WotC and D&D

[Wombat]

3.5 really bothers me -- it is, in the Auld Scots, nae fysshe, nae fowle, nae gude redde herringe -- not really a new edition, not really not a new edition. No way am I going to pay for someone else's house rules (although I was willing to look through the SRD and cherry pick a few points, none of which included the creeping miniaturization or change in spell names or durations).

Overall I see 3.5 only as a reason to get more money out of the community. Yes, corporations are there to make money, but I see 3.5 as Hasbro-driven, rather than WotC-driven (much less fan-driven): "Look! Your rules are now out-of-date, as well as all your supplements! Now you have to buy a new set immediately and all of the Third Party Publishers will have to change to keep up with us!"

Okay, okay, that is an extreme exaggeration, but I am not happy with the direction they are taking.

Then again, I don't have a vested interest in any D&D baseline campaigns (FR, GH, or Ebbywhatever, the new one), so I am pretty much copacetic. And since no one has forced me to buy the new rules, I am safe.

I'll keep up with my non-battleboard version of the game, thankyouverymuch, and be happy.

 

[KenM]

I've found very few things to complain about in the 3.5e update.

Other then the fact that in order to stay current, you had to shell out average $29.99 US to get the new books, only 3 years after the last ruleset. Before it was about 10 years between edtions. If I hear that 4.0 is coming out in 2006, I'm sticking with GURPS or Hackmaster.

 

[Desdichado]

And so it begins...

Oh, c'mon! Those were options in the thread; and it thread would be silly, useless and very boring if there weren't actually some people who were unhappy with WotC and what they're doing! There's no reason to jump down the throat and start arguing with the first person who's unhappy with WotC, unless secretly you actually do want the thread to turn into hand wringing and teeth gnashing, despite your protestations to the contrary.

In general, I found Trickstergod's post to mirror my opinion very closely, with the exception of some of the specific books he's interested in vs. me. However, rather than neutral, I found that this position makes me overall relatively happy with WotC. My wife would be very happy; she thinks I'm a terminal complainer and pessimist with a bad attitude, and here I'm proving her wrong.

 

[BiggusGeekus]

The volume of material on WotC website has more than made up for any unease I have regarding their products. There is no reason that a group of newbies couldn't play a game for well over a year based on the core rules and the WotC website alone. Given that the SRD is free the only book they'd "have" to purchase is the PHB. That's a heck of a lot of game for $30.

So, yeah, they made some decisions I didn't like. But they made other decisions I love, so it more than balances out.

 

[Harlock]

I voted unhappy. I wish there were an option that said "only marginally unhappy but overall, still hoping and wishing for the best". I do not like the trend of "Complete" books, a rehashing of information from books I already own in the name of 3.5, but hey, I like the new miniatures line alot, I don't see D&D turning into a CCG, despite the new minis being collectible. I mean come on, D&D evolved from wargaming and wargaming has always been at it's heart. It's wargaming as much as you and your group let it be. You're "supposed to" play a role, and if a group chooses not to do that, well then that's their way of playing and more power to them.

Anywho, the Complete books scare me a tad but Draconomicon has me convinced WotC can still bust out a big winner now and again. I guess I'd just like to see more original and fresh ideas from WotC and maybe even some fluff now and then. I like fluff and I admit it. Donuts, however, you may keep.

 

[KenM]

When I said they are turning it into a CCG, I mean they are changing the mix/ rules every few years. Thats what I meant, forcing you to get the new "core set" every few years.

 

[Frost]

I voted generally unhappy with WotC, although I should say my true sentiments are neutral to slightly negative.

Me too, I should say. I don't think that WotC is the anti-christ. I think their web site is pretty cool and full of goodies. I like the OGL/d20 stuff. (Although you can put me in the "3.5 was unnecessary and a disappointment" camp.) The problem is that WotC themselves has not produced much that I want to buy. All I own is the PH, DMG (both 3.0), the MM (3.5), and the A&E Guide. Nothing else they have put out really interests me. My gaming dollars go towards Scarred Lands, Necromancer Games, and Green Ronin stuff.

 

[Celtavian]

re

I'm fairly unhappy with the way D&D is going. It is becoming an unwieldy system with far too much material for both players and DM to account for when creating campaigns. There are classes that complete overshadow other classes in terms of power and fun such as comparing the Cavalier with the Dervish in the Complete Warrior's Guide.

The more unwieldy the game becomes, the more I am inclined to try another system that I think handles alot of situations, especially combat, better than D&D like GURPS or Hero System. I really enjoyed D&D for its simplicity and fluidity, lately I'm ripping my hair out DMing with all the various power combinations my player's are able to come up with, and yet I am loathe to limit them because what is the use of spending your hardearned cash on so many books and not using them.

The game also lacks a flavor, which is beginning to seriously disappoint me. With all the additional Prc's and feats they are putting out, it becomes almost impossible to maintain a certain flavor without severely limiting the player's options which brings me full circle to why should my player's spend money on books they can't use?

To me that indicates D&D is becoming unwieldy and flavorless, which might push me to try other pastures with better combat systems even though they are equally or slightly more complex. Classless systems that don't make my head hurt with multitudes of Prc's made for players who enjoy superhero RPG's.

 

[shadow]

I voted very unhappy. I was really happy with WotC when 3e was first released about 3 years ago. However, I've become really angry at the direction that D&D is taking.
Ever since 3.$e was released last year, I've quit buying D&D and d20 products all together. It seems just as everyone was finally getting the 3e rules down, WotC comes out with a new edition. I'm hard pressed to shell out another $90 for a new edition of the core rules, especially since the revisions seem very cobbled together and not really thought out. Unlike many other people, I can't think of a single revised rule that I like: I hate the new weapon rules, hate the "nerfing" of the wizard spells, and even the much lauded revised ranger seems rather half-baked to me (they kept the virtual feats, but now players have a choice of two-weapon fighting virtual feats, OR archery virtual feats).
I also don't really care for the new miniature line. The cheap plastic, bad paintjobs, and randomness really are turn offs for me. I wouldn't mind them as much, but the recent emphasis on miniatures is really annoying. Sure it's possible to play without miniatures, but the core books go out of their way to make it look like miniatures (with official D&D miniatures of course) are the only way to play.

 

[WizarDru]

Quite happy, thanks.

Prior to WotC, I didn't play D&D any longer. With 3.0, I returned to my beloved game from GURPS. I haven't left yet.

With 3.5, I got rules corrections and clarifications. I got streamlining and I got, with a few minor nitpicks, a better engine with which to run my game. I've gotten generally good supplements and materials released at a reasonable rate, generally on topics that I enjoy or am interested in. While I haven't run out and purchased every release, most of them have satisfied me, particularly releases like Complete Warrior, which updated and cleaned up some existing material, as well as introducing new material.

WotC's web site is wonderful, with lots of free content that they don't have to bother to do, but do anyway. They offer tech support on their game, are accesable in ways TSR never was and the creation of the SRD is something that's hard to ignore. The sponsored the setting contest, giving everyone a chance to put their money where their mouths were, and they're throwing their weight behind Eberron, which looks very good to me. Instead of discouraging the industry, they've invigorated it. I love the D&D minis line, giving me low-cost figures of actual D&D creatures, pre-painted and durable. And they threw in a skirmish game to top it off.

While they've made a few stupid moves here or there in the past three years, I'm really happy with what Wotc's done with D&D, and I'm willing to let them take it wherever it goes.