darkseraphim wrote:you. Gripe about the other versions, but don't proselytize.
darkseraphim wrote:>>>The problem lies in the fact ...Yup ... and that's why I make a concerted effort to sell AD&D 1st Edition modules with passion and sincerity, and why I sneak a free 1st or 2nd AD&D item into virtually every 3.0 and 3.5 package I ship. At the very least, I want them to see the flavor the early editions provide, and to grab adventure hooks for their own games. I'm 100% for spreading the good word without forcing people to like what I like. On 3.5, it is very technical and difficult to grasp at first. The first time I read through the attack of opportunity rules I checked to see if my brain had slid out onto the floor. But I've seen an amazing overlap in young gamers between 3.5 and Magic the Gathering - both highly technical games where rules lawyering is a competitive sport. The similiarity in art is intended to draw these people in. Also, teens that like highly technical fantasy vidgames like Final Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Ogre are catered to as well ... you can see that in the print ads in current vidgame magazines. Check them out sometime - "We invented god mode." "We gave boss monsters their first job." Etc. There is a direct, concerted effort to link the appeal of videogames to the appeal of 3.5. It's not accidental or imagined. *dig, dig*D&D Invented Godmode? | gamegrene.com
bbarsh wrote:I think 3+ is all about the characters. Everything in the rule system is based on the PCs. They have become the storyline. Maybe not in every case, but that is where the rulebooks center their focus. That is how the game has changed. And quite possibly the players, too. I guess this fits the DarkSeraphim line of thought, to some degree.
stormber wrote:Howdy All,bbarsh wrote:I think 3+ is all about the characters. Everything in the rule system is based on the PCs. They have become the storyline. Maybe not in every case, but that is where the rulebooks center their focus. That is how the game has changed. And quite possibly the players, too. I guess this fits the DarkSeraphim line of thought, to some degree.Exactly, players have become the main focus of support and DM's have been dropped as the most important aspect of the game. Why? There are more players to spend money than DM's. Sad, really. The DM used to be king, no DM, no game.Heck, they even stopped making modules for the game. Gave it all over to the poorly regulated quality of the unwashed, d20-license, masses.Futures Bright,Paul
deimos3428 wrote:I gotta say though...everyone seems to be going on about how great the older 'classic' modules like the G-series are. Don't get me wrong, I played them many times as well, and enjoyed them thoroughly. But I just opened one of mine up, (G2) read through it, and was surprisingly unimpressed. I certainly remember there being a lot more to it, but maybe the experience of actually playing it in a group has a more lasting impression than what's actually written on the page. Food for thought, anyway.
darkseraphim wrote:There was a paradigm shift in D&D around 1982, with inklings of it earlier. The original modules were designed as skeletons to be fleshed out. This allowed them to be customized to the campaign. That's why the memories are so near and dear, because each module was 50% designed and 50% the DM's own creation. You'll see mass variations of Gygax's "This is but a framework, the DM must breathe life into the whole" throughout the early ones.That all changed with Dragonlance and Ravenloft. Atmosphere was king. And if you like pre-scripted adventures, it's great. But they're much harder to change around if you want to customize them. In the present day, adventures run the gamut from fully scripted to barebones, depending on DM need. I can see the advantages of both. But given the choice, I will buy the 256-page book with 20 barebones adventures, as opposed to the 256-page book with one pre-scripted epic.