D&D Essentials going to be a big change

ggroy · September 16, 2010, 11:50:15 PM

Quote from: thecasualoblivion;405460Man, I ditch message boards for World of Warcraft again for a while and this thread is still going. What did I miss?

100+ pages of nausea.

Aos · September 16, 2010, 11:58:35 PM

Quote from: thecasualoblivion;405460Man, I ditch message boards for World of Warcraft again for a while and this thread is still going. What did I miss?

Sandworms ate the Spice Harvester.

Sigmund · September 17, 2010, 08:52:16 AM

Quote from: thecasualoblivion;405460Man, I ditch message boards for World of Warcraft again for a while and this thread is still going. What did I miss?

It turns out it was actually Aos that invented the internet.

HarbingerX · September 17, 2010, 04:24:21 PM

Quote from: DeadUematsu;405414Talk of golden age and good old days is rose-colored glasses bullshit, no matter how you phrase it, when it comes to RPGs.

Talk of 'good-old-days' is certainly bullshit, as that is a subjective opinion for each of us.

My point was Grognardia is using 'Golden Age' as a specific term representing a period of time when a new innovation comes about. It doesn't mean it was better. For example, the Golden Age of home video games is that of the Atari 2600. Every single game was new and innovative - it doesn't mean they don't suck by today's standards. We just went through the Golden Age of the Internet - it doesn't mean there won't be cool new stuff in the future.

So back to my point - when Grognardia talks about 'Golden Age' he doesn't mean 'the new stuff sucks'. When he says 'the new stuff sucks' THEN he means 'the new stuff sucks'.

Grognard · September 19, 2010, 03:24:25 AM

I'm glad they're at least giving lip service to more improvised and looser play. Meaning not everything you can ever possibly do is already laid out in a neat and tidy little box. Take the improvisation suggestions in the skills for example. Nice touch, but who wasn't already doing that?

I'd have to say that similar to science fiction, the golden age of gaming is thirteen.

Benoist · September 19, 2010, 11:29:38 AM

Whenever I read "Golden Age" on this board, for some reason, it reads as "Golden AXE" in my mind.
I must have been contaminated by the retrogames thread.

Benoist · September 19, 2010, 11:31:51 AM

Quote from: Grognard;405911I'm glad they're at least giving lip service to more improvised and looser play. Meaning not everything you can ever possibly do is already laid out in a neat and tidy little box. Take the improvisation suggestions in the skills for example. Nice touch, but who wasn't already doing that?

A whole bunch of people, particularly people new to this hobby, right now. If they aren't exposed to material explaining to them there's more to the game than its rules, and only play with people convinced by the reverse, guess what they'll end up believing in the end?

Grognard · September 19, 2010, 12:26:49 PM

Quote from: Benoist;405942A whole bunch of people, particularly people new to this hobby, right now. If they aren't exposed to material explaining to them there's more to the game than its rules, and only play with people convinced by the reverse, guess what they'll end up believing in the end?

Right. But this isn't the old days anymore. Gaming isn't a spontaneously picked up hobby anymore. Gaming is like VD, you gotta get it from someone.

Benoist · September 19, 2010, 01:52:55 PM

Quote from: Grognard;405954Right. But this isn't the old days anymore. Gaming isn't a spontaneously picked up hobby anymore. Gaming is like VD, you gotta get it from someone.

Sure, but from whom are you getting? If you are introduced to RPGs by people who believe the rules are the game, the game the rules, and the rules book only confirms this take on role playing, then basically you'll end up mimicking what you think is the essence of role playing, whatever that is you picked up. So I think it's important to point that out in an introductory set to RPGs indeed.

Grognard · September 19, 2010, 02:05:45 PM

Quote from: Benoist;405966Sure, but from whom are you getting? If you are introduced to RPGs by people who believe the rules are the game, the game the rules, and the rules book only confirms this take on role playing, then basically you'll end up mimicking what you think is the essence of role playing, whatever that is you picked up. So I think it's important to point that out in an introductory set to RPGs indeed.

Even someone entirely new to the idea of role-playing games will eventually play with someone who is more familiar. Truly closed systems only exist in the lab.

And just like the first gen gamers, the new gen (if you assume the mythical closed system) will eventually get bored of play using straight RAW, and start improvising on their own.

StormBringer · September 19, 2010, 02:07:56 PM

Quote from: Grognard;405967Even someone entirely new to the idea of role-playing games will eventually play with someone who is more familiar. Truly closed systems only exist in the lab.

And just like the first gen gamers, the new gen (if you assume the mythical closed system) will eventually get bored of play using straight RAW, and start improvising on their own.

So, you are saying the infection is self contained? Something like Euler's number multiplied by the number of outbreak vectors, then it starts to die off?