Why so many in a hurry to leave 3E?

[Steel_Wind]

I'm not interested in leaving 3E any time soon at all.

Which is not to say that I'm beating on 4E - it's just too soon for me given the VERY large volume of 3E material that I have and the fact that I have not used a quarter of the WotC 3E hardcovers I own.

Too soon for me. I'll get to 4E in three or four years. There is simply no rush.

Of course, there is a possibility they'll be on to 5E by that time...

 

[(Psi)SeveredHead]

So many people talk like that as soon as the 4E books come out they have to quit playing 3E.

Why is that?

We've gamed long enough to see 3E's flaws. Also, this is a GM-heavy board, and 3e is hard on GMs. If 4e is easier on GMs, they'll want to switch.

Why not play 3E for several months, giving yourself time to learn and understand the new 4E rules? To make sure you understand AoO? To make sure you actually like 4E?

That's not how I learned to play 3e (started with 2e). I learned to play 3e by, well, playing 3e. And if I don't like 4e, I can always switch back.

If 3E is as good as so many have said it is, why are you even moving on to 4E?

It's better than 2e. Then again, that's not that difficult to do.

So why do so many people seem so eager to throw 3E by the wayside and jump right into 4e?

3E has flaws. Over time, those flaws become obvious. Eberron is a great example for reasons to switch. Newer isn't necessarily better, but it does have the advantage of learning from past mistakes. Eberron learned from mistakes made by previous settings. (You could, of course, argue it made new mistakes too ) Hopefully 4e will learn from mistakes made by previous editions, like 3e.

In any event I'm so tired of 3e's magic item load I haven't GMed it in years, and would like to GM fantasy again. If 4e fixes that issue, I might jump back. I'm also impressed by a lot of the work I've seen in d20 Modern and Star Wars SAGA. So that's why I'm excited about 4e.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

If 3E is as good as so many have said it is, why are you even moving on to 4E?

Don't you play C&C?

 

[Oryan77]

I probably won't switch anytime soon. The only thing that interests me with 4e is the possibility that it will have easier rules which might mean there won't be so much focus on rules at the table and the players might be more involved with roleplaying.

It seems like I've spent so much time working out all the crunch for my campaign and I'm finally at a point where I can work on more fluff...I'm not quite ready to start over again

3.5 seems to have an overwhelming amount of material to give me any type of crunch I want...so none of that appeals to me with 4e. It will also take years for 4e to have all the monster conversions available; that's another reason why I won't be in any hurry.

 

[Zaruthustran]

So why do so many people seem so eager to throw 3E by the wayside and jump right into 4e?

Because it's a new edition of D&D, man! That's exciting!

It's a whole new system to learn, poke, and prod. I can't wait to look under the hood and give it a whirl.

 

[GlassJaw]

I'll switch as soon as I can. From what I've heard and read, everything I don't like about 3ed is being addressed in 4ed. Plus I'm kind of burned out on 3ed and I'm ready for something new.

 

[Treebore]

Don't you play C&C?

Yep. Got told how great 3E is, many, many times, when I talked about C&C. So its part of why I am curious since all of a sudden people are talking about how broken 3E is, how much of a burden 3E is on the DM, etc..., when I have had so many telling me in the past how great 3E is, yet many are eager to jump ship, leave the perfection of 3E for 4E.

I would think that by now they would have 3E "perfect" with all the years they have had to house rule out the problems. So why move on to 4E thats going to have its own "broken" issues? The only thing I hear that might make DMing less of a burden in 4E is if you subscribe to their online DI. Smaller monster stat blocks aren't going to do it alone.

Don't get me wrong, I am going to check out 4E, even buy the PH, just in case they did mix a magical brew out of the morass it sounds like right now.

Plus I look at my switching to C&C as my way of houseruling 3E into a rules set I can truly love.


Still, I find it curious why so many people I know "love 3E" are talking like they are willing to chuck 3E in the trash as soon as they can. Its like there has been a 360 degree shift in how great 3E is.

Is anyone who is playing 3E right now not loving it? Do they have fun and look forward to the next game session?

If they are having such a good time (which it has always sounded like to me) then why throw it away (along with the money you spent on it) to spend money on a new system that will have its own set of problems, and likely not be much, if any, of an overall improvement over 3e?

At least, in my case, my switch to C&C has kept my books almost as used and useful as they would be if I was still playing 3E. 4E will likely be just as useful to me as 3E books, so I can see why I will likely be fine with 4E. Its just that if I was still dedicated to 3E, and looking at 4E from that perspective. I would still be curious/mystified as to why people are so eager to switch to 4E.

All the rules problems I have been aware of are fixed. Polymorph is figured out (right?). All the insta kills are nerfed to be "nice-nice", so why leave the fully corrected 3E for a new rules set that will have its own new set of issues to work out?

Thats what I don't understand.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

Because it's a new edition of D&D, man! That's exciting!

It's a whole new system to learn, poke, and prod. I can't wait to look under the hood and give it a whirl.

That's how I'm starting to feel. I admit to getting carried away by the momentum.

Plus, chicks dig it.

 

[coyote6]

It's the Gaming Police, man. Everybody knows that by Memorial Day at the latest, elite GP ninja strike teams will be descending upon recalcitrant holdouts.

Don't think 1e or 2e or Basic or RC will save you this time, either! They're coming for us all!

(For me, I'm thinking my 3e games will be over around then, and right now, I'm kind of uninterested in a new D&D campaign. OTOH, between Freeport, Pathfinder, and maybe an interesting new edition, who knows how I'll feel? OTOH, maybe I'll just see about starting Scion, True20, Witch Hunter, GURPS, or something else. <shrug> Who knows?)

 

[Thunderfoot]

Why am I excited to leave 3e for 4e?

Because, when 3e was released, I was twelve years old. 4e will be remembered as my generation's D&D.

Whipper snapper!!! *shakes cane*