D&D (2024) So what's with 2024 and beyond?

[Parmandur]

I do not see it that way. I see it as them sticking way too long with the TSR paradigm of using editions to temporarily juice sales. They may have also been using something a bit similar with MtG, but as a collectibles games it’s really a different sort of beast.

TSR Editions were a whole other kettle of Fish: 1E and 2E were each around as long as 3E, 3.5 ("half-edition" my hat), and 4E...combined.

But then they also had the silliness of Basic and Advanced on different tracks...

 

[DammitVictor]

Do people not remember the acrobatic marketing D&D engaged in trying to avoid Fifth Edition being called Fifth Edition? Has nobody noticed that none of your 5e D&D books have "Fifth Edition" on the cover, and wondered about that?

It's going to be Sixth Edition, whether they like it or not, and I suspect they'll still be trying the same tactic when it's time for Seventh.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Do people not remember the acrobatic marketing D&D engaged in trying to avoid Fifth Edition being called Fifth Edition? Has nobody noticed that none of your 5e D&D books have "Fifth Edition" on the cover, and wondered about that?

It's on the back cover of the core books.

 

[Clint_L]

Do people not remember the acrobatic marketing D&D engaged in trying to avoid Fifth Edition being called Fifth Edition? Has nobody noticed that none of your 5e D&D books have "Fifth Edition" on the cover, and wondered about that?

It's going to be Sixth Edition, whether they like it or not, and I suspect they'll still be trying the same tactic when it's time for Seventh.

It's not going to be sixth edition because they aren't going to break DnDBeyond, which has become the backbone of the game, and into which they have invested well over a hundred million dollars (probably a LOT more at this point). They've repeatedly emphasized backwards compatibility, and as recently as this week assured us that you can use material from 2014 and 2024 side-by-side.

Also, no I don't remember any acrobatic marketing trying to avoid Fifth Edition being called Fifth Edition. Don't they put it on the back cover of every book? And refer to it as such in basically every interview? You think it should be on the front cover, or something, like it's the most important thing a prospective buyer needs to know?

"Fifth Edition" is on the front cover of 3PP because they can't use the D&D trademark. WotC doesn't have that problem.

 

[Parmandur]

Do people not remember the acrobatic marketing D&D engaged in trying to avoid Fifth Edition being called Fifth Edition? Has nobody noticed that none of your 5e D&D books have "Fifth Edition" on the cover, and wondered about that?

It's going to be Sixth Edition, whether they like it or not, and I suspect they'll still be trying the same tactic when it's time for Seventh.

It's the same acrobatics to pretend d that 3E was only the third edition of D&D, or that 3.5 wasn't a new Edition. The 2024 rules are at minimum the 9th typical edition of the core books, bit thst excludes OD&D and all the varieties of Basic, so probably more like 17th Editions.

Which is why they are moving away from abusing the now-useless term of a D&D "Edition."

The important part is that the rules remain compatible, but are being recalibrated.

 

[DammitVictor]

But then they also had the silliness of Basic and Advanced on different tracks...

It's worth remembering, that wasn't a marketing strategy, that was a legal settlement-- that WotC bought off in 1997.

 

[Parmandur]

It's worth remembering, that wasn't a marketing strategy, that was a legal settlement-- that WotC bought off in 1997.

Even so, prior to WotC purchase, TSR released OD&D, 5 different editions of Basic, and (this is where it gets crazy) 4 typical editions of AD&D core books, that is, Editions as the term is used in publishing when a book is changed wnough to warrant a new ISBN. "3E" was the 5th typical edition,"3.5" (the most egregious misnomer of all) was the 6th typical edition, "4E" was the 7th typical edition, and the 2014 books were the 8th typical edition.

So, the 2024 rulebook will be the 9th typical edition of the AD&D lineage, but the 14th version of D&D rules (not counting Essentials).

Why should they call that mess "Sixth Edition"? There is no way it comes out to the Sixth of anything.

 

[DammitVictor]

Why should they call that mess "Sixth Edition"? There is no way it comes out to the Sixth of anything.

You mean like exactly none of the prior edition numbers made sense?

Wizards of the Coast can and should feel free to call their new launch of the core books whatever the Hell they want. Fans of the game are still going to call it Sixth Edition.

 

[Parmandur]

You mean like exactly none of the prior edition numbers made sense?

Exactly, yet people stuck to the monikers used in marketing. Every time.

Wizards of the Coast can and should feel free to call their new launch of the core books whatever the Hell they want. Fans of the game are still going to call it Sixth Edition.

Extremely doubtful, unless WotC markets it that way. See also, people still use the BS term "3.5" with a straight face. And again, it is not the sixth version of...anything. calling it 6E would be as silly as not giving it a numeralized moniker.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Fans of the game are still going to call it Sixth Edition.

They're going to call it something. I think it's too soon for us to know what the consensus would be. We've seen plenty of folks trying to make "fetch" happen, but none of the attempts have worked so far.