D&D 4E How Are You Preparing to End Your 4E Campaign?

[Retreater]

The group has all decided they want to jump into the playtest of 5E as soon as the rules are available. This will leave us likely with only a few months to get in the rest of our 4e gaming. We'really planning on skipping to the highlights of our current adventure (Gardmore Abbey) over the next couple of weeks. We plan to zoom ahead to paragon tier to raid the hill giants' steading. After that, some are requesting a 30th level showdown with Orcus. (Whether we use the Prince of Undeath module or homebrew is up in the air.)

What are your plans? (There just seems to be so much left to do with the system, though we've spent most of our time in low heroic tier due to Encounters.)

 

[Nemesis Destiny]

I plan to run my campaigns' arcs to completion. Any dabbling I do with playtest rules for 5e will be "on the side."

If we like 5e, we will likely switch once enough options are provided that we can transition our campaigns over to it without having to fit square pegs into round holes. This campaign is a homebrew that has been going on since the late 90s under 2e, and we made that mistake a little bit with the last two editions, and it's not something I care to repeat this time.

If 5e is super amazo, then any new games started in our setting might be using that ruleset, mature or not. Any games we run on the side are also likely in that case to use 5e, with various things "dialed in" to emulate whatever edition the DM (whoever it is - there are 4 or 5 DMs in this group of 7) prefers.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

Only one guy in our group is running 4th- every other active game is 3.5. I don't know if we'll sign up to playtest or not.

 

[S'mon]

Southlands: I have an idea that the PCs battle the God-Emperor Hatulin Seiheitt and His God, the Tentacled Abomination Amadad Bog, in the sea-caves beneath Imperial Viridistan - in about 3 (real) years.

Forgotten Realms: Not sure, but a great battle with the Twelve Princes of Shade at Shade Enclave, capital of Imperial Netheril, is a possibility - in about 4 (real) years. Or else Fzoul Chembryl or Manshoon would make good BBEGs, if the PCs focus on the Zhentarim or Church of Bane.

 

[Dice4Hire]

My 4E games will keep going. If there is enough 5E stuff to play, I will start a new game.

 

[Aenghus]

My 4e game will continue, 5e won't come out for well over a year, maybe 2 years. I envisage 5e will be mechanically simple at least initially and not attractive to me for running campaigns till some of the modules to add complexity emerge for it.

I will still help in playtesting, and probably run some 5e one off games. I hope and expect 5e will be easier for new players to learn from scratch.

 

[Morrus]

The group has all decided they want to jump into the playtest of 5E as soon as the rules are available.

I doubt you'll get a complete game with which you can run a campaign for a good year or more yet. More likely, it'll be one-off set-up situations with some element of the rules in them. Very unlikely to be enough to replace your regular game with.

 

[Aeolius]

What are your plans?

Remember when WotC asked that question of their 3.5e audience, when 4e was just around the corner? I count that among the bad marketing ploys that backfired on them. Why end a game, if you enjoy it?

 

[Jan van Leyden]

The game's the thing, not the rules.

I'll continue to run our 4e campaign in Ptolus as long as its a fun and satisfying experience. I'll not prematurely end it. I'll not jump ship to participate in any 5e playtest.

I'll weigh my options when the running campaign is at an end. The only 5e influence I can see coming is a stale phase in he campaign when or after 5e is released. I'll probably buy the 5e books when they're released to learn about the new iteration. When I deem it so much better than 4e, my commitment to the campaign may lessen somewhat.

Oh, another scenario is unlikely but not impossible: Should WotC shut down the 4e tools in DDI with the release of 5e, they'll have lost me as a customer.

 

[jodyjohnson]

Finish our reboot of H1-E3 with the new math and my current encounter design over the next 10-12 months. Then try to hit most of the other 4e modules until 5e comes out.

Start playing more with the kids to hit some of the 4e starter modules. Probably use them as guinea pigs for 5e play tests as well for that fresh set of eyes.

Then convert and rerun adventures from the previous 39 years (assuming 2013 release).

I suspect at that point the group will lean toward doing 6 month max campaigns over the current 1.5-3 year grinds.