The idea that kids wouldn't somehow want to roll up their own character is bullshit.

It's like... missing the entire fucking point for some kids out there. It's like really shooting yourself in the foot and looking at people saying "Wasn't it great?! Now just wait. Wait! Just wait for what's coming!"

Stupid. I don't even like Pathfinder, but it's boxed set was very well done. Hasbro has the fucking money to make a good boxed set, yet they are going to put out a shit boxed set and tell us it's awesome how it doesn't include anything to create your own shit. So fucking stupid.

Quote from: GameDaddy;750885Building this... right now ...looks a bit like this at the moment. Still have to workup some more of the city merchants...


Stede on The Beach  – 44 Blocks
Fort Stede
Home to the garrison of Stede.  Four Towers, reinforced stone walls, and a three story stone Keep.  On the first story is administrative offices, the smithy, and the armory... The second story contains the jail and kitchens. The third story contains quarters for some officers, and some of troops permanently assigned to this castle. Additional soldiers stationed here, as well as soldiers with families, are billeted in the town itself. The Keep contains the captains quarters, quarters for three additional officers as well as a barracks for forty soldiers. Shelters can be erected in the courtyard so that the full complement of troops (200) as well as 100 citizens can be sheltered and protected inside the walls.
<...snip...>

Hot Coffee, 3 Cp per cup
Misium Ale, 8 Gp per gallon
Misium Ale, 2 Gp per Pint
Misium Ale, 56 Gp per Pony Keg



...and so on... all randomly generated using inspiration pad pro.

well I just want it to generate an entire City scape in NWN that I can wander round in 3d alll nicely rendered and populated. Then I can edit and change stuff. Then I can use it as a NWN setting or I can print it off as a 2d map with a key and use it in a tabletop game.
I want all the generation to be fully automated. So it literally spits out a full randomly generated city for me an hour after I kick the programme off and go and read a book.

If someone came up with an interface that could easily turn a paper map to a rendered 3 d world or generate a rendered world and provide a map+ key to it then that would be Glorious

Quote from: Mike Mearls on TwitterThe stuff we haven't talked about yet is where DMs and players go next - there's a step between the Starter Set and the Big 3

So yeah, they're going to have some sort of digital initiative, free PDFs, whatnot.

https://twitter.com/mikemearls

Quote from: Skywalker;750879So, were you sold on D&D3e and Pathfinder for the same reason?

Yes, as a matter of fact I was, though almost only as a player.  I prefer other systems for GMing, but it's fun to play D&D.

Quote from: Brander;750906Yes, as a matter of fact I was, though almost only as a player.  I prefer other systems for GMing, but it's fun to play D&D.

Cool. So par for the course for you then

Quote from: MonsterSlayer;750888I hope they come out with the greatest phone app ever for you.

House rule #1: no phones at the table. Seriously the most disruption ever at a gaming table.

Seriously, am I that old "fogey" that I'm out of my mind for wanting some time with family or friends without needing to down load some crap?

Just as a counterpoint, my last D&D group (me as a player of course) had almost as many laptops at the table as players.  Can't recall the link for the one I was using, but we almost all used some kind of online generator and referenced the SRD.  Though there were plenty of books, they spent most of their time on a shelf.

Though considering almost everyone at the table worked at a job that required a cellphone be carried for being on-call, we were a bit on the technical side overall.

Quote from: GameDaddy;750890...This. My kids are in this demographic too. The Boy likes rolling up Traveller characters. ...just because. Not sure he would part with money for an RPG  game that doesn't include chargen.

Rolling up Traveller characters is a mini-game all it's own.  Though I have used software to do it as well.  I think the vast majority of people are going to have no problem with a phone app and/or a PDF, or even a web page.  It actually makes the game MORE accessible rather than less.

I remember when I had just got the Moldvay/Cook Basic box as a kid. I read the rulebook a bunch of times, my imagination blazing about all the characters I could make to populate made-up worlds. The book didn't tell me what world to make, it gave me the tools to make my own.

I would sit there at night and just roll up characters. Hell, my friends would come over and we'd just roll up characters in D&D or other games we got afterwards. If enough guys could come over, we'd play a proper game, but otherwise character building was fun. World building was fun. It was all there, in that box, it's imagination mana for kids. IME, it's the adults who are too busy to spend the time to create their own character who need the pregens.

Kids are going to get the Beginners Box for their birthday. It's gotta be a total game they can play. They're not gonna get the 3 manuals, those they're gonna have to mow a bunch of lawns and shovel a bunch of driveways and save up.

And ya know, I still play that B/X D&D game, and it's still playable. None of the computer stuff from '81 works any more on my laptop. But my Basic rulebook is still fully functional. And TSR hooked me early and got a lot of $ from me over the years.

Oh, and agreed about all that crypto-speech coming from Wizards, "but wait, it's all good, you'll just have to see, we got it covered, there's a plan..." Goddammnit, shit or get off the pot.

I didn't really have any interest at all in 5e... but then seeing Pundit's endorsement/reassurance... I started thinking $20 for a COMPLETE starter box would be a doddle... fun to read and if nothing else I'll pass it on to some kid.
But then... nope, it's not complete after all... it's one foot on the bait-n-switch conveyer belt to hook me in for the $150 hog farm.
No thanks.
I'm back to not giving a shit and being thankful for my LotFP boxed set.

It's probably too late for an on-line petition to change their minds as the books have probably been printed already.

WOTC has been stump-fuckingly moronic with D&D for 14 years now...

Why did we think they'd be any different now?

I feel like there is a product, a physical one, about which we are not yet aware, and which will make us all go, A-Ha! A product for which the PHB, the MM, and the DMG are all supplemental, and to which the Started Set points.



....at least, I like to hope so.

Quote from: Piestrio;750915Why did we think they'd be any different now?

Hope is a bitch.

This smacks of transmedia branding.  Crippleware the deadtree box and push people towards tablet/phone apps or have a chargen pdf available.

Pundit however, who's been pretty harsh on crippleware, says it's not crippleware, and there's something we don't know. :hmm:

Quote from: PunditEverything will be more clear when certain information is made public in a while. Information, I might add, that I as an advocate of the D&D game being made as accessible as possible to regular and casual gamers rather than just marketing to the hardcore fans am very excited about.

Ok, so lets break this down.  The info we don't know will "make D&D accessible as possible" to regular and casual gamers.  A free chargen pdf doesn't sound like the kind of thing Pundit gets excited about.  Something new?

Maybe a fully functioning interactive chargen website?  A new OGL or CC license to go along with free rules?

I don't see how a boxed set without chargen can be called not crippleware.  There must be a complimentary product somewhere.