Gary Gygax R.I.P. - Page 2

Salamander8 · #1 March 7th, 2008, 05:34 PM

I started playing D&D in the early 80s and that jumpstarted me to try many others. He was a big reason we have these games.

R.I.P. Mister Gygax.

DonCorazon · #2 May 5th, 2010, 02:52 AM

in dark times like these we must turn to the father of all fantasy geeks for guidance

Humakty · #3 May 5th, 2010, 05:39 AM

Alas D&D 4 is a sad mutilation of the creation of GG. Hopefully his spirit wil live through other productions.

Jarkko · #4 May 5th, 2010, 06:24 AM

Rest in peace GG.

Wrana · #5 May 5th, 2010, 07:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Humakty

Alas D&D 4 is a sad mutilation of the creation of GG. Hopefully his spirit wil live through other productions.

Among others, there exists his own Lejendary Adventures. I think to look at it one day - though lately I prefer EarthDawn for fantasy RPGs.

Lingchih · #6 May 5th, 2010, 06:32 AM

Yes, rest in peace, Gary.

Humakty · #7 May 5th, 2010, 08:08 AM

I'm not that much on D&D either, but GG did much for RPG players in general. He is kind of a first stone in the cathedral you know, symbolic and all, that's why I'm offended with what DD4 is. (some kind of MMO crap, to me at least, seeking 'perfect balance' whilst killing the fun. Pen & Paper is just not adapted to play like a MMO : first, normally, you're with friends around a P&P table, so no real need for a competitive system, uh ?

)

Wrana · #8 May 5th, 2010, 08:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Humakty

I'm not that much on D&D either, but GG did much for RPG players in general. He is kind of a first stone in the cathedral you know, symbolic and all, that's why I'm offended with what DD4 is. (some kind of MMO crap, to me at least, seeking 'perfect balance' whilst killing the fun. Pen & Paper is just not adapted to play like a MMO : first, normally, you're with friends around a P&P table, so no real need for a competitive system, uh ?

)

Yes, certainly. That's also why I mentioned his last system even if I didn't play it myself.

As for competitive system(s) - well, there's Munchkin, and it's muchmore fun than DD$ or even DD3. And tabletop wargames.
But, of course, bringing elements of computer games on the table was... well, I'd still call that stupid. Computer games use computers to crunch numbers and here you can have additional fun from graphical elements and real time occurrencies. Tabletop RPGs have live master who can modify story on the fly as needed. And make opponents react as living persons, not as machines (unless they are). WoC took the course of taking the responsibility from the master's hands a long time ago - 4th edition was only the last nail into the system's coffin.

kennydicke · #9 May 5th, 2010, 08:20 AM

My bro claims that D&D 3.5 'Pathfinder' by Paizo is quite good. Better balanced and way more fun than 4. I haven't played for a pretty long time, though...

RIP GG.

Burnsaber · #10 May 6th, 2010, 01:48 AM

I'm kind of sick of people dissing 4th edition right away. It's sort of easy to just read intercepts of the book and instantly hate it (to be honest, I did too). Is it a completely different game than the previous editions? Yes. Is it a good game nevertheless? Yes.

I think the biggest problem of the game is the "D&D" in the title. It sort of gives a wrong picture for the veterans of the game on what to except. As for the "videogamish" abilities and rules, it's sort of silly at first but once you play the game you see it in a different light. It just plays so well. The combat is fluent, cinematic and really gives you the feel of being a hero. Team work is rewarded by the in-game rules and there are a lot abilities that allow you to support others while doing something yourself. I'm currently playing in a D&D 4th edition campaing as a cleric and I can use one of my healing powers as a sort "extra" action so that I can whack a dude and heal my friend in the same turn. In the previous versions if you healed someone, that was basically your turn. (and the dude you healed quite probably got whacked again, so your next turn also went to healing him and so forth..). The healing as a extra action is just a example of thing that looked silly on paper when I made the cleric, but when I actually *played* the character it just worked like a charm. I had a blast.

That's sort a the biggest thing I look in a system. The combat is the point of the game where the rules matter the most. When the game is on outside of combat, like interacting with NPC's it is the players who roleplay, not the rules.

It's not a perfect game of course, the skill system is pretty much mutilated and the classes have lost some of their old charm as they have been balanced. But that is sort of a give-and-take. D&D 3.5 class balance was a joke afterall and I feel a bit silly complaining now that it is fixed. I admit that I wouldn't play a "intrique" campaing with it, but in it's niche (high-fantasy heroic adventure), D&D 4th edition is a damn good game. If you don't like playing high fantasy heroic adventure type of games, it's not the system for you and that is fine. But that does not make it a poor game.