What do old school tabletop gamers, people who have recently discovered pen and paper roleplaying games, and those who are sick of paying a monthly fee for their MMO and/or want to actually see their fellow players sitting across from them have in common? Wizards of the Coast want you to help them develop the fifth edition of Dungeons and Dragons.
Straight from the dragon's mouth:
Liz Schuh, head of publishing and licensing for Dungeons & Dragons spoke with the New York Times about their new venture. The game “is a unique entertainment experience because it’s crafted by the players at the table, and every gaming session is different,’ said Schuh. “We want to take that idea of the players crafting that experience to the next level and say: ‘Help us craft the rules. Help us craft how this game is played.’”
I am an avid tabletop gamer, and I've been playing games like Dungeons and Dragons since the eighties, so I can see how player input could be invaluable to the process of creating a new edition of their game. But is it really necessary to keep updating the game, when preexisting rules can be adapted? What do you guys think -- is this a necessary update, or a Kraken sized advertising campaign?
Link --via The Mary Sue
I still have my 2e books... somewhere. 2e was the last one I played and DM'd extensively. I played 3.0 once or twice when it was new, but that's about it.
@cade_drakans:
I haven't played 4, but I have heard about it's gameplay. From what I have heard, MMOs have had a heavy influence on it's play. I was disappointed to hear that... I couldn't get into any MMO's of any genre and I don't particularly care for them. You give me a open world like in GTA IV that's a Zombie MMO and I'm there.
You can tell that's a real game session picture and not staged with models. To the right you can see the "My First Dice Bag," the ubiquitous Crown Royal bag. :)
I'm really liking Pathfinder, though I was a staunch holdout for D&D. They still sell pdf books and they allow SRD's. These are huge for a group like mine where we can't all afford to buy new rule books. The open access to there system allows us to get our less rule inclined players to get to the game.
Sincerely,
Jason O'Dell
3.5 has held up the best for us... Actually, Pathfinder is what my group has been playing since it came out... and it is WAY better than 4th ed.
I say became a role-player, because D&D has always been close to itself solo-wargaming roots. You don't play a character with a personality, relationships, desires and fears, you play a set of combat skills based on dice rolls.
I've dabbled in 3.0, 3.5, and 4th, and though the rules have changed, the core ideal of "Let's committ theft and genocide, so we can level-up", has never changed. The game doesn't encourage character dialogue, emotions or even thinking. And quite frankly, I'm tired of D&D players with their disposable-character attitudes.
I don't care about 5th D&D, because short of it not being D&D, it's still going to be theft & genocide, and not a role-playing game.