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 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.
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.
Sincerely,
Jason O'Dell