tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790030420507335953.post5931388178202777253..comments2024-03-23T08:21:07.075-07:00Comments on Points of Light: Legends & Lore: Tell Us How You Really FeelDavid Guyllhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16299128722345607123noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790030420507335953.post-26473245609956313182014-01-03T07:30:09.630-08:002014-01-03T07:30:09.630-08:00I do not think they are arranging for it to tail. ...I do not think they are arranging for it to tail. I think that Mearls thinks he is improving the game, or at least adjusting it to make as much money as possible.David Guyllhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16299128722345607123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790030420507335953.post-35078460044799838542014-01-02T04:14:17.488-08:002014-01-02T04:14:17.488-08:00Tinfoil hat warning:
If D&D Next fails, it is...Tinfoil hat warning: <br />If D&D Next fails, it is likely that D&D will be boxed by Hasbro for 10 years. <br />If that happens, then Pathfinder becomes the only major publisher in town. <br />If that happens, then Piazo will probably be looking to hire more staff. <br />The ex-WotC employees are ideally experienced to join Paizo. <br />Piazo treat their staff much better than Hasbro/WotC, specifically the whole "layoffs before Christmas" job security thing. <br />(Conversely, if D&D Next works, the current staff are likely to lose their jobs anyway, and not have anywhere to move on to afterwards.) <br /><br />...So, it looks to me like it is in the interests of the D&D Next team for them to arrange for D&D Next to fail. Mike Wheatleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01785543626725340909noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790030420507335953.post-12261357045966916272013-12-14T07:48:35.471-08:002013-12-14T07:48:35.471-08:00@David Guyll: You hit the nail right on the head. ...@David Guyll: You hit the nail right on the head. There is so much out there and as I'm exposed to newer games and different ways to play, D&D looks increasingly antiquated. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14099284889934943454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790030420507335953.post-89939493700618668222013-12-13T13:38:51.102-08:002013-12-13T13:38:51.102-08:00I do not think they are trying to please fans of e...I do not think they are trying to please fans of every edition, at least certainly not equally. I do not even think that it is a good idea to try. Instead they should look at all the mechanics and make a case as to why they should or should not be retained, changing and creating new ones as necessary to ensure an actually elegant, functional game instead of listening to all the vapid article commentary.<br /><br />I agree that back in the day I might have enjoyed it, but time has moved on and thanks to Kickstarter and digital publishing there is no shortage of games to choose from, and little barrier to creating your own, and that is the thing: back in the day I played D&D and enjoyed it well enough, but I think a major factor as to why I stuck with it was because of lack of exposure and variety.<br /><br />They do not have that luxury nowadays. It is incredibly easy to find new games, and thanks to G+ is it also incredibly easy to find new gamers. I do not have to stick with D&D, and if the best WotC can do is pull the same stunt Paizo did I have plenty of other games to choose from.David Guyllhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16299128722345607123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790030420507335953.post-45723761728162553692013-12-13T07:47:53.587-08:002013-12-13T07:47:53.587-08:00For nearly 30 years I've been a D&D loyali...For nearly 30 years I've been a D&D loyalist having played, and enjoyed every version/edition of the game. By the time they announced the Next playtest my group had already began to move on to other things, mostly Dungeon World and Numenera. <br /><br />Unfortunately when I take the time to look at the state of D&D Next I keep thinking the same thing; this is a conglomeration of all things D&D in an attempt to please fans of every edition but just seeming to fall flat. For me the proposed game seems like one that I would have loved back in 1995 or so, now it already seems dated. <br /><br />I want to play D&D again, but to be honest times have changed, games have changed, and most importantly, I've changed and D&D Next just seems like a massive step backwards in an attempt to be everything for everyone. Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14099284889934943454noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790030420507335953.post-69632437671114425942013-12-12T13:48:54.926-08:002013-12-12T13:48:54.926-08:00The irony is that every edition of D&D has fai...The irony is that every edition of D&D has failed to emulate Vancian magic, not that I think that any edition aside from 4th Edition is particularly good at emulating anything on Appendix N.<br /><br />I find it funny that the designers continue to refer to it as Vancian magic, when if they read the books they would realize that they are not very close. Honestly if it WAS actually Vancian magic I would not have much of a problem with it: it would not be an ideal magic system, but it would at least make sense and be interesting.David Guyllhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16299128722345607123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790030420507335953.post-90465697772444714452013-12-12T13:40:31.745-08:002013-12-12T13:40:31.745-08:00This insistence on traditional Vancian magic bothe...This insistence on traditional Vancian magic bothers me just because it's an awful, clunky system that I hated even back in the day, or that it's a failure of imagination on the part of the designers, but because as far as D&D is concerned, the world of fantasy pop culture stopped somewhere around 1982. <br /><br />It made a lot of sense for 1E D&D to attempt to emulate Howard, de Camp, Vance and Harryhausen, because those were common reference points. I'll be honest, I'm out of touch with what the kids are reading these days, but I doubt that it's Conan paperbacks. I suspect that for many, the default assumptions about how fantasy magic works come from Harry Potter, and good luck emulating that with 3.5.<br /><br />I know that the purists howled, but for me, one of the smartest things 4E did was to look to the MMORGS. The conventions of roles (healer, tank) and cool-down times should've been very familiar to younger would-be players. Far more so than Jack Vance. David Thielhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08487285792910666315noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790030420507335953.post-83067005634434174622013-12-11T20:54:08.422-08:002013-12-11T20:54:08.422-08:00If you are talking about Keep on the Shadowfell, y...If you are talking about Keep on the Shadowfell, yeah it was fucking horrible and I only ever ran it once "by the book". <br /><br />I wish they would judge mechanics on their merits, adding, removing, replacing, and modifying them as needed instead of just sticking with them out of tradition. Like, I think defenses are superior to saving throws, but are either of them the best mechanic for the job? Maybe there is a third option that conveys what they are trying to represent even better.<br /><br />Same thing with hit points and spells. I think there are much better alternatives out there, but damned if we will see them because that was not what we had in 2nd and 3rd Edition. It reminds me of Nintento or Paizo, never innovating too far from their established properties.David Guyllhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16299128722345607123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790030420507335953.post-80045916470343012432013-12-11T16:54:52.510-08:002013-12-11T16:54:52.510-08:00With other games out there like Pathfinder and 13t...With other games out there like Pathfinder and 13th age, along with some smaller games with cool ideas like Dungeon World, I think 5E is going to have a hard time getting it's footing with established RPG players.<br /><br />With new players, it might get a decent foundation to build off of. One failing of marketing 4E was that too much of the initial push was towards established players. Face it the 1st boxed set was bleah. If 5E hits the shelves with a nice set of core books and a stellar introductory boxed set, it might be able to get enough new folks in to give 5E a serious go for a few years before moving onto something else.<br /><br />Now it seems to be too tied to older editions, or can't bring something new to the table that stands out from many other excellent games out there (and in Pathfinder's case, very well supported). I guess they feel having a game that some 40 year old can pull out their original copy of Steading of the Hill Giant Chief and play is some kind of feature that 5E should strive for. I just wish more focus was on trying to entice new players rather than trying to rekindle dead love from older gamers.Geek Kenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16482331250913593003noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790030420507335953.post-1452319530555501772013-12-11T07:37:09.604-08:002013-12-11T07:37:09.604-08:00I do not think he believes what he is saying. The ...I do not think he believes what he is saying. The last few weeks he setup criteria for what he considers to be design elegance, criteria which 5th Edition does not meet (A second opportunity attack trigger is too complicated, let us just create an entirely new rule!). Now he is talking about feel, sets up criteria for "good feel" (leads to immersion), but then just says that the most important thing is getting "the D&D feel" (often does not).<br /><br />Now maybe he IS deluding himself, maybe he DOES believe it, but I do not think so. The article comes across as someone trying to convince you that he is doing the right thing, or at least what makes the most sense. I just have a hard time believing that Mearls is looking at stuff like D&D magic and thinking "Yep, this is both very immersive and elegant, no need for changes, here."David Guyllhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16299128722345607123noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790030420507335953.post-32070053196660692772013-12-11T06:55:31.300-08:002013-12-11T06:55:31.300-08:00"If you repeat a lie often enough, people wil..."If you repeat a lie often enough, people will believe it, and you will even come to believe it yourself."Victor Hurtadohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12254075841373767921noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790030420507335953.post-90007012530256209182013-12-11T05:25:20.204-08:002013-12-11T05:25:20.204-08:00@Dan: While I agree that Mearls is attempting a sa...@Dan: While I agree that Mearls is attempting a sales pitch, I don't really think there's much intentional deception going on. He might be deluding himself though, because I suspect that Mearls actually believes most of what he says.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05050117888158477528noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1790030420507335953.post-64807609497976180582013-12-11T03:27:33.686-08:002013-12-11T03:27:33.686-08:00You're assuming that Mearls believes what he s...You're assuming that Mearls believes what he says, that he's honestly concerned about this stuff, that, bottom line, he's not simply trying to throw a sop to the hardcore 3E/Pathfinder crowd. I think the later is much more likely, and that anything you read from these guys, especially in terms of motive, ought to be taken with a grain of salt. Danno E. Cabezahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00514343832663815418noreply@blogger.com