D&D 4E 4E is coming!

[GlassJaw]

It should be: are you excited about all this new upcoming [insert tedious crap title here]?!?

Someone is bitter! LOL.

But I actually agree.

I don't know if I'm missing something but I'm just not interested in the stuff WotC is putting out or I just don't see a need for it. I actually just started running the Dungeon Adventure Path for some people relatively new to 3ed and I find going back to the core rules quite refreshing. I'm also working on a Grim Tales campaign and nothing WotC has put out even comes close to it.

 

[Henry]

A few points of clarification...

first edition lasted from 1977 - 1989; 2nd edition lasted from 1988 - 2000; by rights it should be somewhere around 2007-2012 before we see a 4th edition - but that assumes such drastic innovation in mechanics that a re-codifying of all the rules is warranted.

I think that the schedule portends a good year for RPG's assuming the products make people want to buy. As tempted as I am by both current and future Eberron releases, I don't know for sure if I'll need them or not; there's lots of games out there, and our group has one other DM who wants to get behind the screen again sometime soon, and one player who wants to sometime soon try out the reins himself. If Eberron goes on hold, I waste my money on those products. Then, looking at the environment series, I see nothing that interests me at all. Frostburn looks pretty, but the rules within don't offer me anything that I need for a good game. Cold effects? New spells? nothing that I must have for a cool series of arctic adventures (pun intended).

If they can't excite buyers with their strategies now, then it won't be long before they need a radical shakeup, and a New edition just to push the survival of the brand.

 

[Rasyr]

Alarmist.
Purely from a number-crunching standpoint, we'd see 4E in 2007. 1E lasted 15 years (1974-1989), 2E lasted 11 years (1989-200), so if we say it's always four years less, than 3E should last from 2000-2007.

Your looking at it the wrong way. The first two editions were done by TSR, then it was bought by WotC, who in turn was bought by Hasbro. Hasbro sees the business model for M:TG (major release every few years with minor releases inbetween) as being very profitable. Thus, my belief that we will see 4e in either 2006 or 2007 is based on them using the CCG business model for their rpg as well. Remember, 3.5 wasn't due out until 2005 (which would logically put 4E out in 2010), thus a change occured in-house which altered this plan.

You can also be sure that no anouncements or hints will be made about 4e until they actually have a finalized manuscript and it is aleady going into the layout phase, as nothing kills sales faster than word of a new edition coming out.

Of course, like most mathematically-figured charts, it ignores almost everything else about real life.

heheh

And this honestly makes me wonder...if WotC decided to make a change that did, in fact, largely up abandon the d20 system, how much of the market would continue using it? Sure a large part of it would leave, but it'd be interesting how many d20 companies would stay d20.

Yes, that is an interesting question. Chances are that IF WotC did move away from the d20 system, it would also remove the d20 license (the thing that allows the use of the d20 logo), cancelling all such licenses in effect. This would hurt a number of companies whose sales come mainly from having that logo on their products. Several companies have built up their name recognition enough that such a move by WotC would have limited effect (i.e. Mongoose comes to mind, with their "OGL" books which reprint the core rules).

The question is, of course, an academic one, since WotC would likely, as you say, stay close to the d20 system since it's such a winner. At the very least, they'd also open-source their new rules as well.

Don't count on 4E being put under the OGL. Personally, I think it won't be made OGL (of course, I could be wrong, wouldn't be the first time).

 

[scourger]

I can't say what my reaction to 4e will be, until I see it. 3e brought me back into the fold. Now I'm here, I'm not looking for a new edition. I guess it all depends on the covers.

I agree. I wasn't excited about 3e at all until I borrowed & read a friend's PHB. Then, I ran it only to preserve my other 2e game. Now, I am less satisfied with 3.5, which makes me less likely to embrace any new editions.

Luckily, I learned with 2e that I prefer a more core game. So, I didn't buy all the 3e books that attributed to the rules/options bloat. And I'm just as glad that I didn't. There were enough d20 variants in new genres to keep me buying, but I am somewhat over that, too.

I just don't see how WotC will get the genie back in the bottle.

 

[Brown Jenkin]

I have been a pessimist and continue to be. I've been saying for a long time that 4E would be out in 2005 or 2006. It seems I was wrong on my early side of Gen Con 2005, but nothing has yet pursuaded me that it will be any later than 2006. Yes I find it somewhat surprising that they are releasing all of these new series, but looking at what they are releasing I can't see this trend continuing. From all I have heard and read of Hasbros business model, there is no way that these current series are pulling in the sales numbers that Hasbro wants to see. It is possible that the D&D minis helped keep Hasbro at bay for a bit, but I already see the fad fading as the market moves to star wars and and other new things like Pirates of the Spanish Main that was so massively successful this year.

 

[Scribble]

There could be improvements over the rules of the game, but at some point it won't be possible to make it any better.

New edition doesn't mean better edition. It might happen simply because the tastes of gamers have changed.

 

[Psychic Warrior]

when is the Map Folio 3-D to be released?


4ed is already here btw... it is called Hackmaster. just read their GMG.

Gag. The typeface and small font drove me nuts. Eyestrain and a tension headache after 10 minutes of reading is not a fun time.

Hopefully they will release 4E and name is OD&D (1974), eh?

 

[Sebastian Francis]

Is 4E still several years away?

Not to be rude or anything, but who cares? I've found my dream system in 3.0. When 3.5 came out three weeks after 3.0 was released, I rolled my eyes at the blatant (and cynical) WotC cash grab. I'll be playing 3.0 for the rest of my life, in all likelihood.

The rest of you can eagerly run out and buy whatever WotC orders you to buy if you so desire. Free market, and all that.

 

[diaglo]

New edition doesn't mean better edition. It might happen simply because the tastes of gamers have changed.

welcome aboard.

 

[Sebastian Francis]

first edition lasted from 1977 - 1989; 2nd edition lasted from 1988 - 2000; by rights it should be somewhere around 2007-2012 before we see a 4th edition - but that assumes such drastic innovation in mechanics that a re-codifying of all the rules is warranted.

The problem is that you seem to be assuming that these decisions are made by gamers, but they aren't. They are made by the suits at Hasbro, and as has already been mentioned, they see great profitability in the Magic: the Gathering model.

Hell, why *shouldn't* they release 4th edition in the next couple of years? The vast majority of current 3.5 players would eagerly run out and buy it...and thank WotC for the honor of doing so.