i finally understand what you 3.5 fans are feeling. and it sucks.
i started playing D&D about a year ago. my very first experience was with 4th edition of which, i still play and as frequently as i can. i love 4e, i really do.
now, before you start telling me how much 4e sucks, keep in mind that i have nothing to compare it to. its the only D&D system i know. in fact, im very much still learning it and i finally just finished reading the 4e Dungeon Master’s Guide last night. i’m just happy i’m finally playing D&D.
my group consists of myself, my girl, and my sister. another sister is still learning and hasn’t become an official member yet. i also did get my parents to play recently since i got them each an official WotC mini for Christmas but thats another story. i’ve gamed with a meetup group once and that was amazing once i got over my stage fright.
so here i am, learning the game, i just purchased a couple of real minis the other day, i’m busy converting Ravenloft into 4e and scouting another member for my group when i hear about…. 5th edition.
the news was released earlier this month through The New York Times. Click here for the article. And here is the actual news from WotC.
honestly, im not happy. for a year, i was playing the newest thing and i’ve no where near mastered this system. heck, i still cant level up properly without help from my character builder program but i’m getting there. i’m building new characters, learning all the lingo, and now, i found out that i’m going to be obsolete. just like 3.5 and all the earlier editions of D&D.
im not ready to be obsolete. im just not.
so what are my options? well, i can sulk over it like i have been doing and am really good at. i think i’m a level 5 sulker by now, or i can get my ass on the WotC site and sign up for that playtest i’ve been hearing about. and as i’m typing this, i did it.
i’m not sure what happens next. they said that i “have successfully signed up to receive notification from Wizards at a later date about the D&D playtest starting date and further instructions on how you can participate in playtesting.”
now that i did that, i do feel.. a little better.
i think what we fear is change. the mystery of what will happen to the system we learned, loved, and studied. not to mention all them money we spent on all the books and accessories. are we ever ready for our favourite system to change? i know i’m not. i don’t like change. i’m one of those “no news is good news” kind of people.
but i cant stop the game from evolving. maybe it wont be as different as i’m thinking. maybe 4e will just be improved without confusing the living hell out of me. i really REALLY don’t want to be confused. i don’t want to have to relearn a whole entire new system.
but, i guess, at least i can participate in the building process and see it before it gets released.
gamers, i think the best thing for us to do is to do this playtest and that way we can at least put in our feedback. after all, no one will hear our voices if we do not speak.
this is our game, after all.