Comments on The Dice of Life: Interview with Shane Hensley, Creator of Savage Wo...

Spinner, You are a rules wizard and are in a great...

2009-07-07T22:19:17.641-04:00

Spinner,
You are a rules wizard and are in a great position to sing the praises of 4e. Write it up and send your position paper to Keith for posting. Just like you found a rule or two that we were misplaying in SW, convince us about 4e!

Keith: Great interview. It puts a much more human face on Shane and Savage Worlds. It also makes me want to go get a copy of 50 Fathoms and Evernight. I've seen both at one of our local Game Stores, now I have a reason to add them to our library. The plot point books have such a broad range of genres that break us out of the Tolkeinesque Fantasy games (dnd) we loved in the 1980s. I have been stunned as to the quality and remarkable work of art that is the Solomon Kane book. We await with GREAT anticipation the Space 1889 book. You should have asked him about that one.

Again, great job.

I updated the article with a link to the Making of...

2009-07-07T14:03:18.710-04:00

I updated the article with a link to the Making of Savage Worlds PDF.

Regarding 4e, while two of us are Savage Worlds fans with the third being an indie RPG enthusiast, there is still a soft spot in my heart for various D&D-related products.

I loved D&D v3.5 as a player and DM. I even ended up DMing more than playing. I ran a Greyhawk and Eberron campaign and enjoyed both thoroughly, and Eberron still appeals to me greatly.

I eventually grew to dislike the work involved as a DM, though. Struggling with adult ADD didn't help much at all. I realized it wasn't the right system for me. It consumed a lot more of my personal time than I really could afford. My wife began to resent the amount of time I invested in prepping for the next session, which took longer than most because of the ADD as it restricted me from being able to do the mundane work for long periods of time. Reading adventures or creating my own became a chore. When my wife became pregnant, I knew I had to let it go and find something else.

I also had no personal desire to switch to 4e. I had enough 3e/v3.5 books, and I couldn't justify the additional expense. The tools WotC had promised weren't available yet either.

Having said all of that, I understand and appreciate the love for D&D many gamers have. I don't want to exclude the D&D 4e audience from our blog either, but it's been a challenge for us to get some 4e content in here because we simply don't play it. I do recognize that there might be some value to 4e and the D&DI model of system support, especially for those who are struggling to reduce the amount of time invested in the hobby. As D&DI has shaped up, I can see how the software might speed things along. The Character Builder and Rules Compendium also reduce the cost and time. There's no longer a need to purchase every book to get the latest character options. A low-cost subscription provides that content plus exclusive D&DI content. The new monster builder adds even more value for the time-crunched DM.

In the end, 4e + D&DI might end up being a decent option for our audience.

We hope to have a 4e fan do a write up for us on T...

2009-07-07T13:40:50.074-04:00

We hope to have a 4e fan do a write up for us on The Dice on how 4e is faster/better than previous versions.

My problems with 4e stem more the time to learn a new system and travel the distance to join in than anything else. Our major goal on this blog is to provide time saving hints and tricks so others can rediscover or improve up their love of gaming.

Great interview, Keith! I'm still not a big ...

2009-07-07T13:36:46.705-04:00

Great interview, Keith!

I'm still not a big SW fan, but I found the history and evolution of the game very interesting. I was disappointed in his take on 4e. My current (in-person) gaming group is really having a blast playing it; the best since the old AD&D days. I hope maybe someday you will at least join a session and try it out.

Spinner