Do you want/are you ready for a D&D 5th edition?

[Elf Witch]

I voted no because I don't really care. I don't like the direction they took 4E in so to even to get me willing to look at it, it would have to be very different.

I am also to the point that I really don't want to learn a new system not for DnD. Both AD&D, 3E and Pathfinder are good enough to give me my DnD fix.

Though when they do bring it out then I wish them luck and hope it brings more fans into gaming.

 

[Kaodi]

Hell yeah!

Let me tell you: When 4th Edition and Pathfinder first came out, I was completely onboard withh 4E and had a huge disdain for Pathfinder, which at the time seemed like a pretty repackaging of 3e (in some ways it was, obviously). But as time wore on I became less and less enthusiastic about 4E, and then I discovered that there was an "SRD" for Pathfinder. That they actually gave access to all the crunch of Pathfinder for free.

Now, because I have pretty much zero disposable income I have not been able to spend a lot of money so far on Pathfinder (merely the first two Kingmaker modules), but there is something about it that is so awesome that even though I can essentially play for free, I want to buy all of their game books (and plenty more modules, but there are kind of too many Golarion supplements at this point for me). Mark my words, when I have the money to spare I will be looking to pick up more Pathfinder (or Pathfinder 2nd Edition, if it takes that long) .

So, why do I want a 5th Edition? A few people have mentioned the term "neophile" . I suppose that is part of it. I want to see what Wizards does with a new edition. I want to see the next era of evolutionary struggle for the PnP RPG niche unfold with an epic battle for survival between D&D and Pathfinder, no holds barred and quite possibly to the death!! Muahaha... ahhh... Maybe getting a little carried away with myself there. Really, I just want to see innovative solutions to the problems of 4E that make the next iteration of the game definitively better and something I would want to own again, the way I want to own Pathfinder. And then sometime down the road other RPGs may be foreced to react and improve again as well.

Anyway, maybe that is just me.

 

[Nemesis Destiny]

When 4e hit, I was desperately ready for something new. More than half my group was completely sick of 3.x and all its warts.

Now, with the spectre of 5e looming, we don't feel that same pressure. We're pretty happy with it and feel it still has lots of room to grow.

That said, I would gladly have a look at a hypothetical 5e, but if I didn't like it, and my group didn't want to switch to it, well, that wouldn't break my heart, since I have something I still like.

 

[TheAuldGrump]

When 4e hit, I was desperately ready for something new. More than half my group was completely sick of 3.x and all its warts.

Now, with the spectre of 5e looming, we don't feel that same pressure. We're pretty happy with it and feel it still has lots of room to grow.

That said, I would gladly have a look at a hypothetical 5e, but if I didn't like it, and my group didn't want to switch to it, well, that wouldn't break my heart, since I have something I still like.

It is worth noting that a lot of people felt the same way about 3.5 as you feel about 4e - they didn't need or want the change, and really did not like the changes chosen.

I do not think that being ready or wanting a 5e will have much bearing on whether there will be a 5e in the near future.

Gods, this is making me feel pessimistic - I don't like 4e, and I should feel hopeful for a 5e, but instead I just feel like the market will be further split.... Honestly, I would rather see WotC continue with 4e 'warts and all' than see them split the market further.

I do not need 5e to be closer to 3e, I have Pathfinder. Maybe a 4e with a functioning OGL?

The Auld Grump, doom and gloom. Sorrow and woe....

 

[jbear]

I voted No.

I'm playing 4e and Pathfinder and enjoying both of them.

Do I think it is going to come: Yes.

Monte Cook is not there randomly. He's involved in rethinking the game. Whatever it is won't go back to 3.X. If anything it is going to be a mechanically slick version of Original D&D built to be as simple or as complicated as you like your game to be. But it won't be rules heavy like 3.X in any case if his polls are anything to go by. DM will be the rules for anything outside of the system rules, and that will somehow be part of the larger system.

So, I'm not in any hurry for that to happen. When it does, I will check it out though.

 

[Lanefan]

I voted null, i.e. I did not vote, because:

A "Yes" vote would indicate I want a 5e and would support it
A "No" vote would indicate I do not want a 5e and would not support it.

And right now neither is true as I won't know whether I want it or support it until I see it, and see how it is presented.

I don't like 3e, PF, or 4e and thus I really don't want to see a 5e that is merely an evolution of one or more of those - though, given my track record, I'll probably pick up the core books anyway. If they do some sort of back-to-basics system or a 0e or 1e variant, however, I'm all in.

Unless it's only available online and-or via subscription. In that case, I'm done.

Lan-"wondering what these conversations will be like when 9e is released"-efan

 

[Nemesis Destiny]

It is worth noting that a lot of people felt the same way about 3.5 as you feel about 4e - they didn't need or want the change, and really did not like the changes chosen.

I'm fully aware of that, just as there are a lot of folks that felt that way about 3.0, and ever 2nd edition, but we both know that won't stop it from happening.

I do not think that being ready or wanting a 5e will have much bearing on whether there will be a 5e in the near future.

Exactly.

Gods, this is making me feel pessimistic - I don't like 4e, and I should feel hopeful for a 5e, but instead I just feel like the market will be further split.... Honestly, I would rather see WotC continue with 4e 'warts and all' than see them split the market further.

Here's how I look at it - splitting the market may be bad for their business model, and it's bad for generating a bunch of pointless arguments between gamers about The One True Way, but, and here's the best part - it's good for gaming. More games means more choices, and to me, that can never be a bad thing.

Say they do put out 5e, and it ends up being something that neither you nor I like. That's fine - we both have systems we're happy with - but someone will like it, and it will be their favourite. Someone will start playing because of it, and someone will use it to introduce others into the hobby. That can't be a bad thing.

Some will argue that it would 'be a bad example' to start someone out on, but really, the people who say that fail to realize that so might the version(s) that they would choose, so it's a foolish argument that smacks of being a True Scotsman.

I do not need 5e to be closer to 3e, I have Pathfinder. Maybe a 4e with a functioning OGL?

I could get behind that

The Auld Grump, doom and gloom. Sorrow and woe....

I just want to point out that because of your avatar, I always picture you AS Professor Snape. It's pretty funny to imagine myself having that conversation, even virtually.

 

[Rechan]

No. And I'm angry about it.

My anger is simply that 4e has only been out three years. 3e had 8 years! 3.5 was a readjustment of math, not a new edition. 4e Essentials would be the equivalent of 3.5. If 4e had 8 years, that's fine, I'm ok with that. But no.

I don't care what the rules are. I don't care if it's awesome. The point is that it's a restart again in so short a time. So what will the restart for 6e be? 2 years?

So it becomes incredibly hard for me to spend money and time on a new edition knowing that its lifespan is increasingly shortening.

 

[Rechan]

Say they do put out 5e, and it ends up being something that neither you nor I like. That's fine - we both have systems we're happy with - but someone will like it, and it will be their favourite. Someone will start playing because of it, and someone will use it to introduce others into the hobby. That can't be a bad thing.

Maybe you live in a gamer rich environment. But every place I've ever lived, it's very difficult to find 4 people who will play an edition of D&D, let alone willing to play different editions.

By splitting the editions even further, it makes it incredibly hard to put together groups because you might have 2 peopel who want to play edition A, 2 who want edition B, and 1 who wants edition C. That's not even getting into the style of games these people prefer, just systems. And the fewer groups there are, the fewer games are played, and that's a bad thing.

 

[Nemesis Destiny]

Maybe you live in a gamer rich environment. But every place I've ever lived, it's very difficult to find 4 people who will play an edition of D&D, let alone willing to play different editions.

By splitting the editions even further, it makes it incredibly hard to put together groups because you might have 2 peopel who want to play edition A, 2 who want edition B, and 1 who wants edition C. That's not even getting into the style of games these people prefer, just systems. And the fewer groups there are, the fewer games are played, and that's a bad thing.

Fair enough, and that's a good point.

I've been fortunate enough to game with the same core of gamers since 1998 or so, with members coming and going, but generally staying for the long-term. It helps that one of them is my wife, and another my cousin, so people up and leaving is not an issue for me.

That said, no, we don't all agree on our favourite edition, heck, we can't even always decide on the same system, genre, or style of play, but we're all able to compromise. We all get turns with what we like best. My wife would prefer 2nd edition, I like 4th, my cousin likes 3rd, and another in the group likes whatever he can find the most loopholes in, but at the end of the day, we're all just glad to play.

And personally, I like the variety, but I get that this doesn't work for everyone, and that's unfortunate, but you can't turn back time, and you can't prevent them from bringing out another edition, because it will happen sooner or later. Would I prefer later to sooner? Yes, yes I would. That's not going to make a lick of difference in the end though.