Divided Player Base
D&D Fourth Edition is making some definite steps towards refining its focus as a game. Those changes have sent ripples throughout the gaming community, creating a wide variety of conflicting opinions. The ultimate result of this conflict will be a division of the D&D player base, with players choosing one (or more) of these courses of action:
- Keep playing 3.X indefinitely
- Keep playing 3.X until more information on 4E is available
- Switch to 4E as soon as possible
- Abandon D&D entirely for another RPG system
- Abandon RPGs entirely
This division will fragment a once unified (or at least mostly unified) player base and that fragmentation will make it more difficult to find players.
Fragmentation has occurred before, with the release of every new version of the franchise. There are still players for every edition of D&D that has ever been in print. There have always been players who adamantly refuse to switch to the latest edition. There are always players who, after making the switch, will fondly recall older editions, and choose to return to them from time to time. In general, however, most players eventually “upgrade” to the latest edition.
For my part, having played most of the D&D versions, I see little advantage in returning to an older game system. I’ve occasionally gone back to my old rulebooks, and flipped through them nostalgically. I’ve regularly run classic adventures - Temple of Elemental Evil, Keep on the Borderlands, and even the killer-DM Tomb of Horrors - but it’s the stories I crave, not the mechanics. As D&D evolves over time, there may come a time when it evolves into something I no longer recognize, and no longer have any desire in playing. I can understand those who believe that 4E has already made that transition, but it is not a belief that I share.
The early months will certainly be difficult - especially as the dividing line may transect existing gaming groups, and players who share your preferred edition become more scarce.