D&D 4th Edition

[Silas the Mariner]

How soon is it that the fourth edition will be released?

I only bought the PHB, DMG and MM six months ago... not to mention 5 Forgotten Realms books (all of which now have to be upgraded to 3.5 with web enchancements and the like)... and if I want to keep current i'm going to have to buy the core books again (especially if I want to contribute to D&D sites I visit online).

..so does it look like it's going to be released any time soon, because if it is I may as well wait for it...

 

[EricNoah]

There's not a hint or whisper that it's going to happen "any time soon." Of course, some of us were surprised that 3.5 happened at all, but at least we did get somewhere around 9-12 months warning at least (there'd been questions/rumors about it at the prior GenCon if I recall correctly).

 

[Zappo]

It doesn't look like it's going to happen any time soon. In any case, you don't have to stay exactly current.

 

[Tom Cashel]

OH, it'll be out in a few months/years/decades.

 

[francisca]

We'll get a 4th edition when Hasbro says to put it out. I'm speculating it will happen when 3.5 PHB sales tail off, as PHB sales drive the D&D brand business model. I'm guessing 4Q 2005 at the earliest, 2Q 2006 at the latest.

I'm predicting that it will be a merger of the D&D Minatures Games and core D&D, with several options from Unearthed Arcana thrown in as core or optional rules.

I just hope they don't do something stupid like say, not produce a 4E Monster Manual. If you want monsters to fight, you buy a box of random minis which includes the stat cards. But, I digress.

I'm further predicting Hasbro won't be producing D&D 5E. They will either license the name, like they did with Gamma World, or sell it off completely.

 

[Mark]

How soon is it that the fourth edition will be released?

Gencon 2006, is my guess, if the last thirty years of a major revision every three years (or effective revision) is guide enough on which to hang a hat. Expect "leaks" after Gencon 2005 through the WotC announcement of the 2006 release schedule late in 2005. The only thing I see that might preclude this is the selling of D&D which I don't believe is in the cards (since Hasbro picked up WotC)...but stranger things have happened.

The other thing I see as probably happening is a pulling back on the d20 System License (though, of course, the OGL is eternal). I'm guessing that with the coming of 4th edition the d20 System License will no longer be a freely offered venture, but that a handful of publishers will be encouraged to apply for use of it and any publishers applying will be judged on their track record of producing products that are most likely to have effected the sales of the core books in a positive way, or companies most likely to be able to effect sales of the core books in a positive way.

Further, I'm guessing that the SRD for 4th edition will be either severely trimmed compared to the current and previous releases, or possibly non-existent, offered up under the terms of (what will be) the d20 System License (which may or may not be attached to the OGL) and only to those companies that meet the above standard. Let's not forget that as the progenitors of the material it is their copyright and even if that material is similar to existing OGC it need not be released as OGC if it is not released under the OGL.

In short, I believe it is most likely that with the new, 4th edition the d20 System License will be moved away from, or divorced from, the OGL in an effort to consolidate the support of the core rules within a tighter group of publishers that have made their bones or publishers who are willing to show that they have the stones to put their money where their intentions are.

Debate as you will but bookmark this thread and let's visit this issue as it begins to unfold a year and a half from now...

 

[William Ronald]

Mark,

I remember starting a poll on this topic sometime back. I think that the time between revisions and new editions of D&D has become shorter and more comparable to some other games. I would hope that D&D 3.5 would at least have a 4 year life span, but we will see.

I think the real wild card is what Hasbro may do with D&D and WotC. As I recall, one of the reasons that Hasbro purchased WotC was Pokemon. As this has finally died out as a business for WotC, the question arises as to whether WotC is a profitable enough division of Hasbro to retain. I could see Hasbro selling WotC as a business decision, or in an effort to focus on more traditional and profitable product lines.

Of course, it is hard to predict whether a new owner would want to keep 3.5 alive for a few years or move to another edition.

Mark, I can see Hasbro wanting to restrict the D20 license to a few companies. The row between WotC and the Valar Project over the Book of Erotic Fantasy may make some of the Hasbro executives a little more cautious over the use of the D20 license.

Any thoughts on who should work on a 4th Edition and the flavor of the rules? Or is this too speculative?

 

[Nightfall]

Just as soon as we raise ourselves some titans. Cause when 4th edition comes, Divine War all the way baby!

 

[Gutboy Barrelhouse]

[Gutboy is asleep at his keyboard, dreaming...]

zzzzzz.....huh, ghost of D&D past? I must be dreaming. You look like Dave Arneson, dude. Whuzzat? Yes, I see, we're in the '80s when Lorraine kicked out Brian Blume and then Gary...what's yer point?...zzzzz....wha? Ghost of D&D present? Yeah, yeah, of course you look like Monte Cook... Now we are seeing WotC today, after working hard not to repeat TSR's mistakes, wondering if they might have done so anyhow... Sure, I get it...zzzzz......am I still dreaming? Oh. Ghost of D&D future.... jeez, Merric, it's 2010 and you still look fifteen, buddy. Still got the ol' eyepatch though, eh...WHAT? No way, man! C&C came out of nowhere like a bullet?!??! Hasbro gave up on the D&D brand and Gary got the financial backing to buy it back for a song?!?!?...4e will just be called AD&D revised edition and it'll have nice clear mechanics with huge old-time flava?!?!?! Holy St. Cuthbert, we have been delivered!....zzzzz...

[Wakes up after tipping over can of Mt. Dew onto copy of Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth]

 

[Ranger REG]

If 4e comes out before January 1, 2010, I vow to close this chapter of my life -- the RPG hobby -- permanently ... that is, if I hadn't done it before then (been in this hobby for 20 years).

As for Hasbro selling WotC, it is doubtful. Many companies entering into the TCG industry shows that WotC is a major cash cow for their TCG products, especially when they have found a pot of gold at the end of another rainbow (i.e., Duel Masters). But the first, original Trading Card Game, Magic: The Gathering have been steadily selling better than any RPG products.

(Source: http://www.gamingreport.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=Sections&file=index&req=viewarticle&artid=96)

What I'm afraid is that despite the launch of 3.5e, it didn't show any strong sale and they are losing momentum in the RPG industry. And if they continue the practice and gameplan they're on now, then they'll close up the RPG division. It is with great sorrow that we now don't have the same people that were running Wizards of Coast in the upper level as we have in 1999-2000.

I still think it is a mistake to introduce the revision too early, and if they continue to ride on this road, then 2006 will see the launch of 4e, and the resentment will grow. And there will be gamers like me that will leave D&D. Funny, 3e brought back many former gamers to D&D, and now they may be turning them away with their business practice.