D&D 4E 4E: What we think we know

Xyxox · Aug 16, 2007

Wormwood said:
I am loving just about every aspect of this announcement. C'mon May!

I'm going to pre-order the World and Monsters and the Classes and Races supplements to get ready for next May.

thundershot · Aug 16, 2007

Xyxox said:
I'm going to pre-order the World and Monsters and the Classes and Races supplements to get ready for next May.

We're sure that those are "preview books"? Just curious...

Thanks
Chris

catsclaw227 · Aug 16, 2007

Interesting about Eberron -- a "retrospective" books?

http://www.amazon.com/Eberron-Survi...0786948558/ref=pd_sim_b_1/103-7215605-2547032

JoeBlank · Aug 16, 2007

Cadfan said:
I don't understand this D&D Insider thing. Specifically, I don't understand the limits on the system.

Limiting you to three games per month is possibly reasonable, if they're concerned about people sharing passwords. This makes it so that sharing your password with someone else directly reduces the amount of times you can play. But there's objections to this: first, why three times? If a game runs on a weekly basis, that number needs to be 5 (to encompass 30 day weeks where the game starts on day 1 or 2). And second, there certainly has to be a better way to do this than to impose an arbitrary limit. Many other online communities have handled password sharing problems, I'm sure D&D could do the same.

What really doesn't make sense to me is limiting a player to 10 stored characters, and/or 10 stored versions of the same character. Why? It can't possibly be file space. A character sheet is a low file size item. Even if you allowed players to upload multiple high definition jpegs of their characters, you wouldn't expect to pass a megabyte in storage.

I am betting you can pay for upgrades to increase your storage or games per month.

Rangoric · Aug 16, 2007

Xyxox said:
I'm in this one all the way. I'll definitely subscribe to D&D Insider and the online Dungeon and Dragon magazine content now.

An SRD released under the OGL was my requirement and they met it.

Hold on Matilda, I'm drinkin' the KOOLAID!

Same here. Now to just finish up all my 3.5 projects lol.

Drkfathr1 · Aug 16, 2007

Maybe the "basic" D&D Insider package will be free, and the subscription service will allow unlimited or at least more options?

The whole Insider thing still hinges on the price for me. I can see a slew of third party software that will mimic or actually surpass the Insider ware. So it might be more advantageous for some to buy software for a onetime price, rather than a monthly fee for limited or buggy content. (not trying to be negative, just being realistic)

And I have to add....4E as OGL....YAY!

WayneLigon · Aug 16, 2007

thormagni said:
http://www.therepublic.com/main.asp?SectionID=393&SubSectionID=979&ArticleID=111814

In short, the mechanics aren't changing a lot

Well, damn. I guess I'll see what's offered, then, but now it sounds like we're really seeing 3.75

Knight Otu · Aug 16, 2007

MerricB said:
Open Gaming Licence
* 4th Edition will fall under the OGL, and there'll be a new SRD (this post by thormagni)
* Wizards wants 3rd party publishers to produce 4e-compatible material. (this post by thormagni)
* 3rd party publishers will be able to get licenses to create 4e material from Wizards. (??)(source: jgbrowning This post)
* Fans will be able to publish material on Gleemax under (free) license from Wizards. (This material will be available to Wizards to republish; see discussion on Gleemax TOS).
* The OGL/SRD/d20 Licenses will still exist - details still to come (source: this post)

I kind of didn't like the second-to last point in this when I first read it, but thormagni's post sort of soothes my fear - that Wizards would not want fan-created material to appear anywhere else but on Gleemax (and somehow would try to enforce this). If the OGL will in fact remain, then probably fan-created material should be tolerated elsewhere.
I for one am not quite thrilled that apparently there will be "previews for sale." I guess those two books do release far more information and imagery than could reasonably be expected for free, but still...

The Grumpy Celt · Aug 16, 2007

What does it mean that “4th Edition will fall under the OGL” but that at the same time “3rd party publishers will be able to get licenses to create 4e material from Wizards.” Those sound like contradictory statements; i.e. the presence of OGL by its nature means 3rd party publishers do not have to get licenses to create 4e material.

Zaukrie · Aug 16, 2007

10 characters is a real problem for me. What about NPCs for DMs? Also, I run games for young kids - who I don't want having accounts right now - but I'd like to be able to manager their characters there....

It all hinges on the cost, oh, and the actual utility of the applications. But, I look forward to anything that makes it easier to actually play the game....

My oldest son loves to build characters, I want a tool that allows us to do that. Will they also offer a generator application I can install? I doubt it.