I use to play D&D since Version 2, when it was banned at schools because it was thought to be devil worship, then later after a few people went a little nuts and used their "character personas" as their real ones, and killed a few people, the game gained and lost credibility with some of my peers at the time.
That being said, my favorite rule system was 3.5-3.5.x, the version 4 system seems to automate and over-simplify a lot of what was once time consuming, but at the same time fun. The roll of the dice was one of those things you hoped would go your way, etc...
The 4th edition rules seem to take the fun out of making a character in where you could spend a day building a character's background with friends. If you were really into it that was. But even the pre-made stuff the DM had to really get involved.
I was involved with a game not to long ago with my wife's friend (12 years younger than me, as is my wife), and although we were using 4 rules, it seems to me that the creativity and imagination has disappeared.
An example is:
DM: "You open a door and enter a room, there are tables and vials on them, what do you want to do?"
Player: Can I roll to see if the door was booby-trapped?
DM: Well obviously it's not, right?
When I use to do it, it would be something akin of this:
DM: How do you wish to proceed?
Player: I want to roll to see if the door is trapped.
Player: I rolled a 16
DM: You see the door has no visible markings of tampering, and seems to be unlocked; although you do see some stains on the handle, how do you wish to proceed?
Player: Wear leather gloves and open the door carefully.
DM: The door opens, the door opens into a large room, the smell of all types of potions are in the air, some sweet, others rancid. As you look further into the room you see there are multiple tables in the room all set up in an order almost like a classroom.
At the front of the room you see vials strewn, and some smashed against what looks like a pedestal, others are against the wall behind it, which once looked like a chalkboard, with some faded writing on it.
As you walk into the room a little further you see a pile of clothes which seems to have been shoved into the corner, next to another door.
The room seems quiet now, what do you wish to do next?
Is it me, or does my style of DM seem to of gone by the wayside, as the D&D rules have simplified?
I have been asked to set up a party game, with me a game use to go on for a month for a short one, when the internet was brought out to the general public we use IRC and once a day we would move. Then one day on the weekend we would spend the day playing at someone's house, and we would bring food to eat, etc...or make it if the host was talented enough.
I am not sure this type of style of gaming exists any more. Am I overanalyzing things and should I just go for it, or should I expect the worst and hope for the best?
I know I could lay down some rules at first about how things should work out, like hosting sites, etc, but I don't think many of the people I will be dealing with will be willing or able to coordinate to this level. Which means it probably will be over my place a lot, which I don't mind, but how should I start?
Should I start slowly, and grow into something like how I use to do it, or just dive head first into it and hope I don't leave anyone behind?
This is where my trepidation comes in, I am worried that people this day and age don't have the "time" any more... or should I just say a meeting once a month, and we do it via Email, or IM system once a day, so we can keep the game going...
I know this is a lot to ask in one post, but again, I'm just worried people today aren't in for the long haul with the instant gratification generations and awards of the XBox generation, I just wonder if I should put effort into this or not. I don't want my first DM experience in almost 20 years to be my last because of hyper players that just want to get into the next room and kill the monster.
Does this make sense to anyone here or am I yelling or pissing into the wind?
