Old School D&D Still Around(Repost)

I've been in a 2e AD&D mood lately so I thought I would repost this.

I was goofing on the internet, as I am too prone to do when I should be sleeping, and I found some interesting links. I've seen complaints about how WotC took down the links to the older edition products brought up on numerous message boards and blogs and when I stumbled upon this I thought I'd share it.

I don't know if this is a mistake or intentional, but I have tested a few of these links and they worked. I haven't had time to test them all so if some are broken, don't blame me. Perhaps WotC heard fan's cries and decided to be nice, or perhaps this is just some oversight on their part. I honestly don't know. Either way here are some AD&D links for your enjoyment, while they last.

Silver Princess: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/dx20020121x7

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/downloads

Forgotten Realms
Cormanthyr: Empire of the Elves: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr1165.zip

The Fall of Myth Drannor: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9558.zip

The Horde: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr1055.zip

Lands of Intrigue: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr1159.zip

Savage Frontier: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9233.zip

Gold and Glory: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9373.zip

Elminster's Ecologies I: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9489.zip

Elminster's Ecologies II: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9490.zip

Four from Cormyr: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9531.zip

Castle Spulzeer: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9544.zip

Cult of the Dragon: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9547.zip

For Duty and Deity: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9574.zip

City of Raven's Bluff: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9575.zip

Calimport: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9589.zip

Arcane Age: Nethretil - Empire of Magic: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr1147.zip

Volo's Guide to the North: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9393.zip

Marco Volo: Departure: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9444.zip

Marco Volo: Journey: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9450.zip

Marco Volo: Arrival: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9455.zip

Volo's Guide to Cormyr: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9486.zip

Vilhon Reach: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9520.zip

Volo's Guide to All Things Magical: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9535.zip

Villain's Lorebook: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9552.zip
The Fall of Myth Drannor: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9558.zip

How the Mighty are Fallen: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9541.zip

Undermountain I: The Lost Level: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9511.zip

Undermountain II: Maddgoth's Castle: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9522.zip

Undermountain III: Stardock: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/2/fr_downloads/tsr9538.zip

The North: Guide to the Savage Frontier: http://www.wizards.com/forgottenrealms/thenorth.asp

Endless Armies (FMA2): http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/tsr9340.pdf

Birthright
Blood Spawn: Creatures of Light and Shadow: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/Blood%20Spawn2.pdf

Player's Secrets of Hogunmark: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/Hogunmark.pdf

Player's Secrets of Muden: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/Muden.pdf

The Book of Regency: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/BookofRegency.pdf

The Legacy of Kings: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/BoardGame.zip

The Falcon and the Wolf: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/FalconWolfsingles.pdf

Some other Birthright stuff: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/dx20020121x5

EX1 Dungeonland and EX2 The Land Beyond the Magic Mirror: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/dx20020121x8

Al-Qadim
caravans: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/tsr9459caravans.zip

Corsairs of the Great Sea: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/tsr9449corsairs.zip

Legends & Lore, 2nd edition: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/LegendsAndLore.rtf

The Castle Guide (DMGR2): http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/CASTLE.ZIP

Savage Coast Campaign Setting: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/campaignbook-rtf.zip

Ravenloft
NIGHT OF THE WALKING DEAD: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/notwd.pdf

Ravenloft II: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/dx20020121x9:

Greyhawk
I11 Needle: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/i11.txt

Ivid the Undying: http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Greyhawk/Ividform.zip

Map #1 for Ivid the Undying [Dragon #204] http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Greyhawk/Ivid204.gif

Map #2 for Ivid the Undying [Dragon #206] http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Greyhawk/Ivid206.gif

Map #3 for Ivid the Undying [Dragon #208] http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Greyhawk/Ivid208.gif

Description: Ivid the Undying Maps http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Greyhawk/Ivid_Composite_Map.gif

L1: The Secret of Bone Hill by Len Lakofka
text http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/l1.rtf

cover http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/L1_cover.zip

interior maps http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/L1_maps.zip

interior art http://www.wizards.com/dnd/files/L1_interior.zip

L2: The Assassin's Knot http://www.wizards.com/dnd/article.asp?x=dnd/dx20001229b

S1: Tomb of Horrors http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20051031a

S2: White Plume Mountain http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/oa/20051207a

A completely personal opinon about the direction of D&D

Since WotC's recent announcements regarding D&D the blogs and message boards have been buzzing with everything from idle speculation to doom and gloom for the most well known RPG. As someone who has given up on 4e the changes don't really impact me, but I still care about what happens.

Maybe my concern is just because I know that D&D is still the RPG that represents the entire hobby for non-gamers. Perhaps it is just nostalgia and maybe a little brand loyalty, but it actually bothers me that I don't like 4e. I know there are a ton of great RPGs out there and I play and enjoy some of them, but it sucks that I don't like the newest edition of the game I've been playing for over 20 years.


I have several opinions about the direction the brand will take but it is just idle speculation as I know jack shit about what is going on inside the company. A lot of the other bloggers are much more closely linked to the actual RPG industry so when it comes to what might happen, their opinions and speculation are probably much more informed than mine is as an outsider. However, that has never stopped me before.


Personally I think that Hasbro just doesn't care if D&D survives. They won't let the brand go since it is recognized by gamers and non-gamers alike and can be placed on a variety of other products.Even if they never produce another D&D book, the D&D brand will continue to bring in some kind of revenue. At least for a while.

I often wonder why Hasbro/WotC doesn't produce or license more D&D items such as action figures, Hot Wheels cars(everything seems to have had its name/logo stamped on a Hot Wheels at some point), video games (there could be a lot more of them than there have been), D&D versions of nearly every Hasbro game, a D&D expansion for Magic: the Gathering or even a separate D&D CCG (just not another Spellfire, though you had to love the cheesy cards for that game. I bought a ton of them back then)

I see D&D going all digital (video games and DDi) at some point in the future. I personally think D&D as a printed RPG will begin to disappear.  I don't think this will happen in the near future, but it seems to be going this way.

Between Magic and D&D, Magic is likely the money maker and the reason Hasbro even cares about keeping D&D alive is the name. Even people who have never seen an RPG book or held a d20 know the name Dungeons and Dragons. There is money to be made off that name and it is unlikely they will let it go. Which is why my dream of Paizo or Green Ronin buying D&D will never happen.

So while I have absolutely no idea what will happen with D&D there are several things I'd like to see happen. In my opinion printed RPGs may not be the biggest money makers, but I think that the printed products could still be viable. Maybe they won't produce as much money as Hasbro requires, but possibly enough to make keeping a small RPG team around to produce a small amount of product for us to enjoy worth it.

First, I'd like to see WotC renew support and publication of revised versions of all older editions. Doing so would expand the D&D brand by having each edition as its own brand. Classic D&D, Original D&D, Advanced D&D, etc. Each of them could be done by a small team that produces a few supplements each year and they could even allow limited 3rd party support. The money coming in from these may not be huge, but doing so could create a consistent stream of cash by producing products for all editions instead of letting them abandon D&D and play Pathfinder or retro-clones. Bring those gamers back by producing new product for them.I love my Pathfinder and hope Paizo becomes the the premiere rpg company, I also am very fond of many of the OSR publishers, but if I were WotC I would be doing whatever I could to crush them. Pissing off and then throwing away such as large portion of your customer base just seems counter productive to me. Of course I'm not a business major so maybe there is a sound business decision behind this move. I can't imagine what it is but that's just my POV.

Second I'd like for them to keep 4e alive. I may not like the game but there are enough people that do to keep some product moving. Even if only 3-4 new books get produced each year, I don't want the system to die. Since D&D minis is pretty much dead they should license the name to another minis producer like Reaper.

Third I think they should pursue the DDi. I think it is a waste of money but I know plenty of people that like their DDi

Lastly I'd also like to see both a print & digital subscription for Dragon magazine. If they start supporting older editions of the game, the magazine would be able to appeal to a broader range of gamers. I could be wrong, but I don't think that Dungeon mag would be worth bringing back. Not because it would have no use, but because it was too specialized with too narrow an audience.

All of this is just my opinion about what I'd like to see happen with D&D and isn't meant to upset anyone.

Happy Holidays

Just wanted to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Joyous Yule and a Happy New Year.
I hope this season finds you happy, healthy and among loved ones.

I also hope Santa brings you lots of gaming and geeky goodies to enjoy for the next year.

Learning another language for geeks and gamers

Learning a second language is something I think everyone should do. Which is all nice and good to say, but I have to be honest and admit that I suck at learning languages.

It isn't that I can't learn a language or that it it too hard, I just get bored with it. I barely made it through 4 semesters of Spanish in college, mostly because I didn't want to study. I sincerely want to learn a new language, but I just have a hard time staying focused on it. Currently I'm working on Irish and playing around with German, but much like the 2 years of Spanish I had to take during my undergrad, my heart just isn't in it. The desire it there, just not the focus. However, I may have found a way around this little hurtle.

Being a geek I just can't help but feel drawn to the fictional languages that I encounter in movies, TV shows and books in a way that I'm not with real world languages. I'd love to speak Elvish, Orc, Na'vi, Romulan, or any number of other geeky languages. Unfortunately, you can't take Klingon or Tengwar at any of the colleges in my area. Lucky for me we have the Internet.

During my studies of Irish and German I stumbled upon a great site called Omniglot that contains information about every language I've ever heard of, as well as many more I never knew existed. One day, while perusing the alphabetical list of languages, I discovered that the site also has information about fictional languages. 

 Klingon, Romulan, Atlantean, Tengwar, and, my favorite, Kryptonian are just a few of the fictional languages on the site. Not only does the site have information, including alphabets, for these languages, but also links to other sites with more detailed information.There are even areas that give advice and useful tips for learning languages.

The best tip I've seen so far is to learn a language that you actually want to learn. Which would explain why I'm doing much better with Irish than I ever did with Spanish. I simply have never wanted learn Spanish at any time in my life. I only picked it to fulfill my degree requirements because German wasn't available at that time. Plus my advisor convinced me that it would be more useful than German. Shows what they know because I still can't (under)stand Spanish. 

If you are not wanting to actually learn a language but just find some writing to use in your game you can just use the fictional or magical script sections. There are more than enough authentic scripts here to use in any type of game you run.

Once I found all of these fictional languages on Omniglot, it got me curious about what other resources there are for these types of languages. So I began searching for others.

Besides the ones listed on the Omniglot site, I also stumbled upon a site for learning the Na'vi language heard in the movie Avatar. Learn Na'vi is an amazingly well done site for such a new fictional language. There are literally hundreds of pages of pdfs that can be downloaded, including workbooks and dictionaries to help you learn the language. If you are having trouble learning the language you can just jump on the forums for help. If you have a printer that can do double sided printing I highly recommend printing the pdfs from this site out in booklet form. It makes them much easier to carry with you, while still allowing you to read them easily. Otherwise you are going to be using at least one ream of paper.

If you are like me and prefer to both hear and see the language you are attempting to learn, then you may want to check out the Project Ngaynume podcast. I just found this site and have not had the opportunity to actually listen to the show, so I can't give it a definite thumbs up yet. I will update this post or do another one once I have had a chance to review the show to let you know if it is worth your time. Or you could just check it out for yourself and save us both the time. 

For us Superman fans, Kryptonian, is a language that you probably have wanted to learn for quite a while. If so you should really check out Kryptonian.info. All of the information is on site, with no downloads, but it is still a very informative and well done site.

If you find a language on Omniglot that you want to learn, you should also check out Amazon.com or other booksellers for dictionaries and workbooks. Of course the only ones you are likely to find are for the more popular languages like Klingon and some form of Tolkien's Elven language(s). I got an Elvish Dictionary for $4, which is the total cost with S&H. That's not a bad deal.


Every fan of the Harry Potter books/movies that I know has tried to speak Parseltongue at some point. When my daughter was a few years younger she would hiss at me in her own make-believe parseltongue language. Yes, I did encourage the behavior and yes I sometimes(always) answered back in my own version of the language. Something I think most Harry Potter fans have done at some point.

While not as detailed as the other language sites, The Parselmouth is still a fun little site. Since the language is mostly just a spoken language (snakes don't have hands after all), there are no pdfs to download. Instead you type in the word or phrase you want to say and the site makes an audio translation for you to play. You also have the option to download the parseltongue version of your word/phrase to store on your computer or like me you can use it as a ringtone. I'm not claiming that the parseltongue found on this site is any more "legit" than the hissing my daughter and I did, but it should still appeal to most Potter fans. (Note: for those of you running the current Paizo Adventure Path: Serpent's Skull, this site could provide some really good audio props for your game.)

For you Legion of Superhero fans, and who isn't, there is also a site to learn the Interlac alphabet used in the comics.  It is just a one to one substitution cipher for the English language alphabet, but still could be useful if you are running a LSH game.

Whether you are waiting for the Great Cthulhu to return and wipe out all those non-believers, running a CoC game or a Pathfinder game in the Darklands you may find it useful to learn a little Aklo.

Atlantean is another language you may find useful. Especially if you are running a Rifts campaign.

If you are a Wheel of Time fan like me, you may want to check out these sites to help you learn the Old Tongue. The Complete Old Tongue, Dictionary of the Old Tongue and the Wheel of Time Wiki are some sites I think you will definitely like.


If you are addicted to the Sims,  you may want to learn Simmish to better understand what your people are babbling about.

For those of you that are more inclined to stick with the Tolkien languages you will probably want to check out the Elvish Linguistic Fellowship, Parma Eldalamberon, The Elvish Pronunciation Guide,  the Eldarin Wiki, Duke Universities Elvish Language page, The Council of Elrond, Ardalambion, Fellowship of the Word-smiths or the Elvish Dictionaries. May may also want to check out this site  with various Quenya lessons, or this site with what seems to be some interesting info about Tengwar, or perhaps even this one which seems to have numerous pdfs you can download. Those are just a few of the sites I found for learning the various Elvish and Tolkien languages.

I'm always looking and finding even more sites that focus on learning fictional languages and I will post them as I find them. I'm planning to try my hand at learning Na'vi, Kryptonian or some form of Elvish, so I'll definitely be keeping my eyes open for sites related to those languages. If you happen to know of some really good sites or just want to offer some useful advice about learning a language  feel free to share in the comments.

Giving Thanks

Given that this is Thanksgiving I thought I might as well do a post about what I'm thankful for. Naturally this will be gaming oriented so I'll leave out the obvious, but still true, thanks for things like health, family, job, etc.

1. I'm thankful for Paizo & Pathfinder. This may seem silly but for once it is nice to still have support for my preferred system even though the company that created it moved on.

2. The OGL. Thanks to this Pathfinder exists as do many of the OSR games that I enjoy.

3. Essentials. Even though I am not a 4e fan I like that WotC at least tried to give us a product that not only would appeal to new gamers, but those of us that did not care for original 4e.

4. RPG Bloggers. Even if I wasn't a member I would still follow all of the great blogs that are a part of this network. Many of which I would never have discovered if not for the RPGBN. Even when I'm between groups I can still get my gaming "fix".

5. Green Ronin. Now I finally have DC sourcebooks for one of my favorite superhero systems.

Well that's my list for this year. Hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving.

Gaming with the kid

My daughter and I are set to run through another D&D Essentials game this weekend. I'm thinking I may try to get her to run a thief or cleric instead of her standard Slayer. I'd like to run a stealth oriented game and see how she does.

Since she still has issues remembering things like healing surges, I'll probably run a tag along GMPC to help her out from time to time, maybe a thief catcher from the local town watch, a magic user of some kind or an orphan from town that follows her around. I'll try to post a recap of how things went.

Also I just started teaching her how to play Magic: the Gathering. I started playing Magic back when it was first released ('93-'94?) and quit around '98. I think that was around the time Tempest was released. My wife and I had a brief run playing Magic between 2001 and 2002, but she lost interest in it when she quit gaming with me and my group. So I haven't played magic in damn near a decade but managed to talk my daughter into giving it a try this past weekend.

I dug out my cards and let her use one of my pre-made decks. We used core set only because I wanted to keep her first time simple. Besides I prefer the core set anyway. I don't like keeping track of all the weird mechanics that some of the expansions seem to use.

She loved it and so I bought her a deck of 2011 core set(Blue & White) the other day. She has been itching to play ever since. She's also pretty cocky about it, making bold claims that she is going to kick my butt and asking me how I think it will feel to get whooped by a girl. She is competitive just like her mom. Naturally I can't let a teenager talk smack to me in regards to a game I've been playing (off and on) since it was first released so I got her a box of tissues and told her she'd need them to dry the tears after the massive beat down I'm going to give her.

It is all in good fun and she knows I really don't care if she wins, but it's nice to spend time with her and see her enjoying things I enjoy as well. I spent too many years sitting through Winx and Barbie movies and playing kiddie games with her, so I've paid my dues. I also know that since she's entering her teen years it won't be long before parents become the most uncool people in the world. Something to be avoided when possible.

I'm going to enjoy these times I get to game with her and hope that one day(when she's 35-40, has a Phd and a successful career) she'll meet a nice boy that likes D&D and Magic and they'll raise a whole new generation of geeks. Of course I'll expect to be invited over for game night.

Musings on Essentials and D&D in general

I was just sitting here reading through Heroes of the Forgotten Kingdoms and listening to The Nut Gallery Review episode 52 (a very good movie and game podcast by occasional Geek Gazette contributor  Jason James) when I realized how much I missed Pathfinder.

I started playing Essentials when my daughter asked to learn D&D and at first I really liked it. Perhaps it was just the fact that Essentials was new and shiny or maybe it was because I was thrilled to see my daughter taking an interest in gaming, but now the game is losing its luster. For some reason Essentials just isn't as much fun for me to run. My daughter is having a good time, which is the most important part, but I keep getting bored. I just keep feeling as I'm boxed in, stifled.

Don't get me wrong I still like Essentials far better than I did original 4e, but the more we play the more I find that I just don't like the system as much as I do 3.x/Pathfinder. I tried running Essentials the same way I have been running games for over 20 years, graph paper and no minis, and with a few minor tweaks it works just fine. Although I have found that running one on one games with the 4e system is a bit more difficult. I never gave the claims that 4e was too team oriented much thought until I started running solo adventures. It isn't impossible, it just requires a bit more prep.

Thinking that perhaps I needed to change my DMing style and run the game in a manner closer to how it was designed, I broke out the battle maps and monster pogs that come with the DM kit. My daughter didn't care  for this much (she suddenly had a hankering to play Heroscape after our first time playing this way) and I didn't like it at all. It felt very much like playing a board game and neither of us liked having to take the time to work out the various minis related rules during combat. It really slowed down the game and drained any sense of cinematic adventure that we tend to emulate in my normal style of gaming.

Granted this was my first time really running  a game like this so I wasn't 100% comfortable with it, but it didn't take long for me to figure out that I'm not fond of that style. Perhaps my experience would be different if I were on the other side of the screen, but since I've been DMing pretty much every game I've played for the past 20+ years I can't say for sure. Things might also feel different if I were running a full party instead of one on one adventures, but I doubt it. I actually think it would have been an even worse experience. I've run more than a few systems in my time and have not gotten as bored as I did running the more tactical style 4e is designed for.

While I'm happy to know that I have Pathfinder, tons of 3.x books, all of my older edition books, some great OSR games and countless other system to fall back on, I'm actually kind of sad that I find myself not enjoying the current edition of D&D. I really want to like it, especially now that I've gotten my daughter to play. She'll play whatever I want, but I wanted her to love D&D as much as I did at her age. 

I've been playing D&D for over 20 years and until the release of 4e I've never thought negatively about an edition of the game. I've had problems with certain books or aspects of various editions, and definitely taken issue with WotC on a few occasions, but never have I had a problem with the system as a whole. It's kind of depressing.

While I was thinking about all of this the nutgallery gang were discussing M. Knight Shyamalan's and their thoughts about his movie(s). This got me to thinking about my issues with 4e.

As I said before I have had issues, though not as many, with every edition of D&D as well as nearly every game I have ever played. No game is perfect. So what would I want WotC to do to make me like D&D again? What could they do to bring back all of us that gravitated towards Pathfinder, the OSR games or any other system that has replaced D&D on countless gaming tables?

Honestly I don't know, but this did get thinking about how WotC seems to view those of us that just can't stay or even get on the 4e bandwagon as acceptable losses. This thinking is what helped Pathfinder tie D&D for the #1 RPG slot recently. It also seems to drive the critical view of WotC that I and many other gamers have expressed over the past few years.

Unless I've been misinformed WotC owns the TSR name. Why don't they use it for special products?There are many of us that enjoy older editions and the OSR games. So why doesn't WotC release special or limited edition revised versions of older editions? I'm not talking about 4e with artwork from an older edition slapped on the front, but an actual revised version of older editions.

I'd pay $50 for an all in one AD&D rule book in a heartbeat. Something like an AD&D Rules Cyclopedia with revised/updated rules, some monsters and maybe even some setting info would be great. They could even take a page from S&W and have both Thac0/Descending AC and BAB/Ascending AC for those of us that do not remember Thac0 fondly.

Since 3.x is still going strong as Pathfinder, why doesn't WotC do the same thing for 3.x? Why just give up those customers? Update, revise and streamline 3rd edition(fix the stuff that Pathfinder didn't), release it under AD&D with a nifty TSR label as an all in one, stand alone Rules Cyclopedia type book and I'm dropping another $50.

If none of that seems possible, I'm sure someone will be happy to point out why, then why don't they find out what makes people love the older editions (OD&D thru 3.x) and what people do like about 4e/Essentials. Then release a completely separate AD&D game combining as much of all the best parts of each edition as they can. Granted this won't make everyone happy, and the game may suck, I don't know, but as someone pointed out on one of the OSR blogs (sorry I can't remember who), the majority of OSR games are based off of 3.x anyway. It can be done.

Why has WotC let Paizo take such as large section of their customer base? I'm not complaining. As far as I'm concerned Paizo outclasses WotC on multiple levels and I've been a Paizo fan since they started publishing Dragon. I hope they not only continue to tie WotC for the #1 spot, but I won't complain if they completely crush WotC and end up owning the D&D brand. (I know it ain't happening, but I can dream) Still from a business POV it just seems counterproductive to be ok with driving off customers.

It would be a different matter if they were just losing a few customers, but when it is enough to allow a publisher that stuck with the older edition of your game to tie you in sales, that should speak loud and clear to the suits and bean counters. 4e is a fine, solid game for people who like that style, I'm not saying the game is bad. In fact I think 4e is mechanically superior than the older editions in several ways, but for me it just can't stand up to 3.x, Pathfinder or the ton of quality OSR games available in terms of fun.