I myself lean the other direction. I'd rather Pathfinder 2nd Edition make many many more changes and not be limited by backwards compatibility. If you don't like the direction they go, you can always play PF 1E.
Dropping backwards compatibility on a system for which it was a major selling point is a rough road to travel. WotC lost a sizable chunk of their existing player base dropping compatibility with previous editions and I suspect that PF would lose a bigger slice of it's base given the desire for 3.5 compatibility inherant in it's base. The gain in new players is, imo, unlikely to make up for it. This is not to say that innovation is unwelcome, they have done quite a bit afterall, but a connection to the past of the game is important. My 2 cp.
Btw, I don't see the chance to play an orphaned system as being all that attractive to most players (or all the PF fans would still be playing 3.5). As for me, if PF hadn't come along and offered a cleaned up 3.5 with some nifty new stuff, I'd still be playing 3.5 (and houseruling as necessary)...
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Dropping backwards compatibility on a system for which it was a major selling point is a rough road to travel. WotC lost a sizable chunk of their existing player base dropping compatibility with previous editions and I suspect that PF would lose a bigger slice of it's base given the desire for 3.5 compatibility inherant in it's base.
I was under the impression that 3.X was the best-selling edition of D&D to date. OD&D, Basic D&D (in all it's incarnations, from Holmes to the Rules Compendium), AD&D, and 2nd edition had some differences, but they were close enough that material could pretty easily be converted amongst them, akin to 3.0/3.5/PFRPG.
[quote"R_Chance"] Btw, I don't see the chance to play an orphaned system as being all that attractive to most players (or all the PF fans would still be playing 3.5). As for me, if PF hadn't come along and offered a cleaned up 3.5 with some nifty new stuff, I'd still be playing 3.5 (and houseruling as necessary)...
I don't know about that. Lots of people still play previous editions of D&D. It's fairly easy to find poeple that play pretty much any edition of the game on these very boards. And the recent surge of retr0-clones over the past couple of years have made the access easy, even for those who don't have access to the original books. Hell, right now I'm running a 0E PbP game, and I never played 0E or 1E back when they were still being published.
I myself lean the other direction. I'd rather Pathfinder 2nd Edition make many many more changes and not be limited by backwards compatibility. If you don't like the direction they go, you can always play PF 1E.
I would tend to agree with this, with the caveat that they don't make changes for the sake of making changes; if a change is made, make sure it helps, not hurts the game. The biggest thing I ran into in 4e that turned me off was the sheer number of changes they made from 3.5 because they personally did not like, which is fine to a point, but the effects of the changes, especially the net effect of all the changes taken together, just did not feel well tested. Therefore, I am actually glad to see something like this being tried for the magic system now. It won't be perfect, and it won't end up being like the existing spells, but as an optional system, it can help work out the wrinkles of blending the strengths a point system that is more mutable with the strengths of the vancian level system that is easier to balance, without disrupting the current system, while minimizing the disruption that a potential switch to a new system in an updated Pathfinder would cause.
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Hiya,
Let me say something : there are two kinds of players. The rules-savvy, and the other kind. The rules-savvy want every little optimized thingie/alternate rule/errata/whatever. They are on this forum and comment every little rule they can find.
For the other kind, learning a system like 3.5 or PFRPG takes years. Alternate rules systems are no-go. Errata are confusing. Optimization is getting one of your rules-savvy buddies to create your character for you, and then not being able to read the sheet.
After years of hammering and peer pressure, they get power attack and the initiative rules right.
So new edition = half my group out. And then I can't play. Oh, and even if I can play ... it's just not the same.
Food for thoughts.
I was under the impression that 3.X was the best-selling edition of D&D to date. OD&D, Basic D&D (in all it's incarnations, from Holmes to the Rules Compendium), AD&D, and 2nd edition had some differences, but they were close enough that material could pretty easily be converted amongst them, akin to 3.0/3.5/PFRPG.
I'm not up on sales figures (and I don't believe WotC releases them). I have played since 1974, and that's my point -- each succeeding edition has maintained sufficient backwards compatibility that a move to the next edition could be made without any "game breakers". And I have with my campaign, moving from OD&D to 1E, 2E, 3/3.5 and now PF. I took ideas from the basic ed btw, but never used it for my campaign. 4E broke the chain. It's the first edition of D&D that I've looked over and discarded. Changes have to happen in managable chunks or you lose players as you "move on". I know people who still play older editions too (my brothers game is 1E although he's taking a close look at PF) but they are a usually a small group compared to the mainstream.
I don't know about that. Lots of people still play previous editions of D&D. It's fairly easy to find poeple that play pretty much any edition of the game on these very boards. And the recent surge of retr0-clones over the past couple of years have made the access easy, even for those who don't have access to the original books. Hell, right now I'm running a 0E PbP game, and I never played 0E or 1E back when they were still being published.
Some people do (again my brother DMs and I hope to play 1E when he reboots his game again) but they are a small slice of the RPG player base. I keep tabs on the retro scene but don't have a strong interest in collecting them. I still have my originals :) The support this produces for the older editions does imo help, but most players / DMs use APs and published material which is readily available only for current editions (I prefer my own material but that's just me being... particular - although I am not above lifting a good idea) and this limits older editions player base.