Yes this is a sci-fi RPG blog but...
Some recent news from
Wizards of the Coast has reverted me to a sub-human
forum lurker again. I first heard about Wizards' plans to re-release the first edition
ADnD core rulebooks in a post at
Grognardia. One of the reasons I play retro-clone roleplaying games is because I do not have access to the original source materials these retro games mimic and alter.
But even with 1st edition
ADnD soon at my disposal, I certainly wont stop playing retro-clones. For me, getting this first edition is about discerning what Gygax had in mind from the start. My contact with Gygax's writing has been limited. I've leafed through a tattered
Advanced DM's Guide at a local hobby shop, I've read a few of his quotes online, even read up on
Gygaxian Naturalism - yet I've never owned nor read any of Gygax's works in full. I have only ever played (non-clone)
AD&D once, because my roleplaying youth was spent in the 3rd edition era. Even with around a decade of
DnD experience, I'm certainly a youngin' compared to the veterans.
My hope is that this re-release will open a market for other early edition products. I've always wanted to play the original
Ravenloft setting (which is
AD&D I believe), so my hope is that Wizards is cautiously moving towards this direction.
White Wolf Publishing's,
Vampire the Masquerade 20th Anniversary Edition seems to be selling quite well in PDF format online. I've seen it featured on
DriveThruRPG's "Hottest Items" list for a while now, and I believe Wizards certainly has potential in a similar old school market.
Wizards has also announced that a fifth edition of
Dungeons and Dragons is currently in development. The official announcement is
here. I applaud Wizards' approach to the consumer in this endeavor. I've signed up to play-test the upcoming edition, and have been keeping an eye on the forums. Because the wait for news is killing me, I've spent my time developing a list of my most immediate hopes, concerns, and solutions for the edition in development.
1. Release the fifth edition in an affordable single volume. Impossible? No way. The
Dungeons and Dragons Rules Cyclopedia contained everything needed to play the game within only a few hundred pages. I think Wizards would be wise to consider PDF and paperback options as well. Also, release a limited number of leather-bound 5E tomes with a gold leaf title (I'm actually kidding about this, and wouldn't buy it, but it would be cool to know such a thing exists).
2. Present the "heart" (or skeleton, or frame) of DnD as the "core rules." In addition offer "optional" rules in another section that expand upon the basic. Also be sure to designate which rule options reflect which edition. In this way, a group can custom tailor their game to be exactly as complex or house-ruled as they want it to be.
3. As far as the art goes, keep the style as cohesive as possible. Alternatively, use a range of art to reflect whatever edition's content is being discussed on the page. Thus, all the decades spanning RPG art could be showcased. Now picture this leather-bound (kind of kidding).
4. Standard races are boring. Offer multiple sub-races. For instance a "wild elf" should differ from a "high elf" if only minutely (I believe 3rd edition started to tackle this issue in the DM's guide). To reflect these differences, different skills and feats should be available to different sub-races. I also want Orcs (not half orcs), gnomes, and goblins as playable races.
5. Class trees > prestige classes. Players should be able to craft their rogue in the style of a 3rd edition skill-jockey, a 4th edition striker, or something in between. 4E "multiclass feats" should be fitted into the 5E. Ideally, no one should complain about their fighter "never learning any magic."
6. Offer DM advice for house-rules, world-building, creating custom classes, creating custom spells, creating custom monsters, and playing monstrous PC's.
7. More XP should be awarded for completing parts of the story or for getting treasure, and less XP for killing monsters.
8. Make every level meaningful for every class. Attempt balance, just don't be overly concerned by it.
9. Ultimately this ruleset should allow "rules light" and "rules crunchy" potential.
10. I want the necromancer and the psion to be playable classes.
11. Narrative Pace > Rule Realism
