Gaming in 2004

Given that everyone and his uncle has felt the need to post their review of 2003, I thought I'd instead post some hopes for what will happen in 2004. I've decided to confine myself to things that I think have at least some chance of happening (so, no hoping for an end to the Wheel of Time), and also to things that have some connection to gaming (so, no hoping for an end to the Wheel of Time). Anyway, this leaves only a few things:

Basic D&D

This is already happening, in the form of a new introductory boxed set from Wizards of the Coast. I just hope it's somewhat decent. Simply put, there isn't a good introductory RPG in existence, mostly because the only games with the required name recognition are D&D and Vampire (okay, and maybe Buffy and LotR), the subject matter of Vampire is (theoretically) too mature for an introduction for teens, and D&D is way too complex to be used as an introduction. Not to mention the fact that the buy-in costs for any of these games are way too high.

(You'll note that I haven't really addressed the use of Buffy or LotR as an introductory game, other than to say they're too expensive. That's because I haven't read them, so can't comment.)

WoD 2.0

In my opinion, they should have ended the WoD, left it for a few years, and then considered a new version. However, given that they're doing it now, I rather hope it's done "right". By which I mean I hope they do three things:

1) Follow the "Exalted" model of books, where the core rulebook introduces the core game (most likely Vampire), and the major hardbacks then introduce other factions (Werewolves, Mages, etc). This seems to work very well.

2) Design the game so that cross-overs aren't a logistical nightmare. Again, this is similar to the Exalted model, where all factions seem to have Charms, which work in broadly the same way. That said, Exalted doesn't seem to advocate cross-overs, merely make them possible, which suits me just fine.

3) Strip out the crap. The existing WoD is creaking with an over-abundance of powers behind the throne, supernatural factions, and so forth. There's also a lot of stuff that breaks the tone (comedy Malkavians, for instance), and a failure to decide whether they're doing a horror game or a superheroes game. Frankly, I would like to see them throw everything out, and start again. Sure, you can then add clans of vampires, if desired, but they should also feel free to leave them out, if they think the game would be better without.

In any event, nothing that's happening with the WoD is going to make the existing games less playable, so if the worst comes to the worst, I'll just ignore this new edition.

Exalted

2003 wasn't a great year for gaming (one bad game, one game abandonned, one game that became a never-ending sequence of combats, and a bunch of less-than-stellar releases), but the one new game I encountered that was good was Exalted.

In fact, Exalted was something of a revelation, in the same way that the new edition of D&D was and my first encounter with Vampire was. However, unlike these other two games, I've decided not to invest in a set of the books, and learn everything there is to know about it. Instead, I'll find things out by gaming.

So, yes, I'm hoping to get a chance to play some more Exalted this coming year.

Tollis

The other game I'm wanting to play this year is my new D&D campaign, set in a home-brew world called Tollis. And, I hope it doesn't suck.

Anyway, those are my hopes for gaming in 2004.