Exactly. 4E was most definitely not a success, at least not a commercial success, or WotC wouldn't even be seriously contemplating another edition, much less already announced it. It may have been a success in that some people liked it and enjoyed playing it, but WotC sure doesn't think of it as a success. The main thing it succeed in doing was sharply dividing the D&D community and losing D&D's place as the number one RPG to Pathfinder. No wonder WotC wants a reboot that caters to fans of older editions. I can be pretty sure that 5E will not be a streamlined or evolved 4E, at least not the core of it. For one thing 4E can easily be considered the red headed step child of editions. It was divisive, had horrible PR, wasn't commercially viable, and was very short lived. For another thing, all of the playtest reports we've heard sound a lot like earlier editions with the possible inclusion of warlock and warlord classes being the only 4E like thing I've heard of.
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