The Sad Side of Paper and Dice

If you already know the origins of the Pathfinder RPG system ignore this, I just feel the need to vent.

So, I started hearing about Pathfinder a little while ago for whatever reason. It seems like it might become a big thing around here. Now I have to admit I can suffer from change-o-phobia when it comes to new paper and dice systems. I like to grumble away and nit pick about this and that, but I know it wouldn't happen with Pathfinder. In fact most people who like DnD could buy this game blind and be into it.

We've reached a depressing point in gaming because of this.

It's not because it's a well crafted, interesting and fun RPG, no no no that would be too hard. The lead designer openly admits what you're playing in the first two paragraphs of the book.

You're playing DnD 3.5.... freshened up a bit under a new name.

Think about the implications of that for a minute. I'll wait...

     The more depressing part? This wasn't even released by Wizards of the Coast as a cash grab. It's made by Paizo Games. They apparently used to publish Dungeon magazine. So they may be a subsidiary (at least I hope they are).

So a (possible) subsidiary renamed 3.5, updated it a bit and is probably doing fairly well for itself, or is at least poised to take off because of this.

Please don't tell me paper and dice RPGs plateaued at 3.5, that would be sad beyond words.

However this may be the case, which makes this turn of events even more depressing.

• DnD 4^th edition is basically a combat simulator now. It learned from MMOs, but took too much.
• Rifts didn't update and the company went under (last I heard). Good riddance.
• From what I know star wars is 3.5 redone also.
• We now have a game that is 3.5 wearing the skincoat of a different idea.

That being said, there are a few things that give me hope:

• Dark Heresy and Co. Are excellent games, but cater to a very specific crowd (which is a shame, -Fantasy Flight have an excellent system in their hands).
• GURPS is admittedly a wildcard here, as I haven't played it. It seems promising though.
• World of darkness updated and from what I know made it's old players less happy, but made the system more accessible. Kudos to them for not quite pandering and wanting to make their system more balanced too.

Maybe it was the adaptability of 3.5 that caused these copies to be made. (I definitely played with a group that preferred it over 4th and also made a dragon age setting in it), but when it's being resold under a new name? With a few tweaks? And doesn't even try to hide it? That's where the problems start.

What makes it more depressing is that there's products being released by Wizards that look like it's what they want DnD to be now, but I'll talk about that another time. This is more than enough to bug me for now.