I have pondered my reasons for disliking recent versions of D&D. It seems to boil down to one primary reason; I am an Old School gamer.
Not that 3.x or 4e are made completely of fail. They both introduce a degree of innovation and certain gameplay enhancements. Along with those enhancements, unfortunately, are some fairly drastic changes to the design and direction of D&D. It started moving away from 'role-playing' and towards 'game'. While, in and of itself, this is not the apocalypse of RPGs, it carries a modicum of cognitive dissonance. What was once an approximation that everyone agreed on (or more frequently, argued about) was now codified. Free-wheeling gave way to smooth roads. Turbulence was evened out. The spiked chain replaced two dozen halbard types. Ok, maybe two dozen halbards was a bit much to begin with.
It was the turbulence that made it fun. Could you knock the orc back a few feet? Maybe. Work it out with the DM. Will the next DM do the same thing? Probably not. It was the result of not being codified so much that made the game infinitely customizable. Hell, you likely wouldn't be able to shove an orc with the same DM later in that session. But the option was there. The option was always there.
On one of the forums I frequent, someone observed that the original D&D and AD&D were games of exploration more than fighting. I think that is a keen observation, which I probably overlooked at my age starting out with Basic and 1st edition.
This sums things up quite nicely, and will be going on the Citadel of Chaos. As soon as I find a good spot for it. It's too long to reproduce here, so hit the link.
Tags: Citadel
