Future of D&D Keynote Speech [UPDATE - with video!]

frankthedm said:

2 years until release? I wonder how they are going to get the profits to keep Hasbro happy until then.

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I think they ment a two year process, meaning from the start of the playtest so that would be May. I, for one, am glad that they don't intend to rush it for a quick profit, it means that they are serious about doing it right.

As for money stream until then, well there are the wunderkind novels, the two FR advantures (hopefully not only for 4e although that will be ok for my group I think) and the digital copies of the older edition books (which I'm going to grab as fast as I can since I missed buying them when they were in print).

Warder

I have tried formatting RPG material for the Kindle and with stat blocks, tables and the like... it is a big hassle. The more stat blocks, tables and the like there are, the more a hassle it becomes.

A PDF is vastly simpler in terms of formatting.

Otakkun, "Aber" is the name of the planet Toril combined with during the spell plague. It was a bad idea, separating them would be a good idea.

So, no RPG products in the next 6-12 months?

It wasn't clear what the format of the 2 FR adventures was going to be.

Absolutely no discussion of D&D Insider? I guess the older edition book could be part of that?

frankthedm said:

2 years until release? I wonder how they are going to get the profits to keep Hasbro happy until then.

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A few thoughts:

• DDI subscriptions -- those still seem to be remaining fairly strong with a minimum of 70k subscribers.
• Board games -- the D&D Adventure game series seems to have done well for WotC, as have Conquest of Nerath, Lords of Waterdeep (the highest rated new release of 2012 on Board Game Geek!) and the new Dungeon Command miniatures game.
• Electronic re-releases of out of print material.
• Sales of novels and ebook version of novels. Although the novel release schedule for 2012/2013 seems to be nearly as light as the RPG release schedule, an increasing number of back-catalog titles are getting ebook releases.
• Licences -- IDW has an active line of comics; Gale Force Nine is releasing a steady stream of accessories, and there are a number of other clothing/accessory licences in place.

I think the business side of the the D&D brand isn't actually doing too badly at the moment, despite the paucity of D&D RPG print releases.

mudbunny said:

I do know that Greg Leeds has said that they want to get out some sort of digital tool set for Next, but that it is way, way too early for them to state anything beyond that.

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It may be too early to discuss specifics of digital tools for 5e, but I'm still unclear what their plans are for the current DDi. A discussion relating to their intent regarding keeping the 4e tools active or not would be appreciated.

Echohawk said:

A few thoughts:

• DDI subscriptions -- those still seem to be remaining fairly strong with a minimum of 70k subscribers.
• Board games -- the D&D Adventure game series seems to have done well for WotC, as have Conquest of Nerath, Lords of Waterdeep (the highest rated new release of 2012 on Board Game Geek!) and the new Dungeon Command miniatures game.
• Electronic re-releases of out of print material.
• Sales of novels and ebook version of novels. Although the novel release schedule for 2012/2013 seems to be nearly as light as the RPG release schedule, an increasing number of back-catalog titles are getting ebook releases.
• Licences -- IDW has an active line of comics; Gale Force Nine is releasing a steady stream of accessories, and there are a number of other clothing/accessory licences in place.

I think the business side of the the D&D brand isn't actually doing too badly at the moment, despite the paucity of D&D RPG print releases.

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Those are all good points. I think they've done a good job of setting themselves up for a slow period in new D&D releases through expanding the brand, licensing, dipping back into the old materials, as well as keeping the DDI subs steady. If they can build on all of that even as they prepare for 5E they should have a big rise in revenue once they get through the playtesting and release the new edition.

Vyvyan Basterd said:

It may be too early to discuss specifics of digital tools for 5e, but I'm still unclear what their plans are for the current DDi. A discussion relating to their intent regarding keeping the 4e tools active or not would be appreciated.

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I *suspect* that they want to keep them alive, and they will be kept alive as long as it makes financial sense for them to keep them alive. You also have to consider whether or not they will be able to support both sets of tools (4E, Next) with the same techs.

I wanted to comment on a few things since I was there and I was able to talk with Mike Mearls at GenCon a few times. He's a swell gamer geek for those wondering.

Teleprompters - They were used but not for the speech. They had a "phrase" to cue the effects guys to change the slide and lights and such. So when they wanted to show the Cleric, they would say "and the cleric...". Mike mentioned that he had screwed up many times durig the 3 rehearsals so you probably saw him being nervous trying to say the right thing at the right time for the visual effect.

They said they "were prepared for the playtest to take 2 years". Not that it would. Does that mean it could take 2 years? Yes. Does it mean it could be done by GenCon 2013? Yes. Could it take 5 years? Yes, but they aren't prepared for that.

As to what to play "for the next 2 years". - Play D&D Next. You can download the whole packet of everything they were playtesting at GenCon. DM's guide, Players' guide, bestiary, character creation and the adventure.
I've been using it for my home campaign since this spring and haven't had any problems. And it's free. AND, you get to give WotC feedback so when they actual publish these rules, they are what we want. We get to help make this game for the gamers. I'm excited.

variant said:

Forgotten Realms is just worn out. I honestly don't think there is anything they could do to get me remotely interested in it anymore. The death of Eilistraee and the drow changing into 'dark elves' and the whole thing with Drizzt killing adventurers who dared kill orcs was basically the last straw.

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pauljathome said:

I don't follow Drizzt or the Realms at all but this caught my attention. Could somebody please give me a very brief explanation on why its no longer ok to kill Orcs in the Realms?

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Ah, variant is leaving quite a bit of the story out. Salvatore has always used the character of Drizzt to explore racial issues, and this storyline is a natural extension of that.

In the "Hunter's Blade" trilogy, the orcs following Obould Many-Arrows are at war with the dwarves of Mithril Hall, and their powerful allies, including Drizzt. By the end of the series, the two nations declare a truce and even become allies. Through-out the series, orcs are displayed as savage, but not intrinsically evil.

In the next series, "Transitions", years have passed, the two kingdoms are uneasy allies. A group of humans, elves, and dwarves, the Casin Cu Calas, have decided that peace with the orcs is unacceptable, and hunt and slay orcs in cold blood. Drizzt, fights against these bandits, protecting the orcs in a few scenes. He is troubled, as he still struggles with his own hatred of orc and goblinkind, but realizes that the peace between Many-Arrows and Mithril Hall is important, another war would be devastating, and the orcs are no more truly evil than the drow. Plus, as an agent of King Bruenor of Mithril Hall, he is upholding the law.

While variant isn't pleased with this storyline, I enjoyed it quite a bit. If you like your orcs evil through and through, then the Drizzt books perhaps aren't for you. If you like the idea that the various fantasy races are more complex, and, well, "human", than the stereotypes suggest, than you should enjoy it.