D&D (2024) 6E When?

[Parmandur]

One thing I'm certain of is that the difference between 6e and 5e will probably be more like the difference between 3.0 and 3.5 or 1e and 2e, rather than say 3.5 to 4e or 4e to 5e.

Less extreme than that, more like B/X and BECMI, I reckon.

 

[Shiroiken]

At the given rate, I'd expect a minor revision to 5E at about the 10 year mark, possibly in line with the 50th anniversary. It would probably fix a few known issues, such as putting out a good revised ranger, similar to what 3.5 did. It's possible this happens before 2024, but I doubt it. The new start set is really good (so I hear, I've yet to see it), which will help revitalize new players. They've started adding in more options, and hinting at more settings (although I think Eberron was handled badly by putting out a pdf, then a completely different book), which should keep sales at an acceptable pace, if not quite as strong as they've been in prior years.

After this... I don't know. if the revision is successful, it could be another 10 years. If not, it could die in a year or so. I strongly suspect that the success of the D&D Next playtest means that the revised edition or 6E would follow the same process, giving us a few years advanced warning.

 

[Tony Vargas]

I won’t be surprised if revolution or climate collapse happen before 6e, and the chances of there ever being a 6e decrease dramatically after either.

Revolution might not hurt its chances as badly as all that.

Though I guess it depends on how revolting.

 

[Sacrosanct]

I doubt the climate will collapse before summer 2024.

Not through lack of trying

 

[Zardnaar]

Darksun the LARP.

 

[teitan]

I think the 50th anniversary will see a revision of the core books with slight variation, yes the ranger, some of the more well received subclasses, additional spells and the like. I think the days of “editions” are truly over. Closer to a 3.25 than a full 3.5. More akin to 2e Revised.

 

[Krachek]

Never.
Officially they get rid of edition.
I think they will try very hard to avoid go back on edition iteration.
Maybe we will have a revisited phb.
But with a 100% compatibility with the actual one.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

My bet is "after d20 Modern 2.0.". WotC may be playtesting to create the ultimate universal d20 system for all genres (survival horror, warzone, mechas, kaijus hunt, superheros, planetary romance..).

This remake of d20 Modern could break sacred cow as the six abilities scores, adding more (courage, astuteness, grace, talent..) or background levels.

 

[generic]

I agree with other posters who have mentioned WotC's new strategy.

I don't honestly think WotC will ever, as long as they keep drawing in new players, remove 5e from the market.

They simply don't yet know whether or not they'll lose players by performing another "edition switch".

As long as ideas for 5e splatbooks continue to be pumped out, and a D&D book of any kind stays within the top 100 books on Amazon or whatever, WotC will recognize that their new player base is more willing to collect 5e splatbooks than switch to a new edition.

The most depressing thing about this is that 5e is already starting to produce ludicrously broken and unreasonably weak character options, and the designers outright refuse to recognize them as the pressing issues that they are.

Consider the Yuan-Ti Pureblood, and unreasonably powerful race. It was made in VGtM, the first 5e splatbook, which also contained the unreasonably weak Orc and Kobold races.

Consider the Ranger, which has since been revised. However, the revised ranger has not been released to the non-unearthed-arcana-reading public, which is stuck with the ordinary ranger.

There are already strictly better and strictly worse archetypes for more than one class.

I do love 5e, I actually think it's the most balanced edition yet, but it certainly isn't willing to admit (well, it's designers aren't willing to admit) its obvious flaws.

Though, I do have to thank Mearls for acknowledging that bonus actions are broken.

 

[FrogReaver]

PHB2 will never happen, because WotC figured out it hurts their sales. Same thing with targeted books. Odd compilation books are where the money is, not slicing up the market.

They have increased the pace of release considerably: last year there were four hardcovers, this year there were four hardcovers and three new boxed sets.

Curious on how you see a PHB2 slicing the market. I understand the targeted books. But a PHB2 doesn't seem to be a targeted book to me?