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gradek
I am new to dumpshock, but not new to Shadowrun, having played since the early 2nd edition days. My concern with 4th edition is that FanPro will use the WoTC D&D model and essentially rewrite everything with enough changes to make you have to repurchase each previous supplement. But my biggest concern is that they will take another page from the D&D marketing plan and start making more supplements that cater to players and add more and more options that players will want to incorporate into the game, essentially making it a huge mess to GM. What I like most about Shadowrun, is what I like about Cthulhu and used to like about D&D under TSR, that most supplements are for the GM and contain lots of interesting background info and not simply filled with new player skills/equipment/magic, etc.
Catsnightmare
QUOTE (gradek)
I am new to dumpshock, but not new to Shadowrun, having played since the early 2nd edition days.  My concern with 4th edition is that FanPro will use the WoTC D&D model and essentially rewrite everything with enough changes to make you have to repurchase each previous supplement.

You can feel free to be as concerned as you want. That's essentially what they're doing.


QUOTE
But my biggest concern is that they will take another page from the D&D marketing plan and start making more supplements that cater to players and add more and more options that players will want to incorporate into the game, essentially making it a huge mess to GM.  What I like most about Shadowrun, is what I like about Cthulhu and used to like about D&D under TSR, that most supplements are for the GM and contain lots of interesting background info and not simply filled with new player skills/equipment/magic, etc.


Can't really say about this one, yet. I think it's going to be a wait and see thing, depending on how well (or badly) SR4 (and maybe Street Magic) sells.
Charon
QUOTE (gradek @ May 29 2005, 08:11 PM)
What I like most about Shadowrun, is what I like about Cthulhu and used to like about D&D under TSR, that most supplements are for the GM and contain lots of interesting background info and not simply filled with new player skills/equipment/magic, etc.

You may like that, but FANPRO surely doesn't.

There are a lot more players than GM. Marketing primarily to GM is not a good business model.
Wireknight
I wouldn't worry too much about them attempting to follow a Wizards of the Coast type model. Wizards seems to sustain a rather impressive release schedule, and (even after their downsizing) maintains a very substantial staff and freelancer pool. FanPro does not have these kind of resources. If they try to follow that type of release model, they're really going to have to up their manpower. I just don't see it happening.
Edward
How dose this represent a change from SR3

MitS, M&M, R3, CC. All of these are books that provide character options (equally for PCs and NPCs) and very little else,

YotC, SotA:2063, 2064 where setting books but still provided equipment and magical tequiniques that characters could use.

I doubt it will go so far as D&D did with the number of “setting books” providing setting specific character abilities because SR only has one setting, D&D has 3 under production buy Wotc alone swords and sorcery has another 3 and I know of at least 4 beyond that

Of cause they could do that

Edward
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