D&D 4E 4E is to be announced at GenCon?

[Razz]

I don't think it's a given that somebody will automatically cringe when hearing talk about 4e, een if they are not rich and somehow manage to own every single book WotC has released for D&D3e.

I sure don't.

I have long since decided what to do when 3e is replaced; I'll buy the 4e core books, and that will be all. I'll still play whatever D&D takes my fance at the time. Even 4e, if that is fun enough.

/M

The problem is I WANT my D&D to receive more supplements. I want my D&D to continue releasing books that caters to the system I am playing. I want my players to look forward to new material for our 3.5E game. We can't do that if 4E is around. Our 3.5E games become stale and stagnant themselves and WotC eventually wins in the end when one of us says,"Let's try 4E." and the stupid cycle begins ALL OVER AGAIN. What is this, D&D forever eating its own tail? I mean, seriously, I though 3.5E was the height of D&D rules, then 4E comes and people will moan and complain about the crap in there and WotC goes,"Eh, let's do 4.5E" and then "Let's do 5E".

What's the point of playing D&D anymore?

If my D&D is 3.5E and there's no 3.5E books coming out and it's nothing but 4E books, what the heck is the point? I have to glean through 4E from someone else and learn to convert 4E material down to 3.5E? I have to turn to a 3rd party publisher who says,"We're still making 3.5E books, however you want them too?" (which is unlikely).

Nah, some of us have gone through the edition transition once, some of us actually TWICE. I don't think it's right to do it again. Not until at least 2 more generations fly by. 4E in the year 2030...that sounds about perfect to me.

If WotC does 4E the smart way, they will CONVERT all material from 3.5E to 4E. Or they simply make 4E with the minimalist of changes, like it was from 3E to 3.5E, so the conversion process is possible on your own and you can make use of both your 3.5E books and your 4E books.

D&D is NOT an MMORPG. You can get away with "upgrading" in an MMORPG because you're only paying $15/month and the upgrades are actually enhancing your game, not changing the entire system upside down again. When you're shelling out $3000 or more and your bookshelves/attics/garages are filled to the brim with 2E and 3E books, you start to think as you're filling it up with 4E books when 5E comes along,"What the hell is wrong with me? I need to go play an online game or something. This is ridiculous."

Rant done

 

[crazy_cat]

*snip*
What's the point of playing D&D anymore?
*snip*
Rant done

Enjoying the game. No matter what edition you're playing.

 

[Vyvyan Basterd]

The problem is I WANT my D&D to receive more supplements. I want my D&D to continue releasing books that caters to the system I am playing. I want my players to look forward to new material for our 3.5E game. We can't do that if 4E is around. Our 3.5E games become stale and stagnant themselves and WotC eventually wins in the end when one of us says,"Let's try 4E." and the stupid cycle begins ALL OVER AGAIN. What is this, D&D forever eating its own tail? I mean, seriously, I though 3.5E was the height of D&D rules, then 4E comes and people will moan and complain about the crap in there and WotC goes,"Eh, let's do 4.5E" and then "Let's do 5E".

What's the point of playing D&D anymore?

If my D&D is 3.5E and there's no 3.5E books coming out and it's nothing but 4E books, what the heck is the point? I have to glean through 4E from someone else and learn to convert 4E material down to 3.5E? I have to turn to a 3rd party publisher who says,"We're still making 3.5E books, however you want them too?" (which is unlikely).

Nah, some of us have gone through the edition transition once, some of us actually TWICE. I don't think it's right to do it again. Not until at least 2 more generations fly by. 4E in the year 2030...that sounds about perfect to me.

If WotC does 4E the smart way, they will CONVERT all material from 3.5E to 4E. Or they simply make 4E with the minimalist of changes, like it was from 3E to 3.5E, so the conversion process is possible on your own and you can make use of both your 3.5E books and your 4E books.

D&D is NOT an MMORPG. You can get away with "upgrading" in an MMORPG because you're only paying $15/month and the upgrades are actually enhancing your game, not changing the entire system upside down again. When you're shelling out $3000 or more and your bookshelves/attics/garages are filled to the brim with 2E and 3E books, you start to think as you're filling it up with 4E books when 5E comes along,"What the hell is wrong with me? I need to go play an online game or something. This is ridiculous."

Rant done

The problem is that once material is spread out through 100 books it becomes difficult for even veteran players and DM to keep track of it all. And some new stuff meshes well with the base rules and others the authors thought would be cool didn't work out. A new edition can pull together the stuff that works in a fresh light. It IS a supplement to the game meant to keep it fresh and growing.

I've been through 3 edition changes (4 if you count 3->3.5) and I do look forward to a new edition if its done right. I didn't jump right on 2E. I thought it was weak. Until they moved on to expand options better I found it a de-evolution of the game. I will reserve the same right with 4E when it arrives.

 

[Vocenoctum]

Nah, some of us have gone through the edition transition once, some of us actually TWICE. I don't think it's right to do it again. Not until at least 2 more generations fly by. 4E in the year 2030...that sounds about perfect to me.

I've done 1e to 2e (though, we always thought of UA/OA/DSG etc as 1.5e), had long since given up 2e before 3e, and did the transition to 3.5e.

IMO, the transition wasn't horrible, except of course for the guys that want to stay where they are, just because they're there. (We had 1e players that hated everything 2e, even though they'd never used any. I got them to do 1d10 for init after much debating...)

Compare that to Shadowrun. I went from 1e to 2e, everyone was behind the change and it was still easier to simply restart rather than update campaigns. In addition, you had to wait for reprinting of material that you'd already had. Same with 2e to 3e, the game stagnated while FASA cranked out updated material in leiu of advancing the world, partly a problem with their slow releases. By the time FanPro was releasing SR4, I hated their material so much I had already left.

D&D's supplements are a bit more supplemental, so it doesn't hurt as much IMO. Sure you might need a specific thing ("when will they update my Sacred Fist for 4e!) but rarely are there entire subsystems you need to redo.

 

[Crothian]

Shouldn't that be the boy who cried half-dragon, half-fiend dire wolf ...

Haven't you heard? There will be no half anythings in 4e

 

[Remathilis]

Haven't you heard? There will be no half anythings in 4e

Thats the first thing that has made me want to buy 4e so far...

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

Thats the first thing that has made me want to buy 4e so far...

Hmm...maybe I shouldn't add that the reason there are no half races is because we've now moved on to quarter races.

 

[Vigilance]

Nah, some of us have gone through the edition transition once, some of us actually TWICE. I don't think it's right to do it again. Not until at least 2 more generations fly by. 4E in the year 2030...that sounds about perfect to me.

You do realize that D&D has had a new edition approximately every ten years since it started right? Fourth edition will probably wind up coming either 10 years after 3.0, which would mean 2010, or 10 years after 3.5 or 2013.

Id guess 2010 myself.

But anyway, my point is, new editions happen, and once every 10 years is reasonable. 1st ed was 77-79, 2nd ed was 89 and 3rd ed was 2000.

But hey, you've already shown you're a dirtbag, by proclaiming you won't buy it (what are you RICH?!?!?!) but that you will steal it.

So rant on you crazy diamond!!!!!!!!!

 

[Nightfall]

*nine*

And this is probably why Razz and Vigil won't be sitting down with brewskis any time soon.

 

[EvilPheemy]

Haven't you heard? There will be no half anythings in 4e

For example, instead of Halflings, there will be a new race simply called Lings. The Lings will all be Ambidextrous, Fey, Sexy (in an underfed waif sort of way), and capable of raging like a berzerker a number of times per day equal to 20X their combined ability scores. Their culture will be dominated by a Theocray dedicated to the Wizard-God-Emperor who demands sacrifice of sentient infants, however Player Character Lings must be outcasts who reject their own culture and wander the world as angst-filled-misuderstood-loners (with paired adimithril double-kama of speed). They will have no level adjustment because they do not use levels, or classes, or statistics, the Lings exist in the "theatre of the mind".

And for those wondering, I also learned last week from the cousin of an insider's wife who is having an affair with a WotC intern that 4e is being released in secret on July 4. It will be the final, ultimate expression of D&D, and to ensure it's everlasting glory, Hasbro is having the entirety of the core book text inscribed on 30 foot high granite slabs. Ryan Dancy will announce the release in an homage to Charleton Heston's portrayal of Moses in the Ten Comandments.

A special "stone tablet" coffee table 34th anniversary edition will be sold for 34 cents (plus $512.79 for shipping and handling). It is expected to weigh somewhere around 400 pounds.

Personally, I'm planning on rejecting this madness (just like I rejected the inclusion of dice, and character sheets) in my games. My group has been happy simply shouting out random numbers (like "PI", and "E", and "N!") for the last 25 years of our Greyhawk campaign, and see no reason to stop now.