4.0: The Continuing Saga

This actually started as a response to a comment by E under the 4.0 posting he left last week. It got a little long, as you can see I have quite a lot to say about a rule-set I’m truthfully unfamiliar with (for the most part). I’d like to sit here and take a “wait and see” approach to the new system, but I can’t realistically expect a company that screwed my childhood obsession up so badly with countless inane rules and clear exploitation of their rabid (and sometimes inexplicably loyal) fanbase not to continue this legacy with their ham-fisted approach to this “New Direction”.

E. really struck a nerve with this subject.

Anyway, if you haven’t yet seen his comment, here it is, followed by my reply:

After more research I have come across this:
Other Power Sources: Additional power sources and techniques provide characters of different classes with powers and abilities. These will appear in future Player’s
Handbook volumes. For example, barbarians and druids draw on the primal forces of nature, monks harness the power of their soul energy (or ki).

Of course you guys have probably read this already. Looks like job security for the guys at Wizards, strike two...

And now my reply:

This is precisely what I expected and feared. What could we possibly expect from a company who also ruined their own card game by the constant issuing of new sets and expansions that flooded retailers and imbalanced the game? Expect more of this kind of exploitation. I predict the "Complete Gnome" players handbook to be announced within weeks along with an apology for not including what they will describe as "An unfortunate underestimation of the immense popularity of the gnome race amongst our vast and appreciated fan base. We promise that oversights like these will no longer occur here at WoTC. Now look for the Minotaur monster race to be included in our Monster Manual II, due out next September!" It’s all BS. I understand an American company’s drive to make money, I mean they don't create these games just because they share our passion for gaming. They're in it to make a buck and have every right to do so, but don't take us for idiots. We know why these books are so much slimmer than those of v3 and 3.5. Because the issuing of regular supplements are where their profit margins become larger. The crime this time, unlike in past versions of D&D, is that the supplements are now a requirement to own. Especially now that they've got us hooked on the crack that is the Barbarian and Druid classes that they've conveniently left out of their "Core" rulebooks. What a joke. It used to be that supplements were only for class enthusiasts (the reason I bought Tome and Blood for my mages, it was the only player handbook supplement that I ever owned) the truly “Hardcore” or completist pricks that had the disposable income and the retarded fascination with owning everything ever released by TSR, WoTC etc.. With one exception I never bought the supplements, and truthfully never needed to. And I was thankful to TSR and WoTC for only dangling the carrot instead of jamming it down our throats as they’re doing now.

This “New Direction” better be worth it or you’ll be finding my books on Amazon.com faster than the Wizard of The Coast can cast “Power Word: Enchant and Exploit Fan Base”.