Next year, at GenCon 2008, Hasbro/Wizards of the Coast will be rolling out a new, 4th edition of the Dungeons and Dragons game.

Now, being a somewhat conservative person, I understand the need for the creation of a new edition of the game every so often. The money needs to keep flowing in, and I do not begrudge the fact they are going to do it.

I will, though, scream at the top of my lungs on how this new 'version' is conceived completely irresponsibly by those at Hasbro who do not understand paper and pencil gaming. For example, the new system is going to have new books for players and monsters every year.

Not a problem, you might say. They do this anyways. But, this time they are not going to include all the 'core' classes and monsters in the first book. In the past, every new book just added more options onto the basics of the game. This time, you won't get the basics all up front.

Huh?

This sounds like a computer game that has jumped from beta before being finished, not a paper and pencil game. Let's have 'content updates', and game 'patches' when the players in the RPGA find exploits in the system. That way, we'll have 'game balance' between the classes and races.

Sounds just like a computer game, doesn't it? Hasbro does not get it. People like paper and pencil games because they are NOT computer games. I mean, I love computer games and play them religiously (3 level 60s on WoW, working on 50s in Matrix Online and CoH/CoV currently), but I like to step away from the computer and actually roleplay with my buddies on weekends when I'm in the mood. Many of us do.

When the man instrumental in the creation of the original game, Gary Gygax, has to sigh about all of the 4th Edition talk coming out of Hasbro, you know someone has lost touch with those who they are attempting to write towards.

Oh sure, there still will be plenty of sheep going along and buying these new rules. For example, most of the RPGA will buy the rules, even if they don't like them, because they will be forced by the RPGA (owned fully by Hasbro's marketing department, btw) to use the most current rules system if they want to continue to play. Others will buy the rules, and will try to justify Hasbro's marketing.

Roleplaying will be forever changed in August 2008, and not for the better. I do not want a computer game on paper; I want a paper game that I can roleplay. Leave the computer games to the computer, Hasbro, and wake up.