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A public article on the matter, one of many where I have made comment.
For those who don't want to comment there, I will repost my response.
Ironically enough, I am a former Wizards of the Coast employee and avid gamer. I have been a consumer of their products for roughly two decades now, since I was roughly 8, with their acuquired TSR Properties.Suffice to say, I have some insight. This is very reminiscent of the flailing practices of a corporate license whose owners have no idea what to do with. “Puzzling” is far too charitable. However, like the Microsoft Business model, with built in obsolescence and brute force being the key, Hasbro can continue to do as it likes with its intellectual property, despite critique from all sides.
Filesharing is going to become MORE of a problem, not less with these policies. Many hope that through this novice ineptitude with a market it increasingly fails to understand, Hasbro will in its ignorance declare their Wizards acquisition or at least D&D specifically a “failed venture” and sell it to more capable hands.
Given the gross ignorance and shortsideness in question, I think it far more likely they will cling to the property and sink the ship to the depths of economic jeopardy.
That being said, the 3.0 and 3.5 editions of the game, under their old open game license, will allow publishers like Paizo to continue as they are, selling updated and customized settings.
As usual with industry-related practices of the “gaming” niche, there are those who can create content, such as Monte Cook with Malhavoc and Paizo with their Pathfinder editions and tons of other independent publishers, and then there are those who simply sling some money around to buy a franchise, and thus with ownership, believe they know better how to appeal to consumers of an extremely mishandled product and market.
I think the coming years are going to show us very interesting developments in the economic crisis and the value of intellectual property and DRM, and who is really going to support which corporate culture.
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NOW how am I going to play pre 3.0 D&D?Sadly, Jason, the answer is probably in your question.
Maybe the mages on the shore don't want you to play D&D3, 2, 1 or even D&DO.
They seem to think their older products are too competitive for their current one.
Just a thought.QFT.
Jason, have you seen OSRIC? It's described as "first edition reborn," and I thought it looked pretty good. I mostly ignored 2e, except for the later Player's Option books, like Spells and Magic by Richard Baker. 3e really won me over, so I don't have much interest in revisiting 1e, even though it might be fun with the right group of people.
I don't have any Wotc pdf files, but I'm offended anyway. That's a business I don't care to support. (By a happy coincidence, I found 4e unappealing anyway.)
Yes! I have! Just discovered it about a week ago. I got this and was very intrigued, and would very much love to play it. However, when it comes around to my turn to GM, I'll be GMing with PFRPG rules. Maybe next time though, i definitely look forward to it. :)
I guess the next thing they will be going after is ebay and used book stores.
Too bad they got nothing. There's no law against selling used stuff. And you can't introduce them later to protect old stuff.
So the books/boxes you're missing are probably still out there somewhere waiting for you.
Too bad "out there" is measured in gigaparsecs.
And the "you can pick it up for a few quid as a PDF" thing is better than the "be ready to pay through your nose" if they're sold as a rarity.
I mean, I'd be interested to get Frostburn (about the only book from the pre-suck 3e area I'd still get), but the local store still wants 35€ or so for it. I'd be willing t pay, say, half that, or less.
Their next step might be to sue all Kinko's and pass a law which makes copiers illegal.
They discovered that with a copier you can make pirate copies of their books.
I don't know about copiers, but from what I heard, those stores are quite picky with what you print there. They want a note from a notary that you're allowed to print stuff. It might be that they'd also be suspicious if you came in with a book and wanted to get hundreds of pages copied.
But there's always office printers and copiers, right? Not exactly risk-free, though...
I can see that some folks might be ticked off if they had bought a PDF and hadn't downloaded it yet (therefore actually losing money), but getting angry over something that hasn't cost you a cent seems like an overreaction. (No offense intended; I agree that this is a terrible idea on WotC's part.)
There's that "it doesn't concern you directly, you don't get to have any strong feeling one way or another" again.
Jason, have you seen OSRIC? It's described as "first edition reborn," and I thought it looked pretty good.
Personally, I'm far too young for that. Didn't play D&D when it was first released (wasn't even alive back then), so there's no nostalgia filter for me.
I still respect the earliest games because of what they did for the whole hobby (and several other hobbies as well), but the older editions just don't do it for my.
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Jason, have you seen OSRIC? It's described as "first edition reborn," and I thought it looked pretty good.Personally, I'm far too young for that. Didn't play D&D when it was first released (wasn't even alive back then), so there's no nostalgia filter for me.
I still respect the earliest games because of what they did for the whole hobby (and several other hobbies as well), but the older editions just don't do it for my.
To be honest, was born the year after the D&D Basic Set 2nd revision. Though i have no nostalgia filter for the original myself, and do respect the early games, I also want to experience what it would have been like for those who did play when it first came out. I'm sure my dad would get a kick out of us (brothers) playing the same game he used to as a kid..
Well; on this note I figure I have no use for Wizards of the Coast at all; none; am finished with them. Love the paizo guys though.
There's that "it doesn't concern you directly, you don't get to have any strong feeling one way or another" again.
I can see that some folks might be ticked off if they had bought a PDF and hadn't downloaded it yet (therefore actually losing money), but getting angry over something that hasn't cost you a cent seems like an overreaction. (No offense intended; I agree that this is a terrible idea on WotC's part.)
No, you get to have your strong feelings, but it's still an overreaction.
"AAAAARGH! A restaurant in St. Louis, Missouri just cancelled their All-U-Can-Eat special with NO NOTICE and I never even got to eat there! I'M FURIOUSSSSS!!"
;-)
I also want to experience what it would have been like for those who did play when it first came out.
Get a time machine. And amnesia.
You won't be as openminded as they were, because you have seen plenty of other games. What they thought of as evolutionary innovations (and, frankly, they were at the time), you'll see as an old hat, with three or four better rulings coming to mind. Nor will you have that filter of nostalgia.
At least that's what I'd probably feel if I were to play the first editions.
Don't get me wrong: I'm not bashing them. They were good. But times have changed.
There's that "it doesn't concern you directly, you don't get to have any strong feeling one way or another" again.
No, you get to have your strong feelings, but it's still an overreaction.
"AAAAARGH! A restaurant in St. Louis, Missouri just cancelled their All-U-Can-Eat special with NO NOTICE and I never even got to eat there! I'M FURIOUSSSSS!!"
To take your metaphor further: The restaurant in St. Louis has been trying to push other restaurants out of business by trademaking the concept of all-you-can-eat so no one else can use it. It's also part of a very big restaurant chain, and soon the other restaurants in the chain might shut down their all-you-can-eat offers, too.
And then, they'll get rid of all vegetarian meals and all meat offered will be pork.
Better let them know that you like all-you-can-eat (and vegetarian food, and chicken, beef, and all that) before restaurants will be gone and you'll have to take dates to the cinema food chounter, or to fast-food "restaurants".
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I am currently running OSRIC. It feels identical to 1st Edition. Very well done. Marshall and Finch deserve many kudos for putting this together.I have yet to take the time to look at it. Work too much. How close to the original is it?
Take a day off, download OSRIC 2.0, or get it printed at kinkos... look and feel is genuine, and the game plays as first edition would. Marshall and Finch took the time to add classic old school line art to the book, and included a monster manual inside, along with wilderness and other ancilary GM information... some minor feature are different such as the absense of the Monk class (it just couldn't translate legally) and the classic ability check isn't specifically defined for the reader - but otherwise you'll find a great reinterpretation that is as true to first edition. Let me know if you need more info, as I don't wish to threadjack this thread. Check out my other thread in the OGL threads about OSRIC vs. Castles & Crusades vs. 1e. There's juicy stuff there to help answer your question.
/threadjack
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Get a time machine. And amnesia.
You won't be as openminded as they were, because you have seen plenty of other games. What they thought of as evolutionary innovations (and, frankly, they were at the time), you'll see as an old hat, with three or four better rulings coming to mind. Nor will you have that filter of nostalgia.
At least that's what I'd probably feel if I were to play the first editions.
I understand, there's no way to recapture the initial wonder and excitement in playing any fantasy roleplaying game for the first time ever (or any games, in fact).
I understand, there's no way to recapture the initial wonder and excitement in playing any fantasy roleplaying game for the first time ever (or any games, in fact).Get a time machine. And amnesia.
You won't be as openminded as they were, because you have seen plenty of other games. What they thought of as evolutionary innovations (and, frankly, they were at the time), you'll see as an old hat, with three or four better rulings coming to mind. Nor will you have that filter of nostalgia.
At least that's what I'd probably feel if I were to play the first editions.
I'm lucky enough to be old enough that I actually started with the little white box with the pinkish books. Those were good times.
- Coming up with methods of "rolling" weird number dice when we didn't own ANY (we used decks of cards in the right groupings ::chuckle::)
- Having fun with monsters that didn't have full descriptions (Rust Doors, Monks and Kitties anyone?)
- Adding in lethal combos from other little books (Arduin Grimoire -- kill all cute and fuzzies! it's a VORPAL KITTY!)
- The crazy dungeon crawls (all adventures from one GM started in a ten by ten foot perfectly square room with only one entrance from the mountain outside -- and the room was covered in buttons and levers. Pick the right one, go on the adventure, or gain a level, or goodies galore. Pick the wrong one ::shudder::)
Those little books are my pride and joy on my gaming shelf. :)
nostalgic stuff
Yes I remember fondly that after playing some red box basic, I was hooked so bad I created my own rules and ran games I completely made up with a smidgen of memory of actual rules and a fist full of Dm-fiat (which I only knew by the name of making s%^&% up). Until I was able to borrow books from a friend and it was a copy of the rules compendium. Good times, and my first real set of 2nd edition books, Man I loved those.