Quote from: Spinachcat;752858EXCEPT...why do I want a Starter Box when I can get a free PDF???

You don't. The starter box is for the peeps who aren't hanging out online already thinking about this stuff.

It all strikes me as a solid plan.

Great plan.

Also, the artwork is very AD&D:

Brilliant.

Also, as these things seem to get lost in the noise, it says that once the PHB hits the shelves, the free document will be updated to include monsters and magic items (the iconic stuff).

So, those wanting a basic game don't even have to pay for it - they can buy the adventures and use the pdf. It also states that all the new rules/magic items/spells etc contained in the adventures will be fully explained in that book. No need to buy any other books if you don't want to.

I think it's a phenomenal decision by Wizards and i truly hope they are rewarded for it.

Quote from: Spinachcat;752858EXCEPT...why do I want a Starter Box when I can get a free PDF???

You don't. It's not for you because you're not a starter, you've played for years.

But if you've got like a nephew or niece, or a cousin, or a friend's kid who wants to just pick up and play for the first time with their friends, you might like to give it to them so they can do that with as little time spent between receiving the box and starting the game as possible.

That's a very smart decision. Good on them for it!

This might have slid me over from "proceed cautiously" camp to the "I'm all in, baby!" camp.

This might have slid me over from "proceed cautiously" camp to the "I'm all in, baby!" camp.

Basic D&D has been available for some time now as a System Reference Document released under the OGL. Still, it's good to see WOTC acknowledging the earlier contribution of it's employees, and they honor those employees by releasing a comprehensive Basic Dungeons and Dragons book. They should put it into print, I'd buy that.

If it was relatively inexpensive, I'd buy several and get the extra books into the hands of my much younger (...these days all most of my players are much younger than me) rpg fans.

Great move!  I take back all the nasty things I've been thinking of wotc lately.

Brilliant move. I hope they succeed Also, I am liking the art A LOT.

Quote from: Simlasa;752863Because some tried to imply (or allowed others to infer) that the 'Starter Box' was a complete game... and then it wasn't.
I'd still pay them for a boxed version of this Basic thing, the version that will be out in August.

I think this can't be overstated. Pundit et al's attempts to read WotC's tea leaves has led to some of the most misleading expectations about Next's product content yet.

More precisely: what decisively led to the expectations set for the Starter Box on this site was caused by a series of Pundit's statements, premised on his being (explicitly) the only person 'in the know' ("My position (again, the ONLY actually INFORMED rather than speculative position here) ..."), that (1) the Starter Box itself is a "complete game" and (2) that the Starter Box is absolutely to be recommended for purchase by D&D veterans with 'old school' sensibilities.

On point (1):

Quote from: RPGPundit;751907It is by any sane person's definition a complete game.

Quote from: RPGPundit;750947The D&D starter set will in pretty well every respect end up being a better deal than the pathfinder set.

On point (2):

Quote from: trechriron;750808The Box Set is not targeting the grognard market. It's targeting new players. If you are a grognard the $20 buy-in will simply be a preview for YOU (well, US really...). Otherwise, it's a savvy move to making the game more accessible.

Quote from: PUNDIT on GooglePlusI'm not trying to be mysterious; I'm trying to clarify some mistaken ideas, without breaking my NDA.  I'm not a PR guy for wizards of the coast, I'm the fucking RPGPundit, and I'm trying to talk to "my people" here.

I will try to answer questions (or more easily, address claims and state which are categorically mistaken). But what I will say right now is this: instead of dismissing it, if you are an old-school gamer that was considering buying some product from the new line, the one you will probably want to get is the Starter.

(Source)

Quote from: RPGPundit;752550From what I have been shown, it seems likely that in the process of the campaign (because the starter set doesn't have just one adventure in it), there will be a lot of opportunity for understanding at least a couple of different ways of framing adventures.
At least some of which will be quite old-school.

Why on earth WotC would stage the release of a new edition by a mix of (1) cryptic Twitter remarks by designers deciphered by (2) a person with partial knowledge parading as 'not a PR spokesperson but in the know', is beyond me. It's quite hysterical, and I must honestly say I'm looking forward to the rest of this PR 'campaign'. It's slowly getting towards 4e times, but I'd prefer if they could revert to doing Youtube interviews and find someone as inept as GamerZer0.

I have a group of friends who I recently promised I would run some "D&D" (by which I meant "a roleplaying game") for for the first time this summer. Suddenly, I'm actually thinking of running actual D&D, which I haven't done for 20 years. This is a superb idea, and it circumvents so much of the bitching and moaning we've seen about the prices, the crippleware factor, the "why would I do it when there's so much out there for free in the OSR". I actually think this is a brilliant move.

So. D&D, eh? Count me in!

This is pretty damn awesome. I have a friend who has been arguing that the iconic core classes were no longer fighter, rogue, cleric, and wizard, but instead something like Barbarian, Ranger, Druid and Sorcerer. I've always thought that was insipid of him, and it will be great to be able to show him this. He'll probably stick to Pathfinder, though. Truthfully, I don't think he knows what iconic means.

This might well be D&D again.

awesome news:)

This is terrible news.

I insist on being able to buy  a copy of the basic rules in a box set with some second rate dice and a crayon so I can colour them in myself and I want some cardboard counters and a map of some description.
I want it to cost at least $30.
If they give away all the rules for free download so I can put it on my tablet and it can be updated seamlessly as an evergreen product what can I put on my shelves and what can I give the children in my local area as RPG related gifts. Gary Gygax would turn in his grave if he found out someone was giving away this shit for free.