An Open Letter To Wizards
Dear Wizards,
As long as I can remember, RPGs have been a part of my life. Like many other people, for me when RPGs come up in a conversation, there is one particular game which must be mentioned by name: Dungeons and Dragons.
The last few years have been hard. The Transformers, Silver Surfer, Spider-man 3, Alien Versus Predator 2 just to name a few especially rough patches. As time goes on, it feels like more and more treasures from my childhood are being dug up and defiled.
But through it all, there has been Dungeons and Dragons. When I embarrassed myself in public? DnD didn’t care. After my hotel reservation in Philadelpia was lost, and I had no-where to stay? DnD was there. DnD has always been there.
But now, I’m starting to get worried. It feels like you don’t care about DnD anymore. You’re moving all the content online, talking about subscription fees, you’re cutting away at the OGL, and worst of all, you’re making it near impossible to get any news about DnD. More and more of us don’t bother to go to you for information anymore because you keep making us watch videos and listen to podcasts instead of just answering us.
Even though everyone is going over to Morris’ house, DnD is still invited to the party. DnD has always been there, and always will be. But I’m scared, Wizards, because I feel like you don’t care. And everyone of those childhood memories I mentioned? They were all defiled by people who just didn’t care.
Please, Wizards. Re-assure me.
Thanks, Wizards
When I was reading through Google Reader this morning, I saw that Wizards had posted a new question and answer regarding the SRD and the OGL for 4e.
“Will the sequels to PHB, MM, and DMG also be included under the OGL and SRD?” A simple question, which should have a simple and straight forward response.
Yet after clicking on the link, and then hunting around the new page for the real link, I discover that the answer to the question is being offered only in video form.
Do you not want us to get details about 4e, Wizards? Do you realize that most of us don’t want podcasts and videos as the only way to get news and product updates? Just TELL US!
Update:Â It turns out that the future releases will indeed be part of the OGL.
Wizards, 4e, and the OGL
If you haven’t heard elsewhere yet, Wizards has announced that they are selling the rights to publish anything under the 4e OGL for $5,000. Purchase now, and you can sell your products for several months following the release of 4e. If publishers don’t purchase the license, they’ll still be able to publish material for 4e - just not until 2009.
Why? Wizards say they’re doing this “to ensure quality.” Somehow, I doubt it. To be sure, following the release of 3rd Edition a lot of unbalanced and poorly constructed products were released by third parties. But then, Wizards released an unbalanced and poorly constructed product when they released 3rd Edition. The product was so unbalanced and poorly constructed, in fact, that they had re-release the game a few years later - no new features were included, only fixes to what was broken before. Oh, and Wizards doubled the money they made off 3rd Edition.
But what does this really mean in the long-run, other than more profits for Wizards?
We’ll see less support for 4e. Not just initially, but for the lifetime of the product, there will be substantially less third party products. Many companies won’t bother to switch to using the new d20 license, but instead focus on continuing to use the old d20 system that all their products have been released for in the past. These companies will also be catering to the crowd of players who won’t bother to switch from 3.5 either, which brings me to the next consequence.
Less people will play. Less support, no conversion guide from the old editions, and no ability to preview and even test-play the system in-depth thanks to the OGL? People will stick with what they already know, have, and love - and don’t have to spend another $100 on to start over.
New systems will come out and compete with d20 and the new 4e system. Publishers who aren’t using the d20 OGL may find that it’s better for them to create a new system or fall back to an old one that fits the game better than shoe-horn the game into d20. This competition will further take away both support and players from 4e and Wizards community.
New players will be attracted to the game table again due to the new array of choices and products. Players who left because it felt like they were repeatedly playing the same game in different settings when they played d20 will be attracted by the new choices and systems, and may return to the game table.
Wizards will begin to lose its ridiculous monopoly on RPGs. I’m not saying that Wizards will go out of business or even stop being the biggest company in the industry, but as they continue to do things which create more growth in the industry outside of their company than inside, or things which push potential customers away from hearing about products or increasing their costs to play and use their products - as all of these things happen, Wizards’ grip on the RPG industry will begin to slip, and other companies will slowly begin to gain ground and fill in the cracks left by Wizards.
What’s next, Wizards?
Narrator’s Creed
Thanks to Greywulf and ChattyDM for this.
We, the undersigned……
- Demand a rules system that is consistent, clear and concise in all respects
- Want one book that contains character generation, the game rules and a wide and inspiring selection of opponents
- Expect regular supplements which take the game in fun, exciting and unexpected directions. Give us new monsters, new rules and new ideas, not formulaic repetition and rehashes of previous material
- Need published adventures created by the best minds in the industry that are fun to run and don’t require multiple rule books and monster manuals open at the table just to run a simple encounter. Give us all we need to run the encounter straight off the page
- Demand a system which works with (but doesn’t demand) miniatures, an internet connection or an electronic gaming aid. Let us choose how we play rather than be dictated by the financial interests of your company. Get this right and the profits will follow. Have faith in your customers, and they will have faith in you
- Want a combat system which can scale with the number of opponents, whether it’s a single foe or a thousand screaming goblins.
- Expect to be able to be able to create and customise monsters and NPCs simply, whether we be planning a scenario or sat at the table mid-game. We demand simplicity.
- Want stat blocks which take up a few lines of text, not a whole page
- Demand character generation that is as flexible and unrestricted as possible
- Expect the rules system to reflect the genre, not mould the genre into it’s image
- Want game designers who listen, not preach; improve, not re-invent; and inspire, not promote.
- Require a freely downloadable Test Drive Preview of the game with which we can run a sample adventure from start to end.
In return, we will…..
- Advocate, promote and play this game at every opportunity
- Make this game our game through customization of the classes, features and game world
- Introduce new players to the game, and thereby expand the hobby and profits of the company
- Buy the game, buy the supplements and buy the adventures, for they will be good, and worth our hard earned cash
- Have fun and be very, very happy indeed!!
Greywulf has asked that this be passed on if you agree with it, through communities or blogs. You can find the original post, by Greywulf, here.
Wizards Lost Me At Podcast
The one thing the campaign for Fourth Edition DnD that really annoys me is the over-use of the podcast.
In the past, I’ve loved reading the blogs for Wizards. It gave me a great insight into what was coming up, and what the thinking was for different things. Lately, however, it seems as if a great deal of information is being released primarily, if not only, through their podcasts.  Which is terrible for me, because I can’t stand to listen to them.
I’m not singling Wizards out here. This isn’t a comment on the quality of their podcasts or anything of the sort. I simply can’t sit through any podcast. I have ADD, and if I can’t scan the entirety of it to find what is relevant to me, what I’m interested in, and what is being offered, I can’t stand to sit through these things.
So why aren’t they offering at least transcripts of these podcasts for people like me, who want to hear this information but can’t sit through the podcast itself?
Is there something I’m missing? Am I alone here? Anyone who can point me to a place where I can find transcripts or who will type them up for me will forever be my friend.
Critique on Fire-and-Forget
The Fire-and-Forget Magic System, whereby casters memorize spells in order to cast them, losing the knowledge to cast them and thus the ability to cast the spell again, was first presented in Jack Vance’s Dying Earth series. Gary Gygax used Vance’s work for a number of sources in the early days of Dungeons and Dragons, but he decided to use a Vancian magic system for two reason:
- It’s easy to balance for game play.
- It has no resemblance to any real world mythology or occult belief system.
At the time, both reasons were very good. Dungeons and Dragons was almost always under scrutiny in the beginning, due to the various beliefs and legends of ties to devil worship or some other such nonsense.
Today, however, neither reason is necessary. Numerous games have demonstrated a number of ways to balance spell casting systems without resorting to a Vancian system, many by simply introducing mana or an equivalent stat. In addition, role-playing has become much more mainstream, and with information available many myths are dispelled. Some organizations, like The Escapist, exist solely to address these myths and educate the public.
It is, however, the second reason which disturbs me the most. I cannot think of a single Fantasy book which has used Vancian magic since Dying Earth, excluding the novels which are based off of RPGs. What am I supposed to model and emulate when presented this situation? The images and archetypes that I am constantly surrounded with are replaced by more constricting ones.
While it is true that in more recent editions of Dungeons and Dragons the Sorcerer has somewhat fixed this problem, though exclusively for arcane casters, if one does not go searching beyond the core books.
For me, this has always been a problem not just of game mechanics, but of disconnect from everything I’m familiar with outside of gaming, and I feel unable to bring a lot of that into the game with systems that use Vancian magic.
What’s Wrong With Conventions?
The first convention I went to was Shore-Leave, and I was instantly hooked on the idea of conventions, and starting going to every one that I could. Years later, I would get to attend GenCon, the glory of which was beyond words.
So why is it that now, I found myself leaving conventions with nothing but disappointment?
I recently attended the Star Trek 40th Anniversary Convention in Cherry Hill, mainly so that I could meet William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. The convention lasted three days, and my attendance package for the weekend was several times what I had paid at any other convention. Once inside, I found a small vendor area (taking up one hallway) and numerous rooms set aside for activities and events. I was excited.
My excitement would soon dwindle, however, when I found that though multiple rooms had been reserved across the three day period, only one event would take place at a time. Most of the events constituted three hour blocks of time where you could pay between $25-75 to get a photo taken with a Star Trek Celebrity, which you would then receive in the mail six weeks later.
No fan panels were provided, no game room, no con suite that I could find. When I asked convention volunteers, they said that people might have things going in the hotel room, but that was unsanctioned and unsupported by the convention. The convention, which I had paid so much to attend, was so boring that on the second day, rather than attend I drove half-way across New Jersey to visit Jay and Silent Bob’s Secret Stash.
I have seen other conventions become impossible to communicate with, their P.O. Boxes shut off for months at a time, while their e-mail servers are down and every bit of contact information on their website is incorrect, a dead end, or out-of-date.
I have been approached by convention organizers to run panels and sections, exchanged contact information with the organizers, only to be never contacted again, and find that their contact information is no longer valid.
Convention organizers need to remember that conventions exist for the fans, and without them, the conventions will fall apart. Some conventions, like GenCon, are still doing it right. The rest need to get their act together.
Why I Feel Betrayed
Thanks to Yax at DungeonMastering.com for the original alert.
In 1974, TSR released the initial set of Dungeons and Dragons. This original version featured four races and three classes, and was in many ways crippled if you were not a Chainmail player.
In 1979 the rules were revised, and ADnD was released in it’s first incarnation, and closely resembled the later released Second Edition ADnD, and contained play very similar to later d20 versions of the game.
In 1985, the boxed set was released. This contained rules which were in many ways different from that of previous editions, and while somewhat simpler, also covered a far greater range of rules, including play beyond Level 36, and Godhood/Immortality.
In 1989, Second Edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons was released. This game featured a set of rules which would see refinement and additions over the years, but remain largely unchanged until 1995 when a series of Players Options books were released, greatly increasing the capabilities and possibilities of the game.
In 2000, Third Edition Dungeons and Dragons was released. This game feature a completely new set of rules, and used the d20 system. In many ways the feel and style of play greatly mirrored that of previous editions, despite the new simplified and unified mechanics.
In 2003, 3.5 Edition Dungeons and Dragons was released. This game was largely an update and replacement for the previous edition, fixing many problems with the previous edition, but making no substantive change in the flow or style of play.
Now, just months before Fourth Edition Dungeons and Dragons will be released, featuring a slightly less linear approach to character advancement and simplified rule structure, it has been announced that a modification and collection of rules and content from the current edition, 3.5, is being released in a Rules Compendium.
In 1997, just two years after the Players Options books had been released, TSR did the smartest thing I think they did before they were bought by Wizards of the Coast: They released a Wizard’s Spell Compendium, available in four thick volumes, which contained EVERY Wizard spell from every edition of Dragon, Dungeon, and Polyhedron magazine, as well as all official TSR publications, modules, and releases. The spells were all updated slightly to be congruent with the modern editions, but most survived with few changes. Simultaneously, they released a four volume version for Priests. Both these editions were cross-referenced and index thoroughly. Around the same time, boxed sets were released with a card based version of these books, each card containing the complete information regarding a spell, all categorized by spell level and put into alphabetical order.
They made it easy for players of their game to get the collection they needed, and they did this at the height of the game. In releasing this product now, Wizards of the Coast has managed to do the opposite to its consumers, who still clamor for an official Spell Compendium to be released.
I feel betrayed because, supplements aside, this Rules Compendium is the book I’ve wanted since the game was released. Where are the other compendiums? And why is this one being released only months before it becomes obsolete?
I feel betrayed because when I want to run a game of 3.5, I don’t want to have to carry a bookcase with me to feel like I can run a relatively complete game.
‘Winning’ In RPGs Part 2 of 3
Yesterday, I discussed the desire to experience a win moment in almost every game, including RPGs. I also described traditional ways to win, and began discussing how this can lead to power-gaming. Today, I continue along those same lines, and explore the ugly side of winning in RPGs.
A behavior which is considered almost universally bad in RPGs, that of playing the lone “Chaotic Evil” character, may be attributed to a strong and unfulfilled desire to win. By playing the Chaotic Evil character, a player is able to set themselves at odds with everyone, both PCs and NPCs alike. Competition is instantly written into the story, and the player feels free to “win,” if only by being the last one alive.
Another behavior, similarly maligned, is that of the Munchkin, who must constantly be the best in every conceivable way. This kind of play is often driven by the thought that the winner is the “best.” While this kind of thinking is often inappropriate in RPGs, it can be especially appropriate because of the self-centered attitude with which it is asked, “the winner is the best.”
I’ve seen experienced players, who have gone for years without falling into this trap suddenly become stuck. What brings them to this train of thought? I think that often players who feel “topped” by other players, or consistantly deprived of win moments will begin to at least feel like they are somehow losing. Other players who previously played or recently started playing MMORPGs may also be prone to this behavior, as it is considered more appropriate in many online RPGs.
How do you help deal with these tendencies? By providing win moments which encourage the style of play desired. I’ll discuss this more tomorrow.
‘Winning’ In RPGs Part 1 of 3
Most games outside of RPGs have a moment which can be described as the “win moment,” a time when a player (or players) are granted victory, and the game concludes. While the rest of the game is important and often enjoyable, it is for this “win moment” that the game is played.
Traditional ways to win games include:
- Eliminating all other players and forces in the game
- Immobilizing all other players and forces in the game
- Scoring enough points, or goals
- Defeating the final boss
- Attaining another specific and discrete goal
In RPGs, however, the emphasis is instead placed on the journey taken throughout the game and not necessarily on it’s conclusion, which may not be the climax of the story or the most rewarding part of it. Despite this, many players come to RPGs with a desire to a win moment, though it is not always realized or expressed. Fortunately, many principles of winning in other games may be transferred to RPGs, and often are. Many games, for instance, have the goal being to remove a villain from the game, or retrieving (or destroying) a specific item of power.
The problem with the desire to acquire win moments in RPGs is that the continuous nature of the game often makes the moments feel too short lived, which can drive some players to become power-gamers.
Tomorrow, I will continue this discussion and focus on the bad aspects of win moments in RPGs, how they can become problems, and how to spot them before they do.
