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D&D 4th Edition Game System License Announced
Wizards of the Coast has announced plans for a brand-new system license for the fourth edition of Dungeons and Dragons . As with the d20 STL for Third Edition, this is a royalty-free license that will allow third parties to publish products using the rules developed by WotC. The new system reference document will be made available early in June (just after the release of the new edition). That license only covers fantasy gaming, but a second license (the d20 GSL) will be released allowing for any type of gaming product to be developed. For analysis and follow-up on the announcement, the ENWorld boards have full details.
It'll be interesting to see how many third parties will release generic products free, (a la a lot of the 3.5Ed d20 stuff available online) or whether we sweaty basement-dwellers will merely have more choices as to which among several publishers we send our disposable income to.
One point that is often forgotten when discussing the OGL and D20 license is that game rules cannot be copyrighted. You are free to create a new game using essentially a ripoff of the d20 rules. What you are not allowed to do is use their particular expression of the rules. That means you can't copy and paste text, you can't use names, settings, unique creative elements, and so forth.
My understanding is that the WOTC gaming licenses give you some extra rights (for instance, you could use their skill and magic descriptions verbatim), but takes away others (you are given certain restrictions, such as requiring use of the D20 logo). I'm not criticizing WOTC, just saying that using their licenses are not the only way to write compatible rules and expansions.
In my humble opinion, the 'useless' skills they are taking out in D&D 4.0 aren't half as useless as people make them out to be. Of course, that all depends on the DM. Our DM runs more free-form games than the standard lead by the nose dungeon dive. And it's awesome. Decipher script isnt such a useless school when the DM regularly throws encrypted documents into the game as quest hooks and whatnot.
Fantastic, I can brush off those old wizard outfits, dust off the pointy hat, and break out into a fresh era of uber-geekiness all over - but only if I make my save roll vs RL Self-Respect
Moved to http://soylentnews.org/. You are invited to join us too!
Having been a very long time fan (do DMs of several 2-3 year long campaigns count as fans?) of dungeons and dragons 2nd and 3rd edition there is one thing i do find missing among all the news about the new ad&d editions:
...it would only work on people who are very new to the whole thing. Most advanced users/fans/etc would be constantly jarred by "no wait, thats not how it works" and "ugh, this is soooo second edd..."
Good quality books.
While I was never a fan of Drizzit (sorry emo/angsty/goth kids), Eliminster wasn't a bad series and anything with Raistlin was a lot better. In fact, most of Dragon Lance books were amazing, some greyhawk were decent, a lot of Forgotten Realms books were also quite good. There were some good authors writing these books too!
I think most of these books were done by TSR/random house, I do think it is sad that Wizards of the Coast decided that they can just cash in on the long time fans by spewing out more and new shiny books without remembering ALL the things that made dungeons and dragons great:
The inspiring, awesome, fun stories.
I don't think I am the only person who 1st read the various fantasy books and thought "hey, this is pretty cool, I wish I could play a game based on this, I'd totally be a female dwarf cleric"
While there is plenty of ad&d games to go around, I think the number of new/good ad&d books entering the market is depressingly low - sure, they are there, but it looks like the effort just isn't quite there like there used to be. Sure, someone could argue that you can read the old books and they do translate quite well into 3rd or 4th edition ruleset but
It really seems like in the good old days (doh) the holders of the license were like "hey, you can write and you know our world, why don't you write something cool for us ? no pressure, no big lawyery contracts, you write something good, we help you get it published, we'll split profit 3 ways, no worries, lets make a great world" What this means is that lots of good and/or new books would come out all the time.
I read fantasy very rarely, reading mostly sci-fi these days, but forgotten realms and dragonlance are a special place for me. I wish these two places got as much attention as shiny new rulebooks, plastic-manufactured Ebberon, etc
I'd like to see them follow this up by "open sourcing" some of their proprietary IP regarding their card games. For instance, in order to make a Card game where cards are "tapped", you currently have to pay royalties to Wizards of the Coast. Ditto for many other mechanics that form the foundations of most CCGs. I wonder why they chose to "open" the D&D system but left their CCG systems closed? Is it that they make more money with one versus the other? Does anyone have any insight into this?
-Vendal Thornheart
Does this free license apply only to pen-and-paper games or could you build a [non-commercial] computer RPG based on the WoTC rules?
> Fantastic, I can brush off those old wizard outfits, dust off the pointy hat, and break out into a fresh era of uber-geekiness all over - but only if I make my save roll vs RL Self-Respect
I put on my robe and wizard hat...
Raistlin is 10x more emo/angsty/goth than Drizzt ever was. The dark elf novels have at least tried to insert some originality into the formula; the first several Dragonlance novels are cheap pulp fiction at its most derivative.
Less people to convert to be rockin' followers of the Clash. All because major corporations are convincing our men (and I use term loosely) to sit in a basement with loads of other men, and pretend to be Elf-Lords or some shit (NCIS reference intended).
I also find it amusing that you point out stereotypically whiny kids groups and then spend the next five paragraphs complaining about how everything used to be better "back in the day". Fourth edition D&D is all about stripping out rules that shouldn't matter, because it gets in the way of telling a good story. After playing a few of the public play tests, I have to say that I haven't been this excited about D&D since my uncle described my first dungeon, back in '85. Combat is tactically interesting and flows quickly. In all of the earlier editions of D&D encounters ate up most of the play time, because it took so damn long to get through big fights. In fourth edition, instead of spending 10 minutes on plot and 2 hours on combat, most games will be able to split their time more or less evenly between the two.
Also, the reason why Eberron got so much more love than Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance in the past few years is because Eberron's new. There's an entire universe of things that people don't know about it. On the other hand, between the 100+ novels and sourcebooks, Forgotten Realms and Dragonlance are pretty well defined. It's really hard to fill a sourcebook with new information. They could retread the old material, but that's boring for everyone except new players and people that are really rabid about their campaign setting.
The World's Worst Webcomic!
I'm not sure what point you're trying to make here. You seem to be under the impression that the novels are a hook to get people playing the game, when in fact I'd wager it's the other way around. There's no immediate connection to the P&P game when someone picks up a Dragonlance novel, but anyone who plays D&D likely has at least a passing familiarity with the Dragonlance setting.
Everyone has their opinion I guess. I thought that every bit of 'literature' written in the D&D realms was total crap. Then again I'm also an old timer and started playing LONG before anyone thought of making a quick buck by writing some crappy novels based on the game.
my time (I was, for a while, the copy-editor on the "New Adventures of
Doctor Who" novels), but I can say without a single unmitigated shadow
of a doubt that I have never, ever, ever, ever, ever read a pile of shit
so huge, so mouldering and steaming, so slime-encrusted and maggot-
ridden, so bereft of ideas, characterisation, characters, plot,
background, setting, tone, atmosphere, themes, motifs, sense or words
strung together in an even vaguely readable order as the first
Dragonlance book. It is awful. No, it is beyond awful. It is an affront
to literacy, history and humanity. If Gutenberg had been shown a copy of
this book, he would have placed his head in his printing press and
instructed his apprentices to squash it until the brains were running
out of his ears and they heard his skull crack. It should be taken out
and burnt. Everyone associated with its production should be fucked and
burnt. The Nazi pogroms and book-burnings should be reinstated, together
with the Spanish inquisition, purely to erase all traces and records of
this book from our planet's history.
I was once stuck on a train for six hours with nothing to read except a
copy of this book. After sixty pages I decided that spending the
remaining five and a half hours sitting very still and meditating on the
five screaming children in the seat opposite and their appallingly
stupid parents was preferable to having to read one more word of the
drivel before me.
It even has fucking SONGS in it.
The only good thing associated with Dragonlance is Margaret Weis's
daughter, who is a fox.
Hail Eris, full of mischief...
E pluribus sanguinem
As long as something as useful as d20srd.org is produced under the new license, I will be happy.
I love me some D&D and I can't imagine much better than girls playing.
Perhaps my wish should be filed along with "Year of Linux on the desktop" and Duke Nukem Forever...
We figured out a long time ago that it's easier to elect seven judges than to elect 132 legislators.
instead of spending 10 minutes on plot and 2 hours on combat
Its been my experience that combat is the most memorable part of the game. People I know recall fun and funny moments of DND combat from nearly 20 years ago, not plot points.
Isn't it just a TAD ironic to complain about a Tolkien-derivative fantasy novel having songs?
Indeed.
As someone who used to play a bard that ended up being the smart ass of the group, I can safely say that more people fell out of their chairs during combat than most other times while we gamed.
For example...
Standing watch by myself late at night.
DM: A lone goblin approaches.
Me: I reach into my pocket, pull out a marshmallow, and toss it to the goblin.
*everyone looks at me*
DM: The goblin pokes it with his spear then picks it up and eats it
Me: I cast Enlarge on the marshmallow.
*several players choke on their drinks*
Then there was the rather large group of monsters coming at us down the stairs while we were still on the floor below.
Me: I cast cantrip to create a banana peel in the middle of the monsters.
*saving throws. A monster fails*
DM: The monster slips, taking half of his comrades with him
Me: Okay, guys. I've done my share. The rest are yours... *grin*
Everything I need to know I learned by killing smart people and eating their brains.
The World's Worst Webcomic!
my time (I was, for a while, the copy-editor on the "New Adventures of
Doctor Who" novels), but I can say without a single unmitigated shadow
of a doubt that I have never, ever, ever, ever, ever read a pile of shit
so huge, so mouldering and steaming, so slime-encrusted and maggot-
ridden, so bereft of ideas, characterisation, characters, plot,
background, setting, tone, atmosphere, themes, motifs, sense or words
strung together in an even vaguely readable order as the first
Dragonlance book. Wow, I don't know whether to give this guy Left Behind or Battlefield Earth. I bet I'll be able to hear the crinkling of his soul withering.
Kwisatz Haderach
Sell the spice to CHOAM
This Mahdi took Shaddam's Throne
Thanks, now I spent a half hour of my life searching for pictures of Lizz Weis. I don't even know if I found her or not. Jerk.
Support a great indie game: http://www.abaddon360.com
Will their "DnD Online" software (the thing they are releasing with 4E) have enough breathing room to allow 3rd party stuff? Such as inserting your own class abilities, spells, feats, skills, etc...?
Ginga no Rekshiya Mata Each page.
Are there plans to make pcgen support 4th edition D&D?
I once had an alcohol fuelled DnD experience that led to me giving my friend a black eye by accident.
Nothing beats when your evil orc friend rolls a 20 to "rape a nymph", it ended with it literally "exploding" or what not.... I miss that DM.
"It even has fucking SONGS in it."
Heh, yeah, I read a book with songs in it once. What a piece of shit.
I think it was called "The Lord of the Rings" or something.
I love when somebody gives me permission to do something that I already had the legal right to do anyway, but attaches caveats...
Under what made up law did they think they could stop people from creating 100% original content that works within their game rules?
... Considering that about half of them have made the NYT bestseller list, R.A. Salvatore's fan base is likely considerably larger than you think it is.The propensity to name ones character after a favorite fantasy character is amazing. Recently, WoW added a black panther figurine trinket. You can bet every Dizzolas and Legolizzt out there is drooling to get it. Sheep.
-fragbait
from: http://www.copyright.gov/fls/fl108.html
===
The idea for a game is not protected by copyright. The same is true of the name or title given to the game and of the method or methods for playing it.
Copyright protects only the particular manner of an author's expression in literary, artistic, or musical form. Copyright protection does not extend to any idea, system, method, device, or trademark material involved in the development, merchandising, or playing of a game. Once a game has been made public, nothing in the copyright law prevents others from developing another game based on similar principles.
Some material prepared in connection with a game may be subject to copyright if it contains a sufficient amount of literary or pictorial expression. For example, the text matter describing the rules of the game, or the pictorial matter appearing on the gameboard or container, may be registrable.
To register the copyrightable portions of a game, you must send the Library of Congress, Copyright Office, 101 Independence Avenue SE, Washington, DC 20559-6000, the following elements in the same envelope or package:
A completed application form. If your game includes any written element, such as instructions or directions, we recommend using Form TX, which can be used to register all copyrightable parts of the game, including any pictorial elements. When the copyrightable elements of the game consist predominantly of pictorial matter, Form VA should be used.
A nonrefundable filing fee (Current Fees)
A deposit of the material to be registered. The deposit requirements will vary depending on whether the work has been published at the time of registration.
If the game is published, the proper deposit is one complete copy of the work. If, however, the game is published in a box larger than 12 x 24 x 6 inches (or a total of 1,728 cubic inches) then identifying material must be submitted in lieu of the entire game. (See "identifying material" below). If the game is published and contains fewer than three 3-dimensional elements, then identifying material for those parts must be submitted in lieu of those parts.
If the game is unpublished, either one copy of the game or identifying material should be deposited.
Identifying material deposited to represent the game or its 3-dimensional parts shall usually consist of photographs, photostats, slides, drawings, or other 2-dimensional representations of the work. The identifying material shall include as many pieces as necessary to show the entire copyrightable content of the work, including the copyright notice if it appears on the work. All pieces of identifying material other than transparencies must be no less than 3 x 3 inches in size, and not more than 9 x 12 inches, but preferably 8 x 10 inches. At least one piece of identifying material must, on its front, back, or mount, indicate the title of the work and an exact measurement of one or more dimensions of the work.
*NOTE: Copyright Office fees are subject to change. For current fees, please check the Copyright Office website at www.copyright.gov/docs/fees.html, write the Copyright Office, or call (202) 707-3000.
====
Somthing interesting to note here is that game rules are not copyrightable... also interesting to note is All pieces of identifying material other than transparencies must be no less than 3 x 3 inches in size...
I'm not sure if that 3x3 rule applies to all game content or just the submissions to the copyright office. If it includes all game content, technically, all Magic the Gathering cards, and similar type card games are in trouble since those cards are about 2x5" x 3".
Check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmRSuYIL1zc
It will answer all your questions about D&D and girls!
I only look human.
My mother is a halfling and my dad is an ogre, so that makes me an Ogreling
Seriously... I am getting sick of constant version updates from WoTC and White Wolf. I know it's a money grab, but it is frustrating. If you want the new content, you need to switch, which makes your old books useless in terms of rules data. So far I haven't seem much that is innovative in 4th edition, and some of the new 'basic' races and classes seem like very odd choices. Most of the changes they've made are already in our house rules. We don't tend to use skills all that much except in the case of Rogue characters, and we tend to resolve most fights verbally rather than by rolling dice. I mainly buy books for ideas and setting information, but one of my oldest D&D friends is a total power gamer and he needs his prestige classes. That said, anyone want to buy $2k worth of 3.5 Edition books?
If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
Third parties are already allowed, by law, to publish products using the rules developed by WotC
From the US Copyright Law Factsheet on Games:
Modern copyright is theft of culture from everyone and it retards the progress of the useful arts and sciences.
Your game doesn't really sound all that free-form if the lack of a skill on a formal list will determine whether or not your plots can still be played through.
If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
Use Rope doesn't merit having its own individual skill, though. It's pretty much the exemplar of wasted skill ranks after 3.5 got rid of Intuit Direction and Innuendo. You can do what with it -- secure a grappling hook, tie someone up, or splice two ropes together? Yawn.
Why isn't using a grappling hook under Climb? Why not fold tying someone up under getting out of it (i.e. Escape Artist)? Who finds drama or challenge in trying to splice rope together? (For that matter, Profession (Sailor) doesn't include any of this?)
It's a senselessly fine-grained skill definition that wastes precious resources (i.e. skill points) that could be spent on things like Survival or Move Silently or Climb -- you know, skills people would actually *use* every adventure.
4e's philosophy on skills is that skills will generally be broad and cover common adventuring challenges. Their system is designed so that party members aren't excluded from the fun when a rare type of challenge is needed, like the party that won't use horses because only one player has the Ride skill. Lastly, their system is designed with versatility in mind, encouraging players to find creative uses of their skills to defeat challenges, like using History to escape pursuers by remembering an entrance into the ancient catacombs under the city.
If deciphering documents is essential to your game, then there's no reason you couldn't let someone make an Arcane, History, or Thievery check for it, representing their experience with tomes of cryptic lore, translating dead languages, or espionage, respectively. Having a largely one-trick skill is limiting and either forces the DM to find contrived ways to make it relevant or leaves the player with wasted skill points. 4e gets rid of that.
If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
I see your point, though I still disagree. From your arguement, I would assume that your group spends more time in dank, musty caves and underground labyrinths than in more realistic settings. Our group, for contrasts sake, spends more time in towns dealing with NPCs. Trust me, a good Use Rope scores when attempting to take down and deliver alive a rogue with many ranks in Escape Artist.
Skills like Use Rope and Decipher Script may not be used every game, but when they are used they are incredibly helpful.
Our DM takes particular joy in using relatively obscure in his games, so they are good to put ranks in, so that you can do tasks yourself rather than hiring an NPC. It may be different in your games. I don't know.
What absurd result, you might ask? Look up the Escape Artist checks for getting out of chains and manacles sometime. It's a fixed DC. At high levels, it's better to bind someone with a rope than it is to put them in irons -- because apparently you can get more skilled with ropes but not with chains (which has no skill).
This is the end result of an overly focused and narrow skill system. I'm glad that 4e is instead replacing this with a broad and flexible skill system that encourages players and DMs to be creative. Our DM takes particular joy in using relatively obscure in his games, so they are good to put ranks in, so that you can do tasks yourself rather than hiring an NPC. It may be different in your games. I don't know. Our games are not designed around punishing the players for not having very specific skills. There's a movement in gaming that focuses on a chimerical concept of "realism" that likes that sort of thing, but our group prefers role playing to be driven by characters, story, and a sense of adventure rather than dice rolls and stats.
If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
OK, since you started it...
:-)
I was a DM as well, but in one campaign (AD&D 2nd Ed) back in the 80's I was playing a halfling psionicist. My poor DM never saw this one comming...
DM: The ogre approaches.
ME: I place a psionic portal on the ground directly below his feet.
DM: Where is the other end?
ME: About four feet above it.
DM: And why are you doing this?
ME: Do the math. (that was a "catch phrase" we had back then.) He will continue to accelerate due to gravity. Give him a minute or so of freefall and then close the portals. He hits terminal velocity and hits the ground.
We did the math. The ogre did not survive the fall.
I always enjoyed campaigns where creative thinking would win the day. It was always fun to come up with something that the DM didn't consider and then have it work.
(I also find it amusing that the captcha is "forfeit")
I see your point, in the context of Use Rope.
However, I will still miss Decipher Script. Just like Use Rope can be replaced with a Dex check, Decipher Script could be replaced by an Int check, but it would have to be a penalty, because code-breaking is a skill you need to be trained in if you want to break more than simple codes.
Read the Dragonlance songs.
The story is now cliche as is LOTR, but it was the first like LOTR.
The songs, however, are HORRIBLE.
You can still require someone to be trained in a skill to decipher encoded messages, but keep in mind that there are several 4e skills that could cover this. The 4e philosophy is about giving players the freedom to approach a problem from different angles and not having a "need the blue key to continue" approach.
Arcane: Wizards commonly write their spellbooks and scrolls in codes to prevent rivals from stealing them. (Real world alchemists did this a lot.) Therefore, Arcane could help.
History: History in a world as ancient as many D&D settings includes a good bit of archeology and deciphering of dead languages. A good historian might also recall historical tricks, like the old Spartan one with the strip wrapped around a pole of the right size. Therefore, History could help.
Thievery: Thieves often speak and write in code to avoid tipping off the authorities or their marks to what they are doing. Any thief, especially one raised in a guild, should know some basic cryptography. Therefore, Thievery could help.
The 4e skill challenges section is very big on the modern GM philosophy of not saying, "No," to the players and instead saying, "How?" or "Why?" Challenges are meant to be open to using multiple skills to defeat them to give the whole party a chance to shine.
If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
Q: "How many rules lawyers does it take to change a light bulb?"
... however, the DMG is clear on the issue of ... "
A: "According to the PHB on page 145
You created Portal in the 80's! It could have been you having your cake and eating it too.
Reviewing just the first hour of video games.
People I know recall fun and funny moments of DND combat from nearly 20 years ago, not plot points.
Wow. My experience over the last 20 years has been the exact opposite. Totally.
Oh, we recall some memorable times when a completely crazy move or lucky roll made the difference, sure. But we usually remember more how we got into that fight in the first place ("He's doing what? He's just supposed to tail the evil wizard/rogue/possible demon, not start a fight with him! Oh shit, let me double-check that list of scrolls I've been saving for a rainy day, maybe I have a Get Out of Death Free card...")
Anyway, combat is fun until it becomes tediously long. Then I fall asleep. Even the big battles better be dynamic and active, my patience for grinding through minutiae of combat is pretty low. We'll Call Our Attacks when we're simulating the best parts of "Enter the Dragon", but otherwise let's keep it simple.
My beef with 3.5e is that combat became this tedious war-gaming exercise that, rather than encouraging interesting ways to achieve victory, slanted towards doing the same stuff over and over again. It showed it's ambitions to be a miniatures-selling, video-game-adaptable system. Yuck. If I want video-games, I have them and I like them for what they are. RPGs with my friends should enhance things I can only do with my friends -- like role-play.
The best times I've had with RPGs have been things like Call of Cthulhu games where I never even knew what combat skills my character had, because a real conflict that had to be gamed out never happened (I was either going to prevail in a trivial situation where five of us jumped the single cultist goon, or die horribly when an actual monster emerged). Don't get me wrong -- I love having a character who can kick ass; I just like it if he can also chew bubblegum.
It's a strange world -- let's keep it that way
Tits or GTFO.
"Roll to see if I'm getting geeky!"
You cannot truly appreciate Dilbert until you read it in the original Klingon.
When I was an adolescent, I read the R.A. Salvatore, Douglass Niles, Troy Denning, and so forth Forgotten Realms books and loved them.
When I was a teenager, I read the vast majority of the Dragonlance Books and loved them. I also re-read the Forgotten Realms books, and decided they were really bad.
In college, I re-read many of the Dragonlance books. I realized they're really bad too, and their main virtue over Forgotten Realms was a different setting.
Good fiction in an RPG universe is very rare. In my humble opinion, all of the best fantasy novels don't have a computer or pen and paper roleplaying game logo or a movie name on the cover.
I personally have come to enjoy Robert Howard, Jack Vance, Jim Butcher, and Steven Brust, and it's been over a decade and I still enjoy them on second and third readings.
Your tastes may vary, but I strongly suggest you branch out from gaming fiction. There are a few good gems in there - I do really enjoy some of Richard Knaak and Mel Odom's stuff - but most isn't that good.
I'm going to assume that you've never actually tied anyone up in your life, and thus really are not qualified to make this sort of opinion.
Basically, Manacles give a fixed DC based on the skill of the person who made them. You'll notice that masterwork manacles are better than regular ones. D&D doesn't go into much more detail on the subject, because really it isn't needed by most people.
You'll notice in the real world, there is a basic sort of handcuff that the police use, and then there are a variety of more complicated and elaborate ones that are used by other people.
That's because for the most part, most people can't escape a basic pair. There are a few exceptions, individuals like Harry Houdini and my ex-girlfriend, but they are generally rather uncommon, and when you encounter them, you upgrade to something a bit stronger.
Remember, the PCs are not your average Joe, they're generally stronger, smarter or both. What will hold an average person, might hold them, but with a bit of time and determination, they are likely to get free.
Manacles are rigid and generally have limitations on how well they can be sized. A person with extremely large hands may not even fit into some manacles, and a person with small hands may be able to slip right out of them.
Rope on the other hand, is much more flexible, and does require skill to use effectively. And with increased skill can be made much more secure.
The main problem with rope is that without some fairly basic yet obscure knowledge, you're more likely to overtie and injure the person or undertie and have them slip free than you are to get it right.
That skill, and the related time expenses are why manacles are used most of the time.
I'm really surprised that someone else didn't point this out to you earlier, I guess there aren't as many kinky geeks on slashdot as I thought.
Of course since this involves geeks I have to point out that all of these are most likely simple substitution ciphers for characters or entire words, cracking those won't even be enough to deal with the ENIGMA system, never mind modern ciphers.
Justice is the sheep getting arrested while an impartial judge declares the vote void.
The problem with 3e skills is that their narrow focus doesn't leave you with guidelines on how to handle these situations. They resemble 2e NWPs that way. By being overly specific, they put the gaming group in the mindset of thinking that even if you have a related set of skills (like being a sailor or a mountain climber) you can't be good at tying a rope unless you paid specifically for it. Players are put in a mindset of thinking "Which one skill covers this?" instead of "How many ways are there to do this?" Fortunately, 4e changes that by becoming a little more open, like most of the games I prefer to play.
If it's for-profit but free, you're not the customer -- you're the product (e.g., the Slashdot Beta's "audience").
God invented whiskey so the Irish would not rule the world.