Crumb City

D&D XP, the winter convention for D&D started today. Here is link to the D&D Seminar Chat Stream, in case you missed it.

http://www.wizards.com/DnD/Article.aspx?x=dnd/4news/dndxpseminar#78196

On the Wizards of the Coast and En World forums, a lot of conversation is happening around thing people do and don’t want in a 5e version of D&D.  Some of which may indeed be left by the wayside, while others will be integrated into the core rules. Here are some of my thoughts on RPG game franchises and my own 5e wish and won’t list.

RPG Franchises

All RPG games create an atmosphere in which to game. This atmosphere is a result of a number of factors: presentation/description, rules, etc. We  can see this in most RPG games, such as Vampire: The Masquerade, Advanced Dungeons and Dragons, GURPS, to name just a few. Sometimes any one of the factors produce the greatest significance in creating the atmosphere of the game. The rules become secondary to the presentation and description of the game (Vampire: The Masquerade). Sometimes the presentation/description becomes secondary to the rules (GURPS). When an RPG changes one of the factors that produce the atmosphere of the game, it can turn people away and draw new people in. We can see this in a variety of games, but it especially evident in Vampire: The Masquerade when they changed the Clans (a game that relied heavily on presentation/description) and in D&D when they changed the rules from 2e to 3e and from 3e to 4e.

When I hear talk of D&D 5e creating a modular rules system, I shrug. No amount of rule changes will  replace the atmosphere that the AD&D PHB, DMG, and MM first created for me back in the 80s. They are seared into my mind as D&D. When I look at the 4e PHB, DMG, and MM, I shrug. Interesting game, but it doesn’t look (presentation) anything like my first experience, and there are some strange things (rules) included within. It’s not a reflection of whether the game is good or not, it’s simply a matter of the atmosphere being different. I often describe this as the difference between reading a book and watching a movie. They might have the same plot and story, but they are usually a different experiences. The atmosphere of reading the book, the language of the author, the type-face of the text, the smell of the book, all create the experience. This differs from the images on the screen, the language of the script and actors, and the smells of popcorn. It isn’t necessarily a better or worse experience, just a different one. When I want to tell stories in D&D I want the original atmosphere I started with, the rules either add to this atmosphere and detract from it.

5e Atmosphere Wish List

Here are some things I’d like to see in 5e

• Remove as much meta-game language as possible. Keep only the bare minimum (HP, Class, Race, etc). Too much meta-language creates a disconnect between rules and atmosphere.
• Don’t create new language. Use the language that already exists. Don’t change the definition of existing language.
• Use language that reinforces the atmosphere of the fantasy genre. Choose a number of authors that represent the type of game you’re creating and use presentation and style of their language.
• Use the medium of the game (paper) to choose the atmosphere of the game. D&D is a reading and writing game, but a seeing and button pushing game. Use appropriate atmosphere.
• Use everyday fantasy artwork. I was drawn to D&D because of the scenes of exploration and cities, not from individual characters. Use more medieval town art and dungeon exploration art. Place is more important than who.
• Create a system that encourages dialogue not argument.

5e Rules Wish List

• Keep Vancian Spellcasting, but feel free to clean it up. I much prefer the memorize a number of spells and be able to cast those spells a number of times per a day without forgetting them.
• Remove Powers. Or at the very least, remove the name “power” from their description. Make “powers” work like TOB stances and not once per encounter mechanics.
• Remove duplications from classes. I don’t mind classes being able to do similar things, but make those things function differently. An example may be Clerics cast “cure light wounds” while Druids cast “vigor”. Similar effects but heal differently. Spell lists should not duplicate.
• I understand healing surges, but I find that they add a level of abstraction on top of an already abstract mechanic. HP is abstract enough without adding another mechanic on top of it to handle healing. Get rid of it I think or find a different way to implement it.
• 3e and 4e handle skills in similar ways but 3e allows more choice per a level. Is this necessary? I don’t know. Perhaps the skill mechanic should be re-thought entirely.
• Saving throws are great and I think that players should always role more dice, not less. Make more things saving throws, not less. Increase the number of saves to each of the 6 ability scores.
• More I’m sure, but that’s all for now.

Conclusion

I think I’ll continue working on my own D&D rules. If there are things in 5e I really like, I’ll scoop them up, as I have done with every edition of D&D.

I’ve been thinking and reading about 5e (D&D Next?). Say what you will about new editions of games, I enjoy the discourse that they create, whether it’s edition warring or thoughtful dialogue. It gives me an opportunity to reflect on my gaming experience and what I want from future experiences.

BECMI, 1e, 2e, 3e – Briefly

I started gaming back in 1983 with the BECMI red box edition, but quickly integrated AD&D into the experience and by 1989 there really wasn’t a difference in my gaming between the two. 2nd edition pretty much phased out my BECMI gaming, although I still used the modules (some of my favorite) without any real difficulty. In the late 90s I stopped gaming for a variety of reasons, but mostly because I moved and didn’t have a ready group available. I sold off most of my D&D books and was resigned to not game anymore, although I still had the desire to do so. I 2004 I decided that I needed to get back into gaming. I went to the local bookstore and gaming stores and realized the game was nothing like I remembered. I went online and ordered a bunch of old 1e and 2e books, started up a group and began to game again. At the same time I sought out of 3e group and played that as well. After a few months, I changed by 2e game over to a 3e game. It just made more sense. The game mechanics were unified and it required less arbitrary rulings from me and more fun character options for the players. When 4e was announced I joined into the discusses about it, what it would look like, how it would be different. Nothing prepared me (not even the Wizards Presents books) for the game when it arrived.

4e

I gave 4e a go. I played in store games and ran a few. My existing groups weren’t interested in trying it out so I went outside the group to experience the game. Here was what I learned.

• The players that were drawn to 4e were the players that I wouldn’t game with in 3e. We had different gaming styles and they, for the most part, were newer to gaming. They enjoyed the “I’m a hero from day 1″ style, while my style was and is, “Begin struggling to earn being a hero.”
• I really liked a lot of the monsters (not minions so much), although some of the mechanics were odd to me.
• I disliked the tiefling and dragonborn as core races. When we played them in 3x, it was usually to min/max. They were the exception not the norm. The norm made them feel particularly odd. Not a type of creature I would have wandering around your average city. They didn’t fit nicely into my image of a fantasy world.
• Powers were odd. I had used Tome of Battle classes before 4e and my impression was that I liked “stances” but disliked “maneuvers.” 4e concentrated on what I disliked about that book and was missing most of what I did like.
• Spellcasting was gone. I liked spellcasting. I liked the way it worked, although there were some house-rules I used to make it flow better for my games.
• Iterative Attacks were gone. This was a positive for me. I never liked the way they worked anyway.
• Saving Throws were gone and replaced with defensive stats and 50/50 roles.  Everything was an attack roll, even things that made no real sense to be.
• Skills were simplified, not necessarily a bad thing, I had done similar things in my games for years, but skill challenges were strange to me.

Most importantly, the game didn’t feel like the same D&D story I had been reading for 25 years. Mechanics aside, the elements of story telling that I had enjoyed were changed. I liked the story D&D had been telling.

Pathfinder

I was depressed. I didn’t know what to do. My groups that were playing 3x continued onward and were still enjoyable. I thought about what I wanted for D&D and seriously considered jumping back into BECMI and moving forward from there. Find a safe place in my origins of the game. When Piazo announced Pathfinder I was pretty indifferent. 3x would continue onward. My groups switched. We played Pathfinder now. We learned the changes (not enough to stress over) and played the APs, which we had in 3x. Life went on, but for me, the flair was gone. I trudged onward, hoping for something more. I started work on my own house rules, based on 3x/pathfinder/4e in an attempt to figure out how I wanted my D&D story to unfold. How could I tell the stories I wanted to tell.

5e

A week ago WOTC announced they were working on a fifth edition of the game (way too soon during 4e’s run). It reeked of desperation. 4e was still bringing fun to many people’s tables and as I far as I knew there weren’t the same issues that 3x had with that version (mechanical issues). It felt like a business decision more than a game decision.  What was the motivation behind this decision and how was I suppose to feel about the news?

Current State

Right now I’m just hanging back, reading opinions and gathering little bits of information. I’m not attached to Pathfinder as a system and could easily play 5e when it comes out. My concerns are really not about the system but about how to access it.

• I don’t buy hardcopy books anymore. I only purchase electronic books (PDFs or ebooks)
• I have no intention of paying a subscription to access electronic tools, and unless there’s an app, I’m not really interested
• The OGL is my friend. I’m not really interested in having the door remained closed on game system mechanics. There is nothing better for a game then the combined ideas of the entire community.

I do worry about the same issue I had with 4e about those who play it. They are saying that 5e allows players of different styles to game at the same table, but I don’t enjoy gaming with people who have different styles. We play the game we play because we have similar styles. So far the selling points of the game aren’t really interesting me. I will hold judgement of game mechanics until after it’s released. To do otherwise would mean I don’t care about D&D, which, considering I’ve gamed almost as long as I’ve been alive, would be ridiculous.

On Monday, January 9, 2012, Wizards of the Coast announced that they are working on a new edition of D&D (5e), five years after the launch of the 4th edition of the game. Here are  some of my initial thinking as it relates to players of different versions of the game.

Old School Players (OD&D, 1e, 2e, BECMI)

I don’t see a lot of the Old School Renaissance folks heading back over to Wizards of the Coast for their gaming needs, but I wouldn’t be surprised to find new support for their preferred edition of gaming. If the new edition offers truly universal rules, then this seems likely. I will be interested in what James Maliszewski over at Grognardia has to say about the news.

Pathfinder (3x, Pathfinder)

There are an equal number of 3x players that jumped ship for one of two reasons; they hated Wizards of the Coast for attacking their preferred edition of gaming and/or they wanted continued support for 3x. Pathfinder gave them a safe refuge. What does a new edition mean for these players? I don’t think very much. I do feel they’ll check out

Current Players (4e)

First off, let me just say, I have no idea about the state of 4th edition and cannot speculate on what an announcement of a new edition means for how well 4e did or is doing as a gaming system. I think that if Wizards of the Coast continues support for 4e and the online tools, there will be less grump from that group. However, any backward game design may cause grumbling.

New Players

With any game that is currently in production, new players come and go. I do not foresee a 5th edition of D&D bring droves of new players into the game. There will be the normal addition of players.

So what’s this all mean? Status quo. I don’t see Wizards of the Coast changing its base number of players. I don’t see OSR folk become fans of WOTC, nor do I see Pathfinder players jumping ship in droves. There will some crossover but not much. In my opinion WOTC should make 5e and continuation and improvement of 4e, not a flashback to the past. That ship has sailed and everyone’s living on new islands.

Some additional concerns.

Feedback/Involvement

I do not think that mass feedback produces a good game. I do not want WOTC to solicit feedback and involvement from the greater gaming community. They should design the game they want to play, and if we’re interested in it, we’ll play it.  In my opinion feedback and involvement is what caused 4e. It also led to developments in Pathfinder that I think would have been best left out.

Digital Offerings

PDFs: When 4e came out, Wizards of the Coast pulled all existing PDFs from the market. This action further drove a division between WOTC and players who preferred earlier editions. Only through the re-offering of those PDFs will players feel that WOTC truly cares about their preferred edition. I only purchase PDF copies of books. I have no interest in paper copies of past, present, or future books.

Subscription: I hate the subscription model. I will not support a subscription model nor any edition tied as closely as 4e was to a subscription model. WOTC should back off from electronic offerings and allow third party developers to handle it. Let another company take the heat for it and let WOTC concentrate of designing the game.