theroc's page

I first need to admit...I am not a fan of 3E. I had fun with it at first, but the more the OGL added and the further the game progressed, the more broken it seemed to become. Not long after 3.5 released, my gaming group collectively threw up our hands in frustration one game at how bad things had gotten and left D&D. Good thing Savage Worlds was there to take us on. We also had a great time going back to 2nd Edition. I had thought, at the time, that I was unfortunately done with D&D. Since I played since '79, this was depressing to me.

I did the Pathfinder playtest, and it was still just 3.5 to me. When 4E came out, I generally ignored it and kept playing older editions. Finally, I broke down and picked up the rules. I LOVED how they fixed consistency and lexicon. I loved that characters were no longer as cookie-cutter. I was an instant fan, and own every 4E product released to date. At the same time, I was confused about Pathfinder fans. They were so attached to their old version that they left D&D to stick with the old rules. (Remember, I thought 3E was pretty broken, anyway.) I never participated in 'Edition Wars', because I'm just glad we are all gamers and have that in common. But I did get into some tactful disagreements.

Wizards has since announced 5E. WAY too soon. Rather than putting efforts into their existing game, they think rebooting will win old customers. This reboot is as bad an idea as the Footloose reboot. Instead, they are simply going to fracture their customers even more. Pathfinder fans will still play Pathfinder. And guess what...many 4E fans will continue to play 4E.

This is where my apology comes into play. I now better understand the feeling of edition loyalty, and even the slight feeling of betrayal for moving on from something I enjoy and think works. I will likely be one of those who again stays with 4E when D&D Next releases. I will be one of the dissenting fragmenting customers. I have much more in common with the Pathfinder gamer now. I appreciate what you were faced with, and I am glad you had a company there to continue working on the version you loved. Wish 4E had a good benefactor to take over. But since there is enough material to keep us busy for decades...we are all good.

Pathfinder players...my friends...I understand you better and apologize for my previous pushback.

After years of watching gaming companies evolve, including Paizo, and being in marketing by career trade, I have been impressed by Paizo’s interaction and connection to their consumer.

I need to first make a disclaimer…I don’t play Pathfinder. I have most of the books, because I am also a game collector. But I don’t play Pathfinder itself. I still dabble in all editions of D&D except 3.x. Still play some 1st, a lot of 2nd, and primarily 4th now (which I think is a great system). But out of our gaming group, 3.x is the only version we dislike enough to not play it. That doesn’t mean I think Pathfinder isn’t a great quality product…it absolutely is, which is why I own so many books just for the read. I just don’t like that specific version of D&D that it was spawned from.

That said…I follow the Paizo message boards just because it is a joy to see a gaming company so in touch with their customers. To gamers, many of us have an attachment to the designers/artists as much as the game itself. On Paizo’s website, these guys are frequent posters, jumping into conversations and giving feedback, mingling with the customer from designer to CEO. And I have watched it work. These guys really give up the time and you can see their interest in what consumer opinion is. By contrast, on the WotC site, you can beg and beg for feedback from someone within the company, and they will never show up. As if they are too good to mingle with the common gamer. As a result, the tone is completely different between the sites.

Paizo has done things mostly right all along the way. Right from the start, they implemented the huge playtest of the Pathfinder rules over the web. Immediately, fans suddenly felt ‘ownership’ and a stake in the new game. They were part of it and felt pride in it. Naturally when the product released, it already had a customer base. By contrast, consumers are usually blindsided and surprised by a WotC release.

The only thing I wish Paizo did better was to back off a bit on leading the “edition wars” charge, which you can see fostered in the message boards. We are all gamers, and hopefully we can get along in our hobby.

But overall, Paizo listens to the consumer, communicates to them, and responds accordingly. These guys just do it right. Wish more of the games I play were owned by Paizo so they would get the same support, and look forward to other products or games they release outside the Pathfinder realm. I just had to take the time to express my gratitude and respect for a company that just does it right.