Well, just got the survey for July... asking questions about spells that are, for the most part, unavailable in the playtest.

My opinion is slipping - going from Negative Neutral to Dissatisfied. (Pretty Bad. I Am Not Filled With Hope, But That May Change.)

Since there are no new rules to discuss, should I bother putting up a poll? Should I have a poll about whether or not to have a poll?

All in all... I think that this month's survey was a waste of electrons.

The Auld Grump

Don't post a survey... Until they give out more information about the system, I think everything that's been released so far has been talked to death.

I would expect something to be released soon, as I would assume they will want to have new rules to run through at GenCon with a public release right before or after the con.

Yeah, this second survey just makes me feel that the 'playtest' is nothing but a publicity stunt.

With the Paizo playtests you could see the system taking form as the discussions - public discussions - continued.

WotC is still playing their cards close to their vests. Hope... dwindling.

I can't be all that upset, anyway - Pathfinder is doing just fine. But if WotC is trying to recapture the folks that moved on to Pathfinder... I don't think that D&D Next! is what they are looking for. (Yes, still annoyed by that Next!, how can you tell?)

The Auld Grump, but at least it's better than 4dventure!....

"Next" is a currently en-vogue marketing term. I've seen it in a lot of places, usually thrown in from CEOs to middle management who get excited at every new buzzword seen in Forbes. A mere decade ago, we would have gotten D&D "Extreme"... it's the same exact mindset.

Which is one big reason I'm not holding out a LOT of hope for this version of the game.

The survey did feel like a waste of time, but I kind of took it as they were looking on which spells people really wanted to see included - perhaps for the next play test.

This way they don't make ALL of the spells right off and they can focus on the spells people are most interested in for the next play test lot?

Looks like a lot of folks are less than impressed with the latest survey - and I am not the only one noticing that most of those spell have not been defined in the new rules, so folks are buying a pig in a poke. ('Buying a pig in a poke' and 'Letting the cat out of the bag' share a root - the 'pig' was a cat, and it was sold to gullible folks looking to eat....)

If it was intended to promote interest... it kind of missed the mark.

The Auld Grump

One of the players in our group has finally decided to run Pathfinder, so I picked up a copy. After initial disappointment (it looks just like 3.5), then a little digging (Oh, that's different...and better), I like what I'm seeing a lot. I'm not sure what I was expecting that my first impression was "meh."

Meanwhile, the player who said he'd run a next playtest has gone awol. He's really persnickety about what he'll run, so he was probably not the right one for a playtest. But our play group would have exercised the rules well. Group: one die-hard minimaxer, a couple of roleplayers/storytellers, one explorer (let's find out something new about the world), and a couple of lazy "don't make it hard for me" players.

I'm disappointed that we're not trying out the rules, but given the pace and comments, I suspect that we're better off not participating.

Steve

It is not so much the pace that is bothering me - it was the surveys, which did not come across as asking real and probing questions in regards to the game.

More like the surveys hat are done with taste tests than play tests.

Maybe I just need to be more positive... after all, taste tests worked so well for New Coke, didn't they?

The Auld Grump

Little update, Wizards has a newish podcast (first of four) with the Penny Arcade guys. They are translating their 10th level 4e guys to 10 level Next characters. They are getting ready for the PAX 12 game podcast with Chris Perkins.

Just guessing but we may be seeing the next playtest soon (end of month) with crunch to the 10th level!

Two things have me looking forward to this PAX 12 Penny Arcade game.

* As a HUGE fan of actual play podcasts, the Penny Arcade guys are a highlight of my listening year. These guys are hilarious! Chris Perkins and Jim Darkmagic!?!? Awsome!

* Having a look at 10th level playtesting. LIVE! Wizards will be showcasing their vision of 5e. For better or worse, heroic teir play will be out there for all to see. 10th level fighter, wizard, cleric, combat, play style, healing, crunch, checks, grid play, theater of the mind, spells, on and on. Will the crowd BOO? Will they cheer? Hit dice yea! Healing BOO!

I can't wait!

Downloading the new playtest material. Tempted to lock this thread and start a new one, but I will stall for Grump to do it...

New poll up, with some changes.

Putting the boot on this one.

The Auld Grump