While the combat system is supposed to have been sped up (which it has when minis are used) it has been slowed down, precisely because minis must be used now. Every encounter requires careful placement and arrangement of figures. I digress.

Since d&d has been around so long, it does not need to feel more like other fantasy works. I feel a little lost since 4e resembles so little of what I have been used to since AD&D in many ways. The Vancian system was an integral part of that feel and without it, mages seem very limited. Most spells are only looked at as combat related and the “rituals” do not have the same feel as similar spells in 3.5. Utility spells, which are supposed to make up the gap, still do not have the same application.

The system for wizards worked really well for both NPC wizards as enemies and allies as well as PC wizards. The new system is good for newbies and for a quick game. I see them as totally different games to be enjoyed for different purposes. I play both 4e and 3.5e concurrently.

D&D, as a product, does have decades of proven game design. You can’t argue with that fact. Publication dates alone tell you that. Doesn’t guarantee that any developments are good ones, only that they build on previous successes.

Look. I’m not a designer. The OGL, while novel and a good part of what made 3E so revolutionary, isn’t something I really care about.

I also don’t, on a personal level, know the designers that were fired. I do know that some of the ones I really like are still there. It’s not like they fired my best friend, or even my favorite designer.

As far as PDF sales - you’ve got me there. D&D has been behind the curve when it comes to technology. It was true during the TSR days and it’s true today.

Look. I actually really hope Pathfinder does well. Competition in the marketplace forces stronger products from the frontrunner. But you can’t argue the three points in this post:

• Pathfinder is still new and largely unproven (and unpublished, as you pointed out)
• Pathfinder isn’t D&D, at least not in the real world.
• Pathfinder doesn’t solve (my) problems with 3E.

Saying all of this doesn’t make me a shill or anything like that. The fact of the matter is that, for me, 4E breathed a whole new life into a game that had, sadly, played itself out.

Pathfinder is fine for whoever likes it. I don’t even think it’s a bad game. It is not D&D and, probably most importantly, just doesn’t do anything for me.

I think your first point is very wrong. First off, Pathfinder, the RPG, isn’t selling at all yet as it’s not even properly publish yet. Talking about sales is silly.

Even more silly is suggesting that D&D 4e has decades of proven game design. As others have pointed out, D&D 4e is arguably more revolutionary than Pathfinder, which incrementally builds on 3 & 3.5, which have only been around for a decade or so.

For me, it’s a matter of not wanting to support WotC after (1) they dropped the OGL, (2) fired many of the 3e edition designers and (3) their recently behavior with pulling all PDF sales. I simply don’t want to give any more money to them after the way I feel I have been treated. As a DM, that means I’m not going to spend money on 4e books and I’ll look elsewhere, likely to Paizo.

However, I don’t regret it too much since I fell in love with Dungeon and Dragon magazines. The Compendium is like a big reference book without any rules explanation or context. You want a monsters stats, you get it. However, you’ll have to buy the book to know what the heck it’s supposed to be.

Sucks, but it’s fair given the wicked amount of results you get by searching their database. (It’s pretty useful if you want to discretely check up something while at work or at school while thinking about game prep.)

But it would not be the same as sitting around a physical table and looking each other into the eyes as you roll the dice.
That is something I would not want to change.

For me timesavers like virtual tabletops and dice are a must - I want to get in as much play time as possible.

Really enjoyed the article, thanks.

I’m more upset over the ‘gaminess’ of the class powers. The mechanics make it feel very much like an MMORPG, and the powers are much narrower in their application. Spells like Grease and Create Water, which had a million and one uses and encouraged creative thought and problem solving, have been replaced by insta-buffs and one round effects that limit player and DM thinking to inside-the-box tactics. The limited number of powers available (only four dailies and four encounters max) also impede creativity, as opposed to 3e (our party’s bard currently has access to almost twenty spells, and he uses them all quite cleverly).

I’m not saying I dislike the new system. I think it’s a great idea. I just wish they hadn’t changed so much else along with it.