Re: [DL] D&D3e Stuff

[Ross Coburn <coburn@sympatico.ca>]

You know, I love Deadlands, among many other fine games and/or systems, but
something someone said recently on this list (I'm not looking to start a
flamewar, so I am not going to name names or point fingers) has been
bitching about D&D Third Edition on the grounds that it isn't 'innovative'
or some such nonsense, and I feel the urge to respond.

1- While I have long bemoaned previous editions of D&D's mechanics, the game
itself started it all.  Innovative enough for me.  Deadlands hasn't done
anything new and fascinating, mechanics-wise, since its inception; should I
abandon it because that which was once genius hasn't been fiddled with
since?

2- I've yet to see any RPG that stands by itself.  From the sublime (earlier
editions of Traveller, Mage prior to Revised Edition, Call of Cthulhu all
fit that bill to me) to the rediculous (Aftermath, Palladium and WFRP
similarly come to mind), I've yet to see a game that goes anywhere without
great players/refs to drive it.  Similarly, wonderful games can be ruined by
numbskulls at the helm (reminds me of my one convention RPG experience,
which was Deadlands, by the way).

3- I happen to think that WotC did a wonderful job with D&D; it's renewed my
interest in the game for the first time in a long while (and I suspect I
have been gaming as long as anyone on this list).  If I didn't have a great
pool of players to call upon though, all the rewrites in the world wouldn't
get an engaging campaign out of us though, thus rendering all that work
useless.

My say for the evening.


Ross Coburn
coburn@sympatico.ca