D&D 5E Do you want D&D Next to succeed?

[Dark Mistress]

WotC stopping production of D&D won't change anything - someone will come along and buy the D&D name and IP;

I don't think that would happen. Hasbro as far as I know has never sold a IP once they owned it. Instead the mothball them and then in 10, 20 years later they bring them back and see if they stick. If 5E fails I wouldn't be remotely surprised if that doesn't happen.

 

[Libramarian]

I can already tell that 5e would require a lot of house rules, which is a big step backward for me.

What house rules are you envisioning for 5e, out of curiosity?

 

[Neonchameleon]

Yes, sadly; somewhere along the line they turned into an industry. And it could be argued that this single development has already sunk three editions of D&D - those being 2e, 3e and 4e - they all collapsed (or in 4e's case, would have soon enough) under the bloat demanded by the industry.

Only three? AD&D was created due to licensing issues (Arneson's name) and then there was the whole Lorraine Williams fiasco.

And 4e I can argue stopped at almost exactly the right time. I want precisely two more supplements for 4e: Birthright and Spelljammer. Complete with mass combat, domain management, and wacky semi-sci-fi stuff. Other than that I can't think of a single new supplement I want for 4e. (I'd also love a Planescape book but only if they undo the Faction War).

I do, however, want a 4.5 edition. Taking out and burning approximately a thousand feats no one ever uses and another 100 that were designed to plug holes that have been better fixed elsewhere would be a good start. As would taking the bonusses off the magic items (seriously, there's nothing wrong with 4e's magic items other than the mini-spreadsheet most of them get).

I don't think that would happen. Hasbro as far as I know has never sold a IP once they owned it. Instead the mothball them and then in 10, 20 years later they bring them back and see if they stick. If 5E fails I wouldn't be remotely surprised if that doesn't happen.

I think WotC have once since they were taken over by Hasbro.

 

[Steely_Dan]

(seriously, there's nothing wrong with 4e's magic items other than the mini-spreadsheet most of them get).

I talked with David Noonan in the London Dungeon in 2007, he told me all about their "magical math spreadsheet"; boy, did he lie.

 

[the Jester]

Truth. It makes me think of the current and all previous editions as D&D "Classic".

And that's about as far as I will go with that.

Worse- if there is a subsequent edition, "DnD Next" becomes a pretty darn stupid name, because all of a sudden the "next" edition was the last edition, which is kind of stupid, and it is bound to just confuse those people interested in but unfamiliar with D&D.

 

[billd91]

Worse- if there is a subsequent edition, "DnD Next" becomes a pretty darn stupid name, because all of a sudden the "next" edition was the last edition, which is kind of stupid, and it is bound to just confuse those people interested in but unfamiliar with D&D.

As long as they give it a proper name when it's fully released, no worries. I work for a software company and when planning projects, we often refer to future versions as Next or Next+1. Then as we start to settle on the development and release schedule, the names solidify into 2012, or 2014 (we number our versions by year).

 

[hemera]

Of course I want D&D Next, 5e, Crystal D&D, New D&D or whatever the heck they end up calling it to succeed. I've been playing every iteration of this game for 26 years now, wouldn't want to stop now. Just because I play a lot of pathfinder now, doesn't mean I've quit my once a month 4e game or biweekly Amethyst one (4e based).

I didn't want D&D to fail when I was playing White Wolf mostly, or FASA, or Palladium, or...

so why would want I it to fail now?

 

[ForeverSlayer]

If I like it I like it.

If I don't then I have plenty of other games to fall back on until another edition of D&D comes out.

 

[Obryn]

I hope it does well and gives many gamers many excellent hours. I will get the core books and likely give it a go, but it looks like Next might be the first edition which I don't see as a clear and obvious improvement over what's come before.

I'm very happy with 4e now, and won't move on unless my group overwhelmingly wants to. We had fun with the first playtest, and will play the next one, but I think we're basically set for quite some time.

And when I want to play a retro-style D&D, I can pick up and run AD&D again. It's still an incredibly good game that I thoroughly enjoy.

-O

 

[Umbran]

Will you be happy if the game is popular, even if it's not one you'd want to play?

Yep. Not everything has to be my thing.

Will you be willing to give it a try to support the D&D brand that has brought so many people years of fun, even if the rules aren't perfect?

I am willing to give it a try, but not for the purpose of supporting the brand. I'll try it because I might like it, and I want to find that out.

Do you trust that the game designers are people who love gaming, who want to help others have fun, and who are trying to make a game that best encapsulates what they think the audience wants D&D to be?

Mostly. I think they love gaming, want others to have fun, and are trying to make a game that folks will want to play. I am open to the idea that they can find stuff that is good, that the audience doesn't know about yet, and so cannot currently want. That's a bit of a cornerstone of innovation.

Do you think that the benefits of having Hasbro's infrastructure to help market, distribute, and sell the game outweigh whatever limitations might be passed down from a corporate level?

As a hypothetical, no. "....whatever limitations might be..." is a lot of territory. We know little on the internal discussions, but things have always sounded pretty hands-off - Hasbro only asks that they maintain some basic profitability, it seems. And, if that's true, yes, the infrastructure should outweigh the restrictions.

Will you not begrudge your fellow gamers if they have different tastes than you?

I want other people to like things I don't. If everybody liked what I liked, the world would be BORING!