4.5E: When?

[YourSwordIsMine]

2010 maybe. But I still don't see them labeling it as such. Bad bad idea. They will simply do what others mentioned above: incorporate new rules, variant rules that supercede the PH/DMG into the newer PH (2, 3, 4, whatever) or DMG.

Oh it wont be called 4.5 by any means I dont think. Revised mayhap. I might even see it labled "Second Printing" even if its like 3 or 4 print runs by then. Pen and Paper RPGs are not like computer software; you can't just release it and then issue a patch later that week (or same day for some games). IMHO 4e needed at least 1 more full year of Playtesting and editing, maybe even 2...

 

[JDJblatherings]

But JD, NPCs don't use magic items any more, they just have stats which are as if they did, and daily and encounter abilities as if they did.

The rules dont' say they don't use magic items they simply provide a mechanism for one to abstract the use of magic items. I find that ...uh awful, terrible, bland.

 

[blargney the second]

Me (as DM). There are more NPCs then PCs in the world.

Wow, that's totally not my experience. My players fill up all their PCs' body slots as fast as possible then upgrade from there. As low as 5th level they'll each have at least 3-4 permanent magic items and a bevy of consumables (call it a half dozen). That means that they've got 9 magic items per player, possibly 1-3 each that aren't Bix Six that will require the book to reference.

Over the course of a session at that level, I'm never going to use more than 2-4 unusual magic items at the table. The party's 8 beats my 3; magic item use happens on the player side more than the DM side in game. Magic items in the PHB is a practical decision.
-blarg

 

[Ruin Explorer]

The rules dont' say they don't use magic items they simply provide a mechanism for one to abstract the use of magic items. I find that ...uh awful, terrible, bland.

I must admit I was being some facetious.

 

[Mercurius]

So it seems like there is a somewhat-consensus forming that there will be no official 4.5E, but rather some kind of "Revised Edition" of the core books to reflect errata and other changes. But if so, when? I mean, if they already plan something like this, wouldn't they want to get it out before the bulk of splats? But wouldn't they want to wait long enough that consumers wouldn't be pissed for "wasting" money on soon-to-be superseded core books? If they really are considering this, I would think we'd see something like this:

*2008-09: 2nd, 3rd, and later printings with errata worked out.
*2010-11: A Revised Edition of the core rulebooks with some rules tweaks and format improvement, more akin to the revised 2E books, and thus more like a 4.2 or 4.3 edition, although not officially stating so.

 

[Aqua Vitae]

It will happen as soon as everyone stops criticizing 4E.

Bel

Imagine that. Criticizing a game system.

What a nightmare it must be to get a game system and then immediately experience painful urges for some sort of revised version of it.

 

[Family]

Right after my group slays Orcus and the dragonborn use their icy breath to entomb his realm.

 

[Khairn]

They won't call it 4.5, but I see in my crystal ball a summer of 2009 date with the title being PHB 2

 

[CleverNickName]

Sorry I'm late; work was relentless today.

Then you'd better find another hobby! Incidentally, I must state that you're the first (if not the only) person I've ever seen demand less errata from publishers

It's not that I want less of it; I want it to not exist at all...or at least be the exception, not the rule. What I mean is, I would prefer to get a complete, well-tested, error-free set of rules in the first printing, even if it meant the release would be a year later. I want to be able to get it all (and get it right) the first time.

I'm not griping about 4E specifically, or the D&D game, or even Wizards of the Coast, for that matter. I am griping about the industry. (Which means I am pretty much just yelling at the walls, for all the good it is going to do. Maybe I *do* need to find another hobby.)

I know and accept that there will always be errors, sometimes even serious ones, in any technical document. Game rulebooks are no exception. But come on...announcing errata just days after the release of a flagship product? That's embarrassing.

 

[JDJblatherings]

Having just read the GSL I can' help but think the new edition is closer then I thought earlier today.

A huge part of 3.x success was the OGL and D20 as they were, now that they aren't there for 4e and Dragon and Dungeon are gone and the Digital Initiative isn't ready fro prime time yet.

Under 3 years for the new edition or new and improved 4e.