And I'm looking back and thinking "Get a grip folks...your hobby is DEAD!" At least, as far as mainstream published material goes. The moment WOTC released 3E, the hobby as we know and love it came to an end. Period. It was no longer AD&D, in name or in spirit. It was a new D&D, a D&D that featured dumbed down rules, video game maneuvers, and a rules set that not only emasculated the game by taking out the large majority of risk it once had, but also turned it into a powergamer's heaven. The entire mindset, the entire feel of the game was changed forever.
And it's only gotten worse as time's gone on.
Your hobby is dead.
That's not to say you can't play it. The true hobby, AD&D, is alive only where it is played by those who have remained faithful to it and who continue to play it.
But I cringe in disgust every time I hear the argument of "well I'd hate to see the hobby die and future generations not end up playing it". Seriously? Look, new people just getting into 3E or 4E or 4E or Whatever E they're on now...those people are NOT playing enjoying the same hobby you did. They're playing a game that shares a similar name. But they are not playing your game. It's dead. Unless the game, the real AD&D game (not "New D&D") is passed down and played by future generations, that game does not exist. It is dead.
I had this argument once before with a group of toy collectors who insisted that we should buy up every figure made by a particular toy company to "show support so they don't cancel the line", even if some of the figures sucked. These guys clearly failed Economics 101, because when you buy any crap a company puts out, the company realizes it has mindless consumer drones and therefore has no need to concern themselves with quality control or customer service. They just churn out crap, poorly done crap, because they have no incentive to put out a superior product. Inevitably, the toy line died and early death because people could not understand the laws of economics.
Now D&D is a bit different than this toy line, but the idea is the same. Fewer people are sticking with the hobby who come into the new game(s) offered, because it changes every year or so, and because so many people are simply looking for a short-term distraction.
So humbug on that silly argument already!
Hadda get that off my chest!
Next post...how Gygax left a bad taste in my mouth and stained his legacy forever.
