Knights & Knaves Alehouse

rastus_burne wrote:It seems like a stripped back version of 3e with many elements of AD&D thrown in too.

Ick. 3e cannot be redeemed regardless of how stripped back it is or how many AD&Disms are thrown in.

Even if I completely waste my money at least Dungeons & Dragons still exists and hopefully with the free downloadable basic rules, a new generation of gamers will enjoy a game we all love.

Oh Dungeons & Dragons (R) will still exist, at least as far as the brand-name is concerned. I'd hardly call the game that bears that name (whether 3e, 4e, or 5e) to be the same as (or even closely related to) the one that we all love.

Lord Cias wrote:

rastus_burne wrote:It seems like a stripped back version of 3e with many elements of AD&D thrown in too.

Ick. 3e cannot be redeemed regardless of how stripped back it is or how many AD&Disms are thrown in.

Even if I completely waste my money at least Dungeons & Dragons still exists and hopefully with the free downloadable basic rules, a new generation of gamers will enjoy a game we all love.

Oh Dungeons & Dragons (R) will still exist, at least as far as the brand-name is concerned. I'd hardly call the game that bears that name (whether 3e, 4e, or 5e) to be the same as (or even closely related to) the one that we all love.

Yeah gosh. What a blight on our sacred and beloved game.

Yeah? Isn’t that why they call it TETSNBN?

Falconer wrote:Yeah? Isn’t that why they call it TETSNBN?

For what it's worth, the term was made up (by Northrundicus I believe) to make fun of DF's moderation policy forbidding the mention of the edition more than to make fun of 3e itself. A the time it was a "don't mention the elephant in the room" King of thing.

rastus_burne wrote:This is clearly unpopular opinion here

Well, K&KA is a Gygaxian O/AD&D-focused forum.

One reason to at least look at a free PDF is to know what people think of with the term D&D. Younger people will start to assume you mean whatever is in this PDF, just as they now often assume you mean fourth edition, and you have to explain, no, I play <whatever> version. With basic knowledge of the PDF, you can at least compare what they know to what you know.

Because let's face it: most people in the world don't know one role-playing game from another, have only ever heard of Dungeons & Dragons, and don't even know there are any others, let alone deep schisms among D&D-players.

I'll download it, read it, might even play an adventure or two.

I won't mention it here, beyond this post. You guys know how to find me if you want my opinion.

(waits for wheggi's head to explodinate.)

I'm not interested in D&D Next, or the Next D&D Next that will inevitably follow.

I was interested in the AD&D 1e re-prints and I bought all of them (except the S-series reprint). This is the first official D&D product I've purchased in decades! I'd continue opening my wallet for new AD&D material as a separate product line, especially if they made someone from this site the product manager. There are a lot of good candidates, here.

Stormcrow wrote:One reason to at least look at a free PDF is to know what people think of with the term D&D. Younger people will start to assume you mean whatever is in this PDF, just as they now often assume you mean fourth edition, and you have to explain, no, I play <whatever> version. With basic knowledge of the PDF, you can at least compare what they know to what you know.

Because let's face it: most people in the world don't know one role-playing game from another, have only ever heard of Dungeons & Dragons, and don't even know there are any others, let alone deep schisms among D&D-players.

Well, I highly agree with your second paragraph, but it leads me to a conclusion opposite of what you state in your first paragraph. If nobody in the real world cares about this sort of arcana, why immerse oneself in it?

Most people I meet have never played a tabletop RPG of any stripe. I invite them over for “D&D,” and we play whatever I’m running — currently either AD&D1 Middle-earth or RQ2 Griffin Mountain.

I’ve never had a problem with someone joining the game and complaining that they wished we were using other rules. I mean, it has happened once or twice in the last 14 years, but it was frowned upon by the group as bad sportsmanship.

Stormcrow wrote:One reason to at least look at a free PDF is to know what people think of with the term D&D. Younger people will start to assume you mean whatever is in this PDF, just as they now often assume you mean fourth edition, and you have to explain, no, I play <whatever> version. With basic knowledge of the PDF, you can at least compare what they know to what you know.

Nope, still zero shits given.

I'll look at the free .pdf with an open mind, and then form an opinion.

*

Falconer wrote:If nobody in the real world cares about this sort of arcana, why immerse oneself in it?

It's not a question of not caring; it's a question of not knowing. Someone who's genuinely interested but unaware of D&D's sordid history needs an informed opinion, not an ignorant one.

And giving a free PDF a read isn't exactly immersing oneself in the latest edition.

I’ve never had a problem with someone joining the game and complaining that they wished we were using other rules. I mean, it has happened once or twice in the last 14 years, but it was frowned upon by the group as bad sportsmanship.

It's not about this, either. It's just nice to be informed about what other people are interested in so you can have a pleasant conversation with them about this hobby of ours. A free PDF that tells me what people are doing today, that I can peruse in a moment of boredom? Sure, why not?

If Next is anyway compatible with older editions, I'll play the shit out of it. I'll stealth-bomb newbies by saying we are playing "Next" and then running 1st edition with a few bells and whistles. Then tell them afterwards they were actually playing old school D&D.

If its not backwards compatible, then....meh.

Mike B.