As so many other have noted, that's a great sentiment, but what would really make it shine would be making PDFs of legacy TSR products available for legal purchase...watermark them, POD only, I don't care, I just would like to own a legal copy of The Underworld & Wilderness Adventure without shelling out enough $$ to enrage the wifely creature.
"Well," I thought, "the right thing to do would be to drop WOTC a friendly email about Mike Mearls' column with a polite request for PDFs and/or POD of out-of-print D&D/TSR material." No nerd-rage, no brow-beating, just bit of consumer feedback.... (follow the links)
http://www.wizards.com/Company/Contact.aspx
"...You’ve got a question for us, we’d love to answer it. Sure, we’ll have to take a break from whatever game it is we’re playing, but we don’t mind—that’s what we’re here for.
www.wizards.com/customerservice..."
"...Click the "Email Us" tab..."
"...Email Us..."
"Don't have an account?So it appears that in order to send WOTC an email I must jump through the hoops of creating a Wizards.com account? Is that really necessary? I'm sorry, but on my end it looks like WOTC is trying to strong-arm me into doing their data mining for them by putting email contact behind a registration wall.
To begin creating an account, please enter your date of birth.
Date of Birth:
month/
day/
year..."
No way bub...these colours don't run! Anytime some corporate entity tries to cajole me into "registering" they can kiss my butt; you suits can pry my date of birth, gender and zip code out of my cold dead hands!
mike.mearls@wizards.com
ReplyDeleteNow, I had to find that via a Google cache of a message board from May 2010, so it may not be valid any more, but there it is.
That's obnoxious. I suppose you could call Wizards' customer service number: (800) 324-6496.
ReplyDeleteI think the big problem is that we keep on fooling ourselves into thinking that they actually care. :)
ReplyDelete- Ark
Kelvingreen has my email address correct.
ReplyDeleteWell well well. I do hope that there is a big wad of egg on my face and that the email address helps you in your quest for printed classics, Mr. Planet. I for one would probably shell out money too. :)
ReplyDelete- Ark
Dude, just lie! Sheesh.
ReplyDelete"...these colours don't run!" ...had me in tears!
ReplyDeleteAnytime some corporate entity tries to cajole me into "registering" they can kiss my butt; you suits can pry my date of birth, gender and zip code out of my cold dead hands!
ReplyDelete"Your proposal is acceptable."
Not a fan of the policy. I feel like the idea is to discourage a flood of thoughtless comments, but stuff like this discourages MY comments and those are really good :) Speaking of email, you getting yours?
ReplyDeleteI 100% agree no reservations with the sentiment Mr. Mearls expressed in the original post. I run a Mutant Future (heavily houseruled) game, and I run a D&D 4e game, and I play in a Labyrinth Lord (+AEC, heavily houseruled game)... and guess what. IN PLAY, the experience is exactly the same in all three. And of course, the experience is totally different. Completely unique to the game and the moment in all three, but while the game is going, we are playing a RPG and occasionally rolling dice as decried by the GM filtering the rules.
ReplyDeleteI could care less what the current version of D&D does, but I totally agree that the differences of edition are trivial compared to the commonalities experienced at the table.
In my opinion, the biggest differences between the editions are rules aimed at players who want to engage OUTSIDE of sessions. I would never ask someone brand new to RPGs to join the 4e game I run - I would ask them to join the Mutant Future game - 4e asks a much highe load of a player before the game even begins.
BUT - old school gamers BEWARE - a good DM should ALWAYS accomadate a player's desire to participate outside of sessions. Good old school DM's do this without needing rules for; if the player wants to get badass at using that cool scimitar they found, you figure out a way to express that at the table in a manner that works. The end.
The point is: the final product of houseruling + old school game system is far closer to the current iterations (Pathfinder, 4e) of D&D than most of the OSR would care to admit.
You need a Wizard's account to send WOTC a nessage? That is seriously dumb. I don't find anything in Mearl's message to object to, but don't really know what form of greater cooperation between factions he is advocating. As far as WOTC goes, though, I'm just not a customer of theirs anymore.
ReplyDeleteIf you want to fill out a customer service form and use their in-line ticketing system, you do need an account. They have regular email addresses though.
ReplyDeleteMike! Update 'Keep on the Gaming Lands' already :) I always enjoyed your posts.
ReplyDeleteps- I'm just taking your column on wizards.com at face value.. I have no reason not too, especially in light of reading your blog.
Well, I hope that this spurs something, it would be nice to see the past content being available to download again. That would support a unity among editions.
ReplyDelete@ KelvinGreen: Thanks man! :)
ReplyDelete@ Paul: Exactly!
@ Mike Mearls: Thanks, email sent...
@ Arkhein: Priceless comic timing! :D
@ Huth: Believe me, in the past I've filled out plenty of forms as centenarian "Corky Corkum" with the postal code "696 969;" regardless, the aforementioned kind of rigmarole brings out the Larry David in me.
@ Fat Cotton: Don't Tread On Me!!!
@ Il Male: All "right-thinking" people do! ;)
@ Jasonalexanderscanlon: Sorry man, email read an replied. Love the push-broom!
@ Carl: Ummm...I just want to be able to buy Underworld & Wilderness Adventure... :)
@ Limpley: I'd like to think that they could acknowledge some sort of profitable stewardship of legacy editions and materials? It would be great PR.
@ Anne: Ah, I just couldn't find a regular email address, and the contact/email us links kept dumping me into wizards.com registration; good to know that there are other channels available!
@ Migellito: I see no reason to assume the column is insincere, and I'd like to do my part to bridge the gap!
@ Ancientvaults: Absolutely, it would be wonderful!
@ Carl: Jesus Christ....That Mask!!!
ReplyDeleteThis is very useful information for me. Thank you very much!
ReplyDeleteLove this!!! Please make more!!!:)
ReplyDelete