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Military commanders can't count on their resources respawning in full every day.

Good game design does not depend on a DM having years of experience or creativity, nor upon the DM making wholesale changes to the game system, nor upon breaking story to "punish" what is otherwise good tactics. Good game design means addressing the problems, not suggestions fixes after the fact.

5E should either have definite magic item creation rules, or make it a non-issue by folding the concept into something like class abilities so that, say, a fighter can add an elemental effect to his weapon at level 8, described as crafting it, having the wizard do it, finding it in treasure or...

Look, I love the '66 Ford Mustang. There are a lot of people who do. But there are nowhere near enough people that Ford could make any money trying to put it out again, especially as the original molds are gone. But, even if they did, if it was successful it would be at the cost of their new...

I'm thinking things like the prerelease kit for 4E. You have pre-gen characters, an adventure, and rules for running that adventure. Maybe even decisions for leveling up after the adventure. But I don't see us getting any kind of character generation rules in the general public.

D&D is the flagship of pretty much all roleplaying. Nothing else is so universally known and played. If 5E is an unprofitable venture for Wizards, I see us as players pretty much continuing to do as we are now, but the entire concept of pen and paper roleplaying games will get aged out with us...

For the niche protection angle, I would like to see it addressed by "fuzzy" abilities. I fighter, wizard or rogue can get an ability, spell or whatever for opening locks. These are all governed with the mechanics of the exact same ability, but leave it to the player to describe how it is...

That depends on the situation, doesn't it. Very little consequence if the "dungeon" is a crypt of mindless undead. Also if the cave is filled with light-sensitive baddies who can be counted on to stay inside if you rest during the day. I DO have the baddies, if they have any intelligence, shore...

I thought 4E was balanced for 4 PCs? I run 6 players and while it keeps you hopping in combat to challenge them and keep the action moving, the REAL challenge is to balance 6 story lines with personal hooks and character growth for everyone! I think 1e assumed 6 players, but then again it...

I did say that the DMG should generously point to online articles. Articles, however, don't belong in a reference book IMO. If 80% of the book is read-once, I'll feel I was suckered into buying it just to get the magic item tables.

I've had the 20 minute day in my groups, and I'm a pushover as a DM. I never kill characters except for 1 TPK in a 4E game simply due to the dice. In my games the 20 minute day comes from the deep immersion style we play in. The players are genuinely worried about what is in that cave, but as...

An archer doesn't have to TRY to aim an arrow, so that mechanic shouldn't be introduced to magic in addition to hitting a defense or getting a save. A possible way to do Vancian and not have the 20 minute adventuring day (which I have seen in groups), is to have a cooldown for each spell level...

In most every edition of D&D, I have used the DMG very little. Mostly for the treasure tables and magic items. Make this book earn the money we pay. If it's advice, you'll probably read it once. That is better suited to online articles. Just make sure the book is very good at pointing you to the...

It had a number to hit armor class 0, but there wasn't the formula-based progression of 2E. In 1E, if a character attacked, it was compared against a table in the book. Every. Single. Time. Or at least until you had it memorized.

I want a lot more fuzziness in what each class is or represents. FWIW, everyone selects X number of elements and that becomes their class. I pick what I think a bard is and what it should do and then it's a bard because that's what I call myself. Leave all the "hard-coded" definitions out...

What I would want would be combat-oriented stuff as powers, perhaps with 4E nod to Vancian by choosing between two choices for each every day. Then have the non-combat oriented stuff in a simple and limited Vancian style. Spell points, though? Not unless you're real careful in design. Same for...

What you mention I would call concept. I got concept. What I want from the books is method.

I have to disagree with OP on his premise. 4E is easy at all levels, going by the book. It was probably the first time in D&D that the assumption is that the heroes are going to win every fight, every time. In 3E, your patience in crafting a character over time is rewarded. In a video game...

The reason I ask the question is that I feel every edition of D&D has done a poor job of supporting DMs making their own world. Even if a guide comes out, how much use will it be 5 years into the edition? So, if world building is important to the community at large (not just me), I want to lobby...

I don't see the need for two different Advanced Rules, not to mention it would make it impossible to take the same character to different games. In D&D combat is handles one way, everything else is handled another. They are and always have been separate. So, combat like 4th plus everything else...