# Eric's Annual Trip down Memory Lane



## EricNoah

Seven years ago this month:  Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D Third Edition News opens its cyber-doors.

Six years ago this month: I was present for the D&D 3rd Edition release at GenCon.  And met Piratecat, Henry and a bunch of other community members!

Five years ago this month:  Several factors conspired to make this the right time to close down Eric Noah's Unofficial blah blah blah.  The forums are moved to "EN World" and Morrus ushers in a new era of D&D/D20 news and reviews.

The coolest thing for me is seeing a ton of people here who were members of the old site, still posting and having fun.  

Thanks for letting me indulge in a bit of nostalgia!


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## JoeBlank

Your reply the thread in General about the cleric domain examples reminded me to look back at the archives.

Some great memories there. I still have the pages I printed off and tried to start using to make characters.

Everything I know about 3.x D&D I learned from Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D Third Edition News!


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## diaglo

JoeBlank said:
			
		

> Everything I know about 3.x D&D I learned from Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D Third Edition News!





ditto.


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## Sammael

Ah... ze memories... the slow, excrutiatingly painful process of introducing pages of pages of house rules into 2e as 3e information became available... the feeling of anticipation... the addiction... those were the days.


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## Shadeus

I printed off the Attack of Opportunity clarification for my whole group, because there was lots of it we didn't understand at all.  the diagrams were clear and helped us to understand a tricky, new concept in DnD.

Thanks for taking the time to gather that information.  Even today I visit every day just to see the latest news.


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## Henry

I miss lots 'o folks from those days, but fortunately, most of them are still online, available in other message boards.

Odd thought, when you mentioned 2000: I wonder how P.A.'s doing these days? I wonder if he's back in France, or teaching in NY?


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## EricNoah

I can't remember exactly but I do recall hearing from him right after 9/11.  He was in NYC at the time and was really shaken and distressed.  I don't remember hearing from him much after that.


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## Renshai

I heard from him about then or a little after as well. He was still in NY then. I'm not sure what happened after that. I do remember missing GenCon in 2001 and PA sending me a poster that everyone at the ENWORLD gathering signed. I've still got that thing around here somewhere.


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## Cergorach

Now you done it! Made me feel old... Again!

I kind of miss those days, all the kewl people in one place, excited over every new tidbit, these days i can't really get excited about a new D&D book. It's mostly the 3rd party publishers that make the hobby interesting imho...


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## JDragon

JoeBlank said:
			
		

> Everything I know about 3.x D&D I learned from Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D Third Edition News!






			
				diaglo said:
			
		

> ditto.




I remember finding the site shortly after the announcement at GenCon the summer of 99 and checking everyday to see what your great page had.

I also remember the first half of 2000 telling everyone that came into the game store I was working in at the time about the great changes coming to D&D and this great site to get all the latest news.

Thanks again Erik for taking the time to get it started in the first place, and to Morrus for keeping it going.

JDragon


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## Animus

I was a lurker back then, but I've followed this page since the 3rd edition announcement as well. Kudos to you for your effort, Eric Noah   .


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## JRRNeiklot

Renshai said:
			
		

> I heard from him about then or a little after as well. He was still in NY then. I'm not sure what happened after that. I do remember missing GenCon in 2001 and PA sending me a poster that everyone at the ENWORLD gathering signed. I've still got that thing around here somewhere.





Yeah, I've got mine, too!


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## buzz

JoeBlank said:
			
		

> Everything I know about 3.x D&D I learned from Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D Third Edition News!



Thirdideded.

Also, ENWorld Gameday was the first RPG-con-type-thing that I ever attended. And now I run one!

Eric... thanks.


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## Zoatebix

JoeBlank said:
			
		

> Some great memories there. I still have the pages I printed off and tried to start using to make characters.



I don't have my print-outs any more, but I did the exact same thing.  I guess I've been lurking on and off since 1999, then.  It only took me -what? -5 years to start posting?

Man oh man.  I'm glad I did.
George


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## Nail

I wouldn't have had nearly as much fun with 3e (and 3.5e) without this site, and without these message boards.  Thanks all!


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## Mark CMG

Fun!


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## Ottergame

Reading through all that recap... Man, Master Tools was such a train wreck.


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## Jdvn1

I feel like I haven't been here long enough to post in this thread... but I really like the history EN World has, and I like what it's become over time and the dedication everyone has towards it. Sure, there may have been golden years in the past, but the ones since I've been around have been pretty cool too.

Oh, and...


			
				Renshai said:
			
		

> I ...



Ah! You're from Beaumont! Cool. I was born there. Okay. [/aside]


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## Pinotage

Animus said:
			
		

> I was a lurker back then, but I've followed this page since the 3rd edition announcement as well. Kudos to you for your effort, Eric Noah   .




Me too! Loved Eric's Page back then. In fact, I learnt how to play 3e through the SRD and his site before even getting the PHB.

Pinotage


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## Hand of Evil

remember them well


> GLORY DAYS
> 
> I had a friend was a big baseball player
> back in high school
> He could throw that speedball by you
> Make you look like a fool boy
> Saw him the other night at this roadside bar
> I was walking in, he was walking out
> We went back inside sat down had a few drinks
> but all he kept talking about was
> 
> Chorus:
> Glory days well they'll pass you by
> Glory days in the wink of a young girl's eye
> Glory days, glory days
> 
> Well there's a girl that lives up the block
> back in school she could turn all the boy's heads
> Sometimes on a Friday I'll stop by
> and have a few drinks after she put her kids to bed
> Her and her husband Bobby well they split up
> I guess it's two years gone by now
> We just sit around talking about the old times,
> she says when she feels like crying
> she starts laughing thinking about
> 
> Chorus
> 
> Now I think I'm going down to the well tonight
> and I'm going to drink till I get my fill
> And I hope when I get old I don't sit around thinking about it
> but I probably will
> Yeah, just sitting back trying to recapture
> a little of the glory of, well time slips away
> and leaves you with nothing mister but
> boring stories of glory days
> 
> Chorus (repeat twice)


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## Henrix

Bah, I'm a latecomer, I didn't find Eric's site 'til sometime early '00.

But I've been here since, and both incarnations have helped me and my gaming groups have a lot of fun!


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## Piratecat

I linked to it off of rpg.net - and I've never looked back.


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## FreeXenon

diaglo said:
			
		

> ditto.



Ditto

When I heard 3E was coming out I searched the web hard and wide for the best 3E news site I could find and D20Reviews was it. Once I found it I checked it every.... single.... day. 

I only lurked then but saw a huge and active group.

I was almost in tears when I heard that he was closing up shop and someone else was going to take up the reins. What would these 'people' do to this wonderful 3e site. I imagnined the horrible things 'they' would do to destroy and mangle it.   

Fortunately, none of that came to pass. ENWorld rocked then and it still does today! Thanks Eric for the beginning! Thank you everyone else that keeps this alive and hopping today!


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## Olgar Shiverstone

Cool.

I'm such a newb.  I didn't start lurking until Dec '00, and joined later in 01 (under a different name, then).


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## Henry

Piratecat said:
			
		

> I linked to it off of rpg.net - and I've never looked back.



Ditto, from rec.games.frp.dnd


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## EricNoah

Piratecat said:
			
		

> I linked to it off of rpg.net - and I've never looked back.




Looking back is for sheep.  You're a shark.  Sharks are winners and they don't look back, 'cause they don't have necks. 

I was proud to be the shepherd of this herd of sharks!


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## EricNoah

On a more serious note ... it is ironic that even yesterday I got some major scoops about the future of D&D.  It is sounding like some of our most paranoid fears are in fact in the works.  
4E already in the works? Check. 
Even more miniatures-centric? Check.  
Much smaller bundles of game info, packaged and sold separately? Check.
A plan to possibly sell off RPGs entirely? Check.  (Apparently only miniatures and Magic are making any money for WotC). 

Unfortunately I can't go into how I got the info or who gave it to me.  And I don't think even WotC knows when they're going to announce anything.  I got the impression that timing such an announcement with GenCon was no longer seen as optimal or necessary.  But please take all as unsubstantiated speculation ... as usual!

So there you go -- enjoy your corn flakes!


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## Oberton

Yeah, it is not hard to see how WOTC has been wanting to get into the mini's money for sometime now...  All I can hope for is that d20 will live on and continue to grow with products like Monte Cook's Ptlotus and the d20 community in general...  Game-ON...


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## Kaodi

*The Ol' Days*

I'm not sure when I first starting posting here, though it was I think at least three to four months before the release of 3e, so late 1999 or early 2000... Word was going around in the old Wizards chat that a new edition of D&D was coming out, and slowly I think everyone was directed to Eric's site. I've never been a prolifigate or influential poster, but I have always enjoyed Eric's and Morrus' sites. 
Man how time flies... next month is the six year anniversary of the release of 3e, is it not? I was so happy that they were coming out with a new edition. All I had were a set of 1e books that I had bought at a garage sale, so 2e was mostly lost on me, though I still it a little online (I joined that back when it was still TSR, with TSROs instead of WizOs...). The new edition was a chance for me to get an understanding of all the books that had come out, and to maybe have something approaching a complete collection... Well, that lasted for about as long as it took for the next book after the MM to be released, hehehe... And I'm one of those people who has never bought a 3e adventure, though I get Dungeon often enough... There has just never been one that seemed just right to me, at the right time... As it is, I have 16 hardcovers and 1 softcover out of... how many? A whole bunch!
Anyway, while I dread the day that 4e is announced (and hope is never is), I hope that this community lasts until then, and well beyond. Maybe by that time, the site will be run by someone else, but who knows. I haven't learned to read the future.
Yet.

(Ack, maybe I should of read Eric's post above more closely before posting...)


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## buzz

EricNoah said:
			
		

> On a more serious note ... it is ironic that even yesterday I got some major scoops about the future of D&D.  It is sounding like some of our most paranoid fears are in fact in the works.



Oh, Eric! You worm-can opener, you!


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## Mark CMG

EricNoah said:
			
		

> Looking back is for sheep.  You're a shark.  Sharks are winners and they don't look back, 'cause they don't have necks.
> 
> I was proud to be the shepherd of this herd of sharks!





I heard that second place around here was a set of steak knives.


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## talmar

Ah the memories, has it it truely been that long?      

And look, Eric's still posting the underground news rumors.  Has anything really changed?    

Here's to more years to come....


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## qstor

Nail said:
			
		

> I wouldn't have had nearly as much fun with 3e (and 3.5e) without this site, and without these message boards.  Thanks all!





Same here!! If anyone is at GenCon Indy in the RPGA area. I'll be running my Living Greyhawk module.

Mike


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## nerfherder

Ah, I remember the excitement of once managing to get a scoop put up on the front page.    

I'd given up D&D about the time 2E came out, when I went to college, but I stumbled across ENW when I was looking for something else and got so excited over the months leading up to release that I persuaded my gaming group to give 3E a try.  We still play 3E.

Cheers,
Liam


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## el-remmen

I don't even remember how I found Eric's site - I just know that I found it around May of 2000.


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## BOZ

i found it almost a year later.  actually, i found the Creature Catalog first, go figure.


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## JVisgaitis

Wow, I thought playing D&D for 20+ years made me feel old. Now I find out this site has been around for _7 years_!? craziness. I don't remember how I found the site, but I remember Eric answering a lot of my questions in the FAQ. That was in either 1999 or 2000. Can't remember. 7 years later I don't even have 1,000 posts. Sad...


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## JoeBlank

This place has come full circle. Now The Man himself is spreading rumors about 4e.

If you are going to bring that crap in here, start your own damn website! Leave EN World to us 3e grognards!


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## JVisgaitis

EricNoah said:
			
		

> Even more miniatures-centric? Check.




How does one make the game MORE miniatures centric? The only thing I could see would be for characters to have special moves like a knight in chess.


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## GFrantsen

*4e*



			
				JVisgaitis said:
			
		

> How does one make the game MORE miniatures centric? The only thing I could see would be for characters to have special moves like a knight in chess.




I can see it now - "I'm 10th level. I can finally get that move-like-a-queen feat that I've been lusting after!"


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## EricNoah

JVisgaitis said:
			
		

> How does one make the game MORE miniatures centric? The only thing I could see would be for characters to have special moves like a knight in chess.




Pure speculation, but imagine a game where you can't make a "cleric" without buying the "cleric rules" that are deep in a box of "cleric miniatures."  Or you can't get the stats for monsters without buying the miniatures.  Or you can't buy an adventure without a bunch of miniatures that go with the adventure.  Something like that.


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## Zoatebix

That sounds like a plausable and sustainable buisness model, but in my heart of hearts I don't think it's the way RPGs _should_ be.  "The medium is the message" and all that.


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## William Ronald

Eric, thanks for the memories, the hard work, and the laughs.  It is hard to believe how your original site in 1999 evolved into today's EN World.

Your site was one of the few things that sold a rather stubborn group of gamers on a new edition.  I would bring in materials for review, and there was a nodding and more interest. Mind you, I could never get any of them to post and there was a parting of the ways later on.  However, this site as well as the EN World Chicago Gamedays helped keep me active in the hobby.  

I think one thing that EN World does very well is expose people to different playing styles, interests, and ideas.  It is very easy for groups in our hobby to become insular, but I think EN World and some other sites help bring gamers together.


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## genshou

I wasn't here from the beginning, but I am grateful for this community and all the guys who made it possible right from the start.  It's amazing to think it's been three years since I registered my account to post in a katana vs. bastard sword thread. 

Think of the memories we'll have this month in another three years.


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## genshou

EricNoah said:
			
		

> On a more serious note ... it is ironic that even yesterday I got some major scoops about the future of D&D.  It is sounding like some of our most paranoid fears are in fact in the works.
> 4E already in the works? Check.
> Even more miniatures-centric? Check.
> Much smaller bundles of game info, packaged and sold separately? Check.
> A plan to possibly sell off RPGs entirely? Check.  (Apparently only miniatures and Magic are making any money for WotC).
> 
> Unfortunately I can't go into how I got the info or who gave it to me.  And I don't think even WotC knows when they're going to announce anything.  I got the impression that timing such an announcement with GenCon was no longer seen as optimal or necessary.  But please take all as unsubstantiated speculation ... as usual!
> 
> So there you go -- enjoy your corn flakes!



You knave! :\


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## Plane Sailing

I remember being about two months into a new job, kibitzing at lunchtime and I'd just done a search for tekumel and found some interesting stuff, so i thought I'd do a search on D&D and came across joe blogs D&D campaign site (I've got no idea who it was), but he had a link to Eric's third edition news and rumours site... back in Nov 99 I guess.

Eric, if it hadn't been for your site I would probably have never got back into D&D (having abandoned it for other RPGs in the early 80s). I would certainly never have made so many friends in the RPG world.

Thanks mate!


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## el-remmen

If it weren't for Eric Noah I would still be playing some hodge-podge mess of a verison of 2E.

However, when I read what he has to say about 4E I think I will be happier continuing to play a hodge-podge mess of 3E


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## Rel

EricNoah said:
			
		

> On a more serious note ... it is ironic that even yesterday I got some major scoops about the future of D&D.  It is sounding like some of our most paranoid fears are in fact in the works.
> 4E already in the works? Check.
> Even more miniatures-centric? Check.
> Much smaller bundles of game info, packaged and sold separately? Check.
> A plan to possibly sell off RPGs entirely? Check.  (Apparently only miniatures and Magic are making any money for WotC).
> 
> Unfortunately I can't go into how I got the info or who gave it to me.  And I don't think even WotC knows when they're going to announce anything.  I got the impression that timing such an announcement with GenCon was no longer seen as optimal or necessary.  But please take all as unsubstantiated speculation ... as usual!
> 
> So there you go -- enjoy your corn flakes!




As a Mod, I cannot tell you how sorely tempted I am to delete this post for all the trouble it will probably cause.   

As to the trip down memory lane, I wasn't here from the very earliest days but I keep seeing people in this thread reference how the site helped them transition from 2E to 3E.  Personally, I probably wouldn't have played 3E at ALL had it not been for your site.  I was a LONG TIME (dozen years) player of Rolemaster who had left D&D in the dust years ago.  But the RM ruleset was getting a little tedious and we needed a change.  Your site was what convinced me to give 3E a try and we never looked back after that.

Furthermore, the discussions I've had here have made me a far better GM than I ever was before.  I've been able to look at how one runs a game from so many perspectives offered by other posters that it has helped me grow quite a bit as a GM.  But that is nothing compared to the fun and improvement I've experienced from running and playing in games with fellow ENWorlders at the NC Game Day and GenCon.  Next week I'm going to my second GenCon and next month we're having our ELEVENTH NC Game Day!

But I wouldn't be doing any of that without the people I've met here.  It continues to astonish me how great the folks are who I've met here, many of whom I've gotten to meet in person.  Being able to sit at one of Henry or Piratecat's games has been an education in gaming.  And being able to tip back an adult beverage with Teflon Billy and fusgangite has just been...an education.

ENWorld has totally improved my gaming experiences in every conceivable way and provided me with untold numbers of new friendships.  If it could also wash my car and mow my lawn, it would be the perfect website.


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## buzz

EricNoah said:
			
		

> Pure speculation, but imagine a game where you can't make a "cleric" without buying the "cleric rules" that are deep in a box of "cleric miniatures."  Or you can't get the stats for monsters without buying the miniatures.  Or you can't buy an adventure without a bunch of miniatures that go with the adventure.  Something like that.



FWIW, I don't buy the idea that we'll ever see an edition of D&D like this. _D&D Minis_, sure, but not D&D.

I have a feeling that a more minis-centric D&D would simply:

Feature iconic D&D minis in the books more
Use "squares" instead of "feet" (like IH, which is fine with me)
Use terms like "figure" instead of "opponent"
Adventures that feature nice, big combat maps that double as DDM accessories
Ah, they're already doing that last one.


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## WanderingMonster

*decloaks*

*wanders in*
*kills adventurers*
*wanders out*


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## thatdarncat

I found the site through a google search, looking for 3.0's release date. I lurked on the boards, posted a bit, then wandered into the chatroom. Because of that one search and this site, I found my best friend and partner, moved 2500km to live with her, away from all of my family and friends... and it's the best thing that ever happened to me. 

EN Worlders have been some of the best, nicest people I've known, and I'm looking forward to meeting as many as I can 6 days from now.


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## Seri

aww! isn't he cute!

silly cat


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## RyanD

JoeBlank said:
			
		

> Everything I know about 3.x D&D I learned from Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D Third Edition News!




Me too!



Ryan


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## Michael Morris

Now that's irony.  How's things going these days Ryan?


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## BOZ

Spoony Bard said:
			
		

> Now that's irony.




what - you didn't know that Eric Noah invented 3rd edition?


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## Plane Sailing

Rel said:
			
		

> As a Mod, I cannot tell you how sorely tempted I am to delete this post for all the trouble it will probably cause.




Perceptive words of truth... if only you were quicker off the mark


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## Chris_Nightwing

Back in good ol' 1999 I was bored in an IT lesson and started looking for interesting D&D websites. Lo and behold, in all it's black and red glory, I found ENWorld. The revelations in the news were astounding and since then I've never looked back. To think that I've now completed two degrees and am starting a third, it makes me feel old, but all nostalgic. Good to see everyone from the boards again. Rock on!


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## EricNoah

For the record...

The only reason I even posted the 4e "scoop" in this thread at all was the irony.  Here it was, the day I had started an "Eric gets all nostalgic" thread, and that evening a bunch of 4E rumors fall into my lap.  It just seemed like old times for a second there.  

Great to hear from so many of the old crew here -- thanks for your kind words!


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## Erratic K

I discovered Eric Noah's site before 3E came out, when it was the rumor site.  It took years before I posted. 

But the day Eric posted the beta test info for WOTC, I got my group RPGA memberships (a requirement for this particular playtest) and playtested the Forgotten Realms Handbook (and the 3E rules, we couldn't get all the books when we got the playtest manuscript rules from WOTC).   Due to that, our names are all in the back of one of the most beautiful books I've purchased.

Thanks Eric!!


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## WSmith

Thanks to Eric, I was inspired to learn HTML and make my own 3e site, (Hall of Adventures if anyone remembers, but probably not cause other than Piratecat's story hour it pretty much sucked.) No lie, I was getting ready to sell off my entire D&D collection and give up RPGs forever cause I was soooo not liking what 2nd edition had become. Then I found Eric's site (from rec.games.frp.dnd) . I got refreshed.


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