Re: (TFT) D&D Heroscape

[Jens Alfke <jens@mooseyard.com>]

On Aug 17, 2009, at 9:05 AM, slid81554@mypacks.net wrote:

> Remember, D&D is a gateway game, much  like a Daisy BB gun.
> It's popular and it gives you a taste of a whole hobby you might  
> never have been exposed to before.

The weird thing is how D&D can be a gateway game when its rules are so  
damn complicated! I hadn't played D&D since high school, when it was  
AD&D plus house rules, but I just skimmed the 4e "quick start" rules  
and was appalled. It's really rules-heavy, in part because everything  
has to be spelled out in detail like all the actions your character  
can possibly do, and the combat feels very slow and clunky with all  
those turn phases. Not to mention the sheer intimidating size and cost  
of the many books.

My idea of a gateway game would be something like Savage Worlds, where  
the rule book is small and cheap and all but says "don't panic!" in  
large friendly letters, and where you can do hack-n-slash really  
easily. (Or, of course, TFT, if only it were in print...)

I can only assume that D&D benefits from its iconic status as the  
original RPG, the one everyone's heard of, plus the marketing muscle  
of Hasbro behind it.

Jens
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