So...looking over the (sizable) March updates really got me thinking (and cross-posting from RPG.net). The rate and frequency of changes being made are simply not viable for a pen & paper game. The only reasonable way to incorporate the errata is to use Character Builder; the printed books are no longer an authoritative reference (Heck, for the most part they're just plain way off).
I do not see this as a viable long term strategy if the game is to remain primarily P&P. Hence I can only conclude that it isn't, and that as less of the material appears in print, any semblance of a complete game designed to be playable without digital tools will fade. Essentials is just the first step in that direction. Heck, if WotC were competent at software development, then the Game Table would already be up and running, and the next step would be a MMO/pen & paper hybrid. As it stands, someone is going to beat them to the punch (Dragon Age, anyone?).
Keep in mind I'm saying this as someone who generally likes 4E, if not WoTC's "management" of it.
Thoughts?
You say this like it is a negative thing. Personally I want my PnP D&D games to have things like the CB and MB. I would find it nearly impossible to play 4E without them now and I would never go back to DMing 3E without something like the MB. Frankly it was about time some RPG company had the initiative to make this kind of jump. It is too bad WotC software development has been plagued with problems almost from day one but hopefully, now that they seem to have the major bugs out of the system, they can get down to releasing more apps via Adventure Tools.
One noticeable thing for me - I don't buy every single book that comes out anymore. I concentrate on setting books (like The Plane Below, Underdark, Open Grave etc) and the 'big 3'.
You say this like it is a negative thing. Personally I want my PnP D&D games to have things like the CB and MB. I would find it nearly impossible to play 4E without them now and I would never go back to DMing 3E without something like the MB. Frankly it was about time some RPG company had the initiative to make this kind of jump. It is too bad WotC software development has been plagued with problems almost from day one but hopefully, now that they seem to have the major bugs out of the system, they can get down to releasing more apps via Adventure Tools.
One noticeable thing for me - I don't buy every single book that comes out anymore. I concentrate on setting books (like The Plane Below, Underdark, Open Grave etc) and the 'big 3'.
Don't get me wrong, I love robust digital tools! However, WoTC is going beyond delivery of such tools, and making the printed books superfluous (even problematic), which I personally don't love.
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Well, while it is a development I wouldn't personally welcome, the new machines like Kindles and so on may in any case end up rendering paper redundant (personally, I love a book, but then I'm probably a Neanderthal or something). I suspect, though I don't obviously know, that we may be looking at the beginning of a significant technology shift away from printed material.
That said, I read an interesting article in a recent Economist which was talking about "print on demand" technology where the "publisher" owns the material in e-format and you can go to a machine in a bookshop (assuming those will exist in the future) and just get it printed for you relatively cheaply. This is currently a growing trend in publications with very small runs (particularly academic books and self-published novels, but I bet RPG books would also fit in neatly there). Otherwise, in the current market, many titles get deleted and pulped, never to see light of day again. WotC could maintain e-versions of the book (and incorporate errata as they go along) and we could then download a fully errata'ed version subsequent to the error-strewn things they they seem to initially put out.
Dunno, just something I read that might be pertinent.
When the first computer tools were released I started to drift away from continuously turning through multiple books to find a ruling. I do not want to go back, and at the same time, I no longer purchase rule books, when a tool like DDI is available.
I also like having up-to-date information, but as mentioned, there is a price to pay from the publishing side, so I don't know what the balancing point is to support both.
I would almost prefer allowing the customer to print whatever they want via third party publishing sites. I would use this for modules, or items like a DM guide, or world books.
Or if ebook readers become the norm, securable (content) and affordable, that may be the appropriate route.
If it's a pain to play with the errata, don't. The game keeps working (as well as it ever did) if you just ignore all the changes that were made for balance's sake.
Nobody's going to come to your house and kick your door down if you keep adding int mod to Winged Horde damage.
Irrelevant to my point, which was the overall direction of the game. Thanks for the glibness, though! :/
Irrelevant to my point.It's perfectly relevant. The errata is aimed at consumers who are using the character builder, which seamlessly integrates the errata. The errata doesn't invalidate the print edition of the game, and if you're playing without access to the character builder, you can safely use the unerrataed rules without running into any major issues.
Which has nothing to do with the ultimate direction taken by WoTC.
If you don't have anything meaningful to contribute...
Which has nothing to do with the ultimate direction taken by WoTC.You didn't outline any steps toward making the game unplayable without digital tools. The game is perfectly playable without digital tools; WOTC is just using the digital tools they have available to tweak it. That makes the hard-copy and the digital-enhanced forms of the game different, but Arcane Power isn't any less complete because Gnome Phantasmist works slightly differently with the errata.
You suggest that "Essentials is the first step in that direction," without any explanation on how a D&D-lite boxed set will require digital tools any more than the original red box did. Why does a stripped-down version of the game necessarily require digital tools, especially since said stripped-down version of the game includes a playmat and tokens?
Dude, I'm not going to argue with you. Of course I can keep playing with just the books. My point is that I believe that the logical conclusion of their current course is to move away from books altogether. If you disagree, fine, feel free to elaborate, but silly statements about people coming to kick my door down, while possibly amusing to you, are quite beside the point.
That's all I'm going to say about that.
If they are going more digital and less print, then they need to do something about pdf's for the books. And if there is going to continue to be so much errata for 4E and any future editions, then they also need to do something that will let people update pdf's they have bought of WotC books at no extra charge. I do not want what they do in the future to require you to access only their site to read rules, use building tools or whatever else they come up with. I like pdf's but I prefer having the real book in my hands and besides, not every gamer is running around yet with constant internet access from a wifi-enabled device or a cell phone.
As for the other side-track point mentioned, yes you can play the game without the errata, but the errata is official and if you get some players together where some have the errata and some don't, you better believe the ones without will be required to play with the errata updated rules.
That is where the DM discusses it with the players to decide what is best for the group.
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RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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Regarding books in print: A collection of friends around a tabletop can play any version of the game, with any houserules, they wish. I don't believe that's what concerns the OP.
But in a larger gaming environment, it's painful to attend a convention, or join a play-by-post game, and find out that you are not all playing the same game system. At least when you run with house rules, you know the guys at the convention will be ruling things differently than you.
If the errata is extensive, that diminishes the value of the print books. If the errata is extensive and ongoing, that weakens the foundation of the entire game community, because nobody quite know whether she's going to walk into a convention, post on an on-line forum, or otherwise connect to the game's fan-base with accurate information.
If they are going more digital and less print, then they need to do something about pdf's for the books.
I think the idea is that at a certain point "books", whether print or pdf, will become unnecessary for D&D. You'll have a DDi Subscription, and it will handle all the character generation, give you access to all the rules, provide you with all your supplements, and give the DM everything he needs to create adventures, whether he's doing so for the tabletop group or using some kind of online gaming table.
I'd say we're about 75% of the way there right now:
- You don't need a book to write a character. The character builder takes care of all of that.
- You don't need a book at the table. As a player, just about everything you need is available on your character sheet. You might need the rules for rituals, and every so often, you might want to reference the exact wording of a rule. In my experience, people's PHB's generally stay in their backpacks for the entire duration of a game session. As a DM, you need the books a little more, although I often don't bring mine to game night, and instead just bring the printout of the adventure. The encounters are typically self-contained enough that you don't need to reference anything, and if a rules issue comes up, there are typically a few players with PHB's in their backpacks, who can look it up for you. If you have a PC and DDi, you can take care of things that way, too.
- You almost never need a book when doing encounter and adventure design. Only, sometimes, you do. This is the bit that's missing right now. While the monster builder is really good, there isn't a good way to write encounters yet. The computer tools aren't there for writing traps. I still have to refer to the DMG when writing up treasure parcels or applying templates or making NPCs.
- There's still no online game table. And personally, I don't think there ever will be.
However, assuming WotC gets their stuff together and finishes the last few sets of tools, you won't need to buy books anymore. Everything you need to play D&D will be provided by computerized tools.
I have the Monster Builder and Character Builder loaded on my PC. They can't just take that away from me.
More to the point: I don't think there's going to be a next edition for a long time. I think they've moved to a model of incremental adjustments, made through errata, which are automatically updated in the computer system. We're already playing 4.5 - it's been loaded onto our computers a little bit every month.
Finally, I'd just like to suggest that you can't live your life in fear of the Next Edition. I still have hard copies of all my second edition books, even though I stopped playing that edition years ago. According to you, I have the "choice" to go back to them. But really, I don't. There isn't a person who would play with me, and I don't even like that edition much.
Regarding books in print: A collection of friends around a tabletop can play any version of the game, with any houserules, they wish. I don't believe that's what concerns the OP.
But in a larger gaming environment, it's painful to attend a convention, or join a play-by-post game, and find out that you are not all playing the same game system. At least when you run with house rules, you know the guys at the convention will be ruling things differently than you.
If the errata is extensive, that diminishes the value of the print books. If the errata is extensive and ongoing, that weakens the foundation of the entire game community, because nobody quite know whether she's going to walk into a convention, post on an on-line forum, or otherwise connect to the game's fan-base with accurate information.
I equate this situation as you are damned if you do, or you are dammed if you don't. I think any player wants to use the same rule set, and obviously no DM wants a broken class in their campaign.
As long as the errata is released for all to download/print, and it is updated in available software tools at the same time, then I am not sure what else can be done.
But if they go exclusively to software tools or web subscriptions, where some prefer only hard copy, then obviously you have lost a customer. Unless there is a valid third party print option.
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There isn't a person who would play with me, and I don't even like that edition much.2e had been on the wane for a long time before 3e came along. For most games, the new edition doesn't kill the old unless the old is already dying.
Retro-clones are keeping the following editions alive (and these are just the ones I know of):
Original Dungeons & Dragons (1974)
Advanced Dungeons & Dragons (1978)
Basic Dungeons & Dragons: BX (1981)
I also know of a few retro-clones in progress to keep AD&D 2nd Edition alive, as well as Basic D&D: BECMI/RC. The company of the very website you're on has devoted the majority of it's work towards their own version of the v3.5 rules. It's easier than ever now for someone to play any version of Dungeons & Dragons that they could possibly desire, and many do. Not as many people play pre-3rd edition version, true, but the "old-school" movement is alive and thriving.
I think the idea is that at a certain point "books", whether print or pdf, will become unnecessary for D&D. You'll have a DDi Subscription, and it will handle all the character generation, give you access to all the rules, provide you with all your supplements, and give the DM everything he needs to create adventures, whether he's doing so for the tabletop group or using some kind of online gaming table.
I'd say we're about 75% of the way there right now:
- You don't need a book to write a character. The character builder takes care of all of that.
- You don't need a book at the table. As a player, just about everything you need is available on your character sheet. You might need the rules for rituals, and every so often, you might want to reference the exact wording of a rule. In my experience, people's PHB's generally stay in their backpacks for the entire duration of a game session. As a DM, you need the books a little more, although I often don't bring mine to game night, and instead just bring the printout of the adventure. The encounters are typically self-contained enough that you don't need to reference anything, and if a rules issue comes up, there are typically a few players with PHB's in their backpacks, who can look it up for you. If you have a PC and DDi, you can take care of things that way, too.
- You almost never need a book when doing encounter and adventure design. Only, sometimes, you do. This is the bit that's missing right now. While the monster builder is really good, there isn't a good way to write encounters yet. The computer tools aren't there for writing traps. I still have to refer to the DMG when writing up treasure parcels or applying templates or making NPCs.
- There's still no online game table. And personally, I don't think there ever will be.
However, assuming WotC gets their stuff...
Yes, this is what I meant. It might not be a bad thing, but to me it seems that RPGs won't be coming in books much longer.
As someone else pointed out, you already can't go into a store, buy a PHB, then jump into the RPGA game that's running there. Actually, you can, but many of the rules in your new book will be wrong. And not a little wrong -- way off. What WoTC is doing isn't Errata: To get the current rules, you need a computer.
This isn't about DDI being too expensive, or anything like that; it's about D&D becoming DDI. I think we're a few software tools away from that becoming the reality.
Regarding books in print: A collection of friends around a tabletop can play any version of the game, with any houserules, they wish. I don't believe that's what concerns the OP.
But in a larger gaming environment, it's painful to attend a convention, or join a play-by-post game, and find out that you are not all playing the same game system. At least when you run with house rules, you know the guys at the convention will be ruling things differently than you.
If the errata is extensive, that diminishes the value of the print books. If the errata is extensive and ongoing, that weakens the foundation of the entire game community, because nobody quite know whether she's going to walk into a convention, post on an on-line forum, or otherwise connect to the game's fan-base with accurate information.
If the alternative is to allow bad rules to stand then I don't think very much of that alternative. Better to create the best possible game and deal with the hassles of errata then to choose to consistently have a worse gaming experience because once something has been printed its sacrosanct.
Beyond that the game being played at conventions is working under a unified rule system, at a convention everyone plays by the errata'd rules. One can even fix ones printed books with some white sticky paper and some effort or one can stick stars or some such into the margin by rules that have errata to remind one of that.
In all cases I have to say that I am very happy with this method of dealing with the game. Broken rules should be fixed IMO and if there is a better way of handling something then that should be added.
Yes, this is what I meant. It might not be a bad thing, but to me it seems that RPGs won't be coming in books much longer.
As someone else pointed out, you already can't go into a store, buy a PHB, then jump into the RPGA game that's running there. Actually, you can, but many of the rules in your new book will be wrong. And not a little wrong -- way off. What WoTC is doing isn't Errata: To get the current rules, you need a computer.
This isn't about DDI being too expensive, or anything like that; it's about D&D becoming DDI. I think we're a few software tools away from that becoming the reality.
OK. I see your brave new world but I don't really see the problem. The issue, ultimately, comes down to the fact that the tools are extremely high quality. Most of us walk willingly down this path because we like what we are seeing.
As Aubury pointed out above - there may come a time when WotC will cease doing physical books but what of it? I mean they'll make paper books if there is money to be made that way, so its a matter of some critical mass basically moving fully to an online model in terms of prep and rules at which point it no longer makes sense to print books though they may still do something like limited runs or maybe print on demand versions. WotC may be enticing us in some direction but its the critical mass of gamers themselves that will determine if its a viable option.
Still I agree that some elements of the game are increasingly dealt with using a computer - and its no surprise IMO that this is so - its straight up a better way to deal with rules. Computers are good at that sort of thing and the same goes for the prep tools - we use them because they are good and they save us time.
All that said I think your games table is still a ways off. I'd not expect to see that any time soon - they first need to make tools for every element in the game and they are no where near that.
OK. I see your brave new world but I don't really see the problem.
I don't know that there is a problem; I may not like it, but I didn't post this thread to gripe. I posted it more to see if people see things going the way I see them going.
The issue, ultimately, comes down to the fact that the tools are extremely high quality. Most of us walk willingly down this path because we like what we are seeing.As Aubury pointed out above - there may come a time when WotC will cease doing physical books but what of it? I mean they'll make paper books if there is money to be made that way, so its a matter of some critical mass basically moving fully to an online model in terms of prep and rules at which point it no longer makes sense to print books though they may still do something like limited runs or maybe print on demand versions. WotC may be enticing us in some direction but its the critical mass of gamers themselves that will determine if its a viable option.
Still I agree that some elements of the game are increasingly dealt with using a computer - and its no surprise IMO that this is so - its straight up a better way to deal with rules. Computers are good at that sort of thing and the same goes for the prep tools - we use them because they are good and they save us time.
All that said I think your games table is still a ways off. I'd not expect to see that any time soon - they first need to make tools for every element in the game and they are no where near that.
I think a good game table as part of the DDI will be necessary at some point. What I think will come first is DDI access to the text of the rules (in fact, I'm surprised it isn't already there). Once that is in place, I can see books going away all together, or at least beyond a "starter" set that serves as a gateway.
I for one, will miss comprehensive books, and so won't be sticking with WOTC, but that's really beside the point; we've largely parted company already.
Would it be absurd to envision a time when hardcopy books would be almost exclusively "fluff" and standard rules and all the crunch, stats, detailed rule cases (such as Conditions) could become electronic tools???
By purchasing a book, you got the rights to access the pertinent stats and rules material for the book (in Builder or similar format).
Or you could get all the crunch materials in a subscription (what DDI does for you now)
I have seen a similar method applied to intro academic books and high-end divulgation books: the hardcopy has the book's text, whereas all the footnotes, endnotes and dense materials for higher-level students or professionals/teachers go into a website which the purchase of the book gives you rights to visit.
Advantages:
1) More interest for gamers who like a setting, adventure or similar, but who have a different game system of choice. They buy a single all-laden with setting, roleplay and atmosphere ideas if they like the thing and want to adapt to their system. That way, D&D would sell more concrete books even to people who are playing PF, 3.5 BRB, homebrew, etc.
2) players would not feel they are being cheated for buying what basically amounts to "rules revisions" in paper format (IMO the big problem of 3.0 > 3.5). That means players can spend more money on products which genuinely feel like expansions, additions, etc.
3) the company could allocate more resources in expanding their gaming universe (new settings, classes, bestiaries) instead of in "updating" it.
4) No "new edition" crises. I know that even with edition shifts, much "fluff" is still usable. Also, I think there is some malaise in buying a new book (besides the core, perhaps) which is mostly updating rules contents. If I have spent several hundred dollars in a mostly-fluffy library of D&D stuff, I would not hesitate in shifting to a new edition, which would just require purchasing digital rules and crunch and a couple core manuals or so. If the supplements I own have pages and pages of rules material which suddenly becomes obsolete, I might consider not making the shift, or going for a RPG system which has been a bit more stable throughout the decades.
I find point 4 quite important given the apparent "high pace" of rules revision in WotC's strategy already pointed out. If prospective D&D5 makes 4ed books obsolete, the reaction can be terrible, giving the high proportion of stats and rules vs. adventure and background in many supplements we have purchased in hardcopy.
3.5 > 4ed can be understandable, as the edition change involved a revamp of the setting, campaigns, mythology and such. But I don't think that can be pulled again any time soon. Whereas it was a possibly positive strategy to attract new RPG games to the hobby, if an apocalyptic stunt is played too soon, it can just deter those recent gamers who were getting familar and comfortable with the setting.
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RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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Uchawi, Jeremy, thank you for your kind replies.
To put things in perspective: I own a Macintosh, and it's been my understanding that DDI doesn't support Mac architecture. (I'd be happy to find out I've been wrong about that.)
I don't think it's a reasonable expectation that I buy a new computer to play D&D.
The alternative to sloppy-rules-and-then-errata isn't just sloppy-rules. The alternative is to produce better rules in the print copies. I'm not being snarky: I know damn well that the designers and developers at Wizards are top-notch, and the amount of errata for, say, the last three years of Magic sets doesn't rise to the level of an 80-page document. The issue seems to be a workplace attitude among the D&D staff of "there's never time to do it right, but there's always time to correct it".
Compare, please, to the amount of errata for AD&D, 2nd Edition.
I have the Monster Builder and Character Builder loaded on my PC. They can't just take that away from me.
More to the point: I don't think there's going to be a next edition for a long time. I think they've moved to a model of incremental adjustments, made through errata, which are automatically updated in the computer system. We're already playing 4.5 - it's been loaded onto our computers a little bit every month.
This.
WotC now boasts a sustainable, consistent stream of subscription income in the form of D&D Insider. It allows them to deliver content to (potentially) their entire customer base, whether that content is new or simply updates to old content. The incentive that most companies have to make the move to a new edition simply isn't as strong - declining sales of print books is less of an issue if they can stay afloat on Insider subscriptions alone. I'm sure we will eventually see a new edition; even fully-digital game products like MMORPGs are replaced with a sequel after they've run their course. It's still a ways off, yet, and I would be startled if they didn't make damn sure to have a worthwhile digital subscription service ready to go as soon as the next edition is released. It's simply been too lucrative for them to lose to an edition change.
Regarding the errata/update issue, this is being made into a bigger deal than it actually is. The RPGA is a fair point, but thankfully a lot of the RPGA regulars are on top of this sort of thing and will help straighten you out (though, if you're playing in the RPGA, it's a good idea to use the Character Builder anyway because it will ensure that you don't make any mistakes during character creation; lest we forget, the Character Builder is actually free if you just want to create a new 1st level character for RPGA play). During home games, just run your game as normal. You don't need to worry about errata if everything is running smoothly. If something doesn't run smoothly ("Hmmm, I'm not sure that Avengers should really be able to get an 18-20 critical range from a Warlock paragon path..."), then you can go and check the errata on that specific topic.
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RPG Superstar 2010 Top 16
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Pssst. 2e got a 2.5 edition. 64 extra pages for just the PHB.
It did. But those additional pages comprise advice, further examples, larger art, and a much roomier typeface. Not new subsytems or a myriad of corrected spells.
Uchawi, Jeremy, thank you for your kind replies.
To put things in perspective: I own a Macintosh, and it's been my understanding that DDI doesn't support Mac architecture. (I'd be happy to find out I've been wrong about that.)
I don't think it's a reasonable expectation that I buy a new computer to play D&D.
The alternative to sloppy-rules-and-then-errata isn't just sloppy-rules. The alternative is to produce better rules in the print copies. I'm not being snarky: I know damn well that the designers and developers at Wizards are top-notch, and the amount of errata for, say, the last three years of Magic sets doesn't rise to the level of an 80-page document. The issue seems to be a workplace attitude among the D&D staff of "there's never time to do it right, but there's always time to correct it".
Compare, please, to the amount of errata for AD&D, 2nd Edition.
They screw up with Magic too but the whole sub culture is not the same thing. For the last three quarters of a year everyone at the tournament level has been playing pretty much the same deck - Jund Cascade. They do so because Cascade is too powerful a mechanic and anyone not playing that deck is simply playing a worse deck. Its as if they made fighters far superior then every other class. However Magic errors are not as long lasting, they can put out new cards meant to counter the strengths of an old card and sections of the game become obsolete every 6 months or so and that shakes things up.
Anyway the bottom line is that they don't know how to make fool proof rules, at least not where Magic is concerned, because they mess up with Magic all the time.
Having done some play testing myself I'm not really sure there is an obvious answer solves the problem except the way they are doing it now or using some other method that involves becoming intimately familiar with the rules for a long period of time.
Compare, please, to the amount of errata for AD&D, 2nd Edition.
2nd Edition was mostly just a cleaned up version of 1st and was a simpler game which did not put much effort into play balance - leaving that to the DM.
They simply are not comparable.
I think paizo's success shows there is still a market for paper/book products.
Wizards is simply going in a different direction, and seems to mesh well with the 4th ruleset.
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To put things in perspective: I own a Macintosh, and it's been my understanding that DDI doesn't support Mac architecture. (I'd be happy to find out I've been wrong about that.)I don't think it's a reasonable expectation that I buy a new computer to play D&D.
As a Linux-using laptop + PDF GM, I feel your pain.
Wizards is simply going in a different direction, and seems to mesh well with the 4th ruleset....what? WOTC hasn't stopped selling books, hasn't suggested that they're going to stop selling books, and indeed sells their books only in print and not in PDF.
Yeah, I'd actually come to the opposite conclusion - given that Paizo employs both a subscription model to deliver a big chunk of their products, and also actively sells PDFs of their print products, they have less at stake in keeping print products on store shelves than WotC does (relatively speaking, of course).
Uchawi, Jeremy, thank you for your kind replies.
To put things in perspective: I own a Macintosh, and it's been my understanding that DDI doesn't support Mac architecture. (I'd be happy to find out I've been wrong about that.)
I don't think it's a reasonable expectation that I buy a new computer to play D&D.
You certainly don't have to. A Windows emulator (read: Boot Camp plus a copy of Windows) will accomplish the same thing. Now, this might also be too steep a price to pay for you, but the option is there.
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Thoughts?
I'm with you 100% on this. While updates and errata are a fact of life, sometimes (and I think this about say Windows) if the attitude is, "put out what we have as we can always fix it later".
I'm old school, for me P&P = P&P with online support. We have had intra-edition wars during a game due to "who had the latest errata" arguments. Does the DM have to right to say "I'm using the old errata (or original) rule as the new one impacts on aspect A or B of my game"? 4e requires access to D&D Insider in a lot of ways. I like D&D Insider but I hope it's not the forum WotC choose to use to fix problems that arise simply from lack of play testing (i.e. making the customers the beta-testers).
S.
You certainly don't have to. A Windows emulator (read: Boot Camp plus a copy of Windows) will accomplish the same thing. Now, this might also be too steep a price to pay for you, but the option is there.Uchawi, Jeremy, thank you for your kind replies.
To put things in perspective: I own a Macintosh, and it's been my understanding that DDI doesn't support Mac architecture. (I'd be happy to find out I've been wrong about that.)
I don't think it's a reasonable expectation that I buy a new computer to play D&D.
Yeah, but at the price for a full version of Windows 7, it could be cheaper to go out and buy a slightly older used pc or laptop that still has XP on it.
Yeah, but at the price for a full version of Windows 7, it could be cheaper to go out and buy a slightly older used pc or laptop that still has XP on it.You certainly don't have to. A Windows emulator (read: Boot Camp plus a copy of Windows) will accomplish the same thing. Now, this might also be too steep a price to pay for you, but the option is there.Uchawi, Jeremy, thank you for your kind replies.
To put things in perspective: I own a Macintosh, and it's been my understanding that DDI doesn't support Mac architecture. (I'd be happy to find out I've been wrong about that.)
I don't think it's a reasonable expectation that I buy a new computer to play D&D.
Right.
The real smart buy is to run out and drop $300 on an Asus Eee PC netbook. You'll have your windows box and a really handy tool for you as the DM at the table, if you didn't already have a laptop.
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Yeah, but at the price for a full version of Windows 7, it could be cheaper to go out and buy a slightly older used pc or laptop that still has XP on it.You certainly don't have to. A Windows emulator (read: Boot Camp plus a copy of Windows) will accomplish the same thing. Now, this might also be too steep a price to pay for you, but the option is there.Uchawi, Jeremy, thank you for your kind replies.
To put things in perspective: I own a Macintosh, and it's been my understanding that DDI doesn't support Mac architecture. (I'd be happy to find out I've been wrong about that.)
I don't think it's a reasonable expectation that I buy a new computer to play D&D.
Right.
The real smart buy is to run out and drop $300 on an Asus Eee PC netbook. You'll have your windows box and a really handy tool for you as the DM at the table, if you didn't already have a laptop.
I GM my games with a Dell Mini 9 and an External HDD full of PDFs, Campaign Notes, and Music. An Atom processor and a gig of RAM are more than enough to handle a music player, some e-books open, and my browser open to the campaign wiki. Minus the cost of the music and books, the whole setup cost me slightly over 300 bucks, and the netbook is really handy in general.
I do use Ubuntu Linux, though, so no character builder for me, but my PF and Exalted campaigns benefit immensely from the netbook. I have all of my books for both games inside a sub-3lb computer, and it doesn't dominate the table like a full sized laptop would.
Just sayin', the setup that Scott recommends works great for me. I still don't like the Windows domination though.
While I believe that it is currently more advantageous to subscribe D&DI than purchasing more books, I would say that the book line is not going to be reduced any more in favor of the online tools, articles, and compendium.
I think that having a significant amount of product in game shops encourages them to run events like Weekend in the Realms, D&D Game Day, and the upcoming D&D Encounters. I imagine that having games run in relatively open places like game stores really does benefit the game and allow for more exposure a game that generally requires one to form a group with members of your local community. If most of the books were deemphasized, I'm not sure if as many stores would continue to work to host D&D events.
I GM my games with a Dell Mini 9 and an External HDD full of PDFs, Campaign Notes, and Music. An Atom processor and a gig of RAM are more than enough to handle a music player, some e-books open, and my browser open to the campaign wiki.
Not that you're suffering using your current setup or anything, but replacing your 1 gig DIMM with 2 gigs of RAM is a pretty significant performance boost for a netbook. I really recommend it if you haven't given it much thought already.
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Since Wizards of the Coast took over, Dungeons & Dragons has been much quicker to move onto new editions. Let's take a look at the history of Dungeons & Dragons editions (ignoring Basic D&D):
1974 Original Dungeons & Dragons
1978 Advanced Dungeons & Dragons
1989 Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: 2nd Edition
1995 Advanced Dungeons & Dragons: 2nd Edition Revised (v2.5)
2000 Dungeons & Dragons: 3rd Edition
2003 Dungeons & Dragons: 3rd Edition Revised (v3.5)
2008 Dungeons & Dragons: 4th Edition
Some may argue that there was a v1.5 edition with some of the supplements for that editions, but they never revised the core books, so I don't consider it even a half-edition, just options.
Four years passed between Original D&D and AD&D. Frankly, from what I've seen of OD&D, I'm supprised it took that long for them to realize that a large re-write was needed. Original D&D was very much a trial run, even depending on players to own another game for the combat system.
Eleven years passed between AD&D first edition and second edition. And second edition wasn't that huge of a change, certainly it's an easier transition between 1st to 2nd than from 2nd to 3rd.
Six more years, and second edition was revised...but it was still largely the same, not a new edition. It would be another five years before a true new edition arrived, giving second edition a total lifetime of 11 years, just like first edition had.
In 1997, WotC aquired TSR. The immediately began gearing up for a new edition of the game, and even ceased production of the Basic Dungeons & Dragons line, so as to merge the two product lines back into on cohesive game.
In 2000, third edition came out. This was a far more radical change than the game had seen before now. And apparently it should have undergone more rigerous playtesting, as just three years later, WotC released the revised version of third edition. However, due to the Open Game License and the freedom that it gave smaller publishing companies to contribute both to D&D and to the roleplaying community at large, the industry underwent the biggest boom since the early 80s.
In 2008, WotC released the fourth edition. Now, just a couple of years later, it seems those of you that play the system say they are already at the v4.5 point. I have to ask...how far can 5th edition be behind? They already have plans to release a 4th edition Rules Compendium...the equivalent 3rd edition book was pretty much the last non-campaign setting specific book released.
I predict 5th edition D&D by 2012.