Is it time for 5E?

[Stormonu]

Is it really 'alarmingly slim'?

A lot of people have sai how WOTC puts books out too fast, and I would tend to agree withteat. Maybe WOTC is jsut slowing down?

We won't know till WOTC communicates better. I am hoping for an announcement this week or next.

I've been one who has long been wishing the tide of books would slow down. It is, however, highly unexpected considering past trends.

 

[Diamond Cross]

I really wish there'd be a moratorium on 5e threads. Come on, please, give it a rest.

 

[Alzrius]

After hearing you say that for two years, your doomsday proclamations have lost a bit of leeway.

Saying that 4E's success is debatable isn't a doomsday prediction; it's just noting that it's up for debate based on what we're able to cobble together - that's all.

And besides, Rome wasn't destroyed in a doomsday.

 

[Plaguedguy]

No, 5th Edition is not 'right around the corner' and I imagine it won't be for quite some time. This, no matter how upset people are that Essentials has changed future product design and development.

I mean, I'm assuming it's Essentials that has started all this '5th edition' and 'Wizards of the Coast is doomed' discourse because prior to it being released everyone seemed satisfied to discuss class optimization, power creep and why there was no 'player's guide' for Dark Sun.


Edit: And really, even if we accept the premise that 4E is a horribly failing product, no one at Wizards of the Coast or Habsro is going to suggest the solution is to alienate distributors, retailers and consumers by releasing an entirely new-but-the-same product line.

 

[Stormonu]

I mean, I'm assuming it's Essentials that has started all this '5th edition' and 'Wizards of the Coast is doomed' discourse because prior to it being released everyone seemed satisfied to discuss class optimization, power creep and why there was no 'player's guide' for Dark Sun.

Nah, 5th edition threads started appearing the day after 4th edition was announced, and I say that without joking.

If there's one thing those who have lived through an edition change can attest to is "all of this has happened before and will happen again." (and again, and again, and...

 

[Dice4Hire]

Nah, 5th edition threads started appearing the day after 4th edition was announced, and I say that without joking.

If there's one thing those who have lived through an edition change can attest to is "all of this has happened before and will happen again." (and again, and again, and...

True, any game is like that. Take Monopoly and its clones. Or cards. How many ways can you play with 54 pieces of cardboard? I mean really? Answer: A whole lot. And then add personal variations on all of them.

I just cannot see 5E coming soon. I mean, can you imagine what the nerdrage would be now, after Essentials and DDI and such? If I were a store owner and they released 5E soon, I would probably stop carrying the whole line.

 

[ProfessorCirno]

Anyways, there's no new Blizzard IP for us to insultingly compare the new D&D to, so we can't have 5e. At the earliest it's ten years (1 year Blizzard Time) until Diablo 3 if we want to reuse that ;p

 

[LightPhoenix]

Anyways, there's no new Blizzard IP for us to insultingly compare the new D&D to, so we can't have 5e. At the earliest it's ten years (1 year Blizzard Time) until Diablo 3 if we want to reuse that ;p

Well, there was that leaked Blizzard schedule saying their new MMO is scheduled for 2014...

No. WotC still needs to see how the combination of DDI and D&D Essentials plays out commercially. DDI would be such an integral part of 5E (at least that's what I would do) that they need to hammer that down before even thinking of changing to 5E.

WotC needs to first prove that they can do digital competently before they can prove anything commercially.

 

[MichaelSomething]

As I always do, I like to link to my blog post on this subject so I don't have to retype my thoughts on it.

 

[Lanefan]

One barometer for this sort of thing that nobody has mentioned yet is bloat.

2e sank under its own bloat before 3e arrived.
3.xe was well on the way to sinking under its own bloat when 4e arrived.

I don't play 4e nor do I follow its release track very closely, so I need to ask those of you who do: is it getting overly bloated? If yes, 5e won't be too far away. If no, you've got some time yet.

And whenever 5e does come it had better be on paper, buy-able by picking it up in my hands and physically taking it to a counter where a real person takes my money for it...

Lan-"this year's GenCon could be interesting"-efan