balance, assurance and equanimity.

I certainly haven't. I still look forward to every new WotC supplement that comes out with the same level of glee that I did back in my 2e days.

For reference, I'm holding down a stable job, I'm married with two kids and I turn 34 in less than two weeks.

 

[Turjan]

Well, I think it's a mix of reasons.

Yes, we are getting older. It's not that 3E is your first role-playing game. You have heard so much about elves, dwarves and orcs that you are hard to surprise anymore. Even worse, there are many beloved details you don't want to be surprised about, because they bear lots of fond memories.

It's much harder for a writer to hit that exact point he needs to still excite you with all those preconditions to be met .

 

[BiggusGeekus]

He's not dead he's "vitally challenged"!


That and 3.x cares more about your game than 1e ever did.

1e had no problem in tossing you head first into the fantastic. 2e did and 3e really, really does. The old-school gamers make fun of 3e's persnickety almost nanny-ish attention to balance. But 3e was designed around a gaming group while 1e and 2e were more about throwing the game at you in full color extravaganza.

Ever play Egg of the Phoenix? My group did. It's a huge roller coaster of a module that ended in a demi plane that would blow up if you cast too many spells. There was a percentage chance. Guess what the group rolled the first time? 02. Boom. No more game.

You don't see that in 3e because in 3e we think a 7% chance to end the game is stupid. I think we're right, but there is a certain loss of tension and drama. And don't give me the whole "fudge the roll" routine, because if you have to fudge a save-or-die roll then you have to wonder why the roll was meant to be in there in the first place.

3e is a better game. But it does have to work a little harder at being as grand.

 

[Dark Jezter]

Why don't I get warm-tingly feelings when I buy a 3E product like in 1E/2E/Basic D&D?

Because you're older and more jaded. See also "Why don't the Star Wars Prequels reach me on the same level as the original trilogy did when I was eight years old?"

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Because you're older and more jaded. See also "Why don't the Star Wars Prequels reach me on the same level as the original trilogy did when I was eight years old?"

And we have a winner!

...if only we had a prize to give you!

 

[Gundark]

Is it just that I'm getting older?

If I were a wee whipper-snapper, would I be getting those tingly feelings (and legs kicking in delight) as I buy the latest 3E product?

Is it just childhood glee that's now lost?

yep

 

[IronWolf]

I think it is the age thing. At least it is for me. I still love to play and read the fluff. When I was a kid though it was a whole new world, new rules, etc. Still nothing like when I opened my first Basic set though!