D&D 4E 4E PHB II & DMG II 1 year after release (and a new one every year after that)

[Glyfair]

If they are indeed calling them core books ( I don't know if this has been confirmed) then all the more likely they will sell really well.

The quote referencing this seems like the words "core" would have come from the designers mouth. That said, "core" can have a lot of meanings.

True core, IMO, are the books required (another tricky word) to run the game. I think what they mean by "core" is what I would call "extended core." In 3.5 it would be books like the Spell Compendium and Magic Item Compendium. Books they know most groups will have, but not everyone by any stretch.

All I hope is that all the spines of the core books (or better yet the covers too) including the PHB/DMG/MM2,3,4,... have art that you can line up and make a larger picture once all lined up.

I will buy 4e only if it does this!

That's a cool idea if they could manage it. It does seem like an awfully specific thing to base a buying decision on

 

[exile]

Couple this idea of having three new core books each year with the fact that WOTC/Hasbro is reigning in all of their old lines, and you get

Year 1: FR
Year 2: Eberron (PHB featuring warforged, changelings, shifters, etc)
Year 3: Dark Sun (PHB featuring muls, thri-kreen, cannibalistic halflings, elves that look a lot
different from those seen in prior PHBs; gladiators, defilers, templars- a lot of
different power sources there.)
Year 4: Ravenloft
Year 5: Planescape

and on and on and on. Each year could even feature a different artist/style of art. Not sure that it'll play out this way, but its a thought...and like the rest of fourth edition, I'm still not sure how I feel about it. I guess time will tell.

Chad

 

[Kae'Yoss]

DMG is a bit trickier. I found the DMG II to be nearly useless. Of course, if they were to put thing like the expanded environments found in Frostburn and Sandstorm, variant rules like Unearthed Arcana, an so forth, it might be strong enough for an annual release.

And don't forget that prestige classes first appeared in the DMG! It's quite possible that PrC's will be in DMG 2, 3, 4 and so on instead of the PHB, where you'll find basic classes only. Then add new magic items to the mix, and the usual tables (NPC psion, NPC soulknife, and so on) for the new classes, and the DMG should fill up.

I'd also really like to see things like Spell Compendium be annual.

Actually, while not being against that, I'd really like the online part (D&Di) to become the spell compendium. And class compendium. And feat compendium. And race compendium.

The basics are all there! You will get codes with your books where you can unlock stuff with, including an eBook of your book, and all that. You'll also prove that you own that book. So by using that information and the power of Databases, there should be tools that let you assemble a list of all spells (or whatever you want) you "own" together, sort and filter it however you want, and print it - with full rules texts! Actually, those tools are already there according to someone from Wizards, they're just not sure yet whether to make them available. I think they definetly should.

That way you'd get a compendium that's always up to date.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

How do all those hardcover copies of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings get sold?

There's elves in it.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

The Lord of the Rings is not a trilogy, though. [/nitpick]

Yeah, people always forget part four with its explicit halfling-on-elf action and shieldmaiden-pillow-fight scenes. Almost as shocking as the Frodo & Sam love scenes!

 

[Kae'Yoss]

IMHO, a controler is someone able to influence a lot of ennemy. Wizards can fireball a few dozen orcs at once. Druids can entangle them. Barbarians ? A raging barbarian may have some kind of frightful presence, allowing them to quickly dispatch frightened adversaries.
Moreso, I always envisioned barbarians as beeing not only powerful and frightening, but also very quick. With superior speed and maybe ability to hit more opponent per rounds ("velocity rage"), they can somewhat control the battelfield. Last, they can have some "throw away blow" allowing them to push ennemy a few feet away when they strike.

But I can't imagine them beeing loaded with so numerous special ability, and thus I don't see them able to rivals with wizards in term of "control". Thus, my guess is that they will be either tanks or more probably strikers.

Well, there's stuff like this in the Book of Nine Swords, which is probably a preview of 4e's "Martial Power Source". There's plenty of manoeuvres to make you attack many enemies at once. Maybe that will be the barbarian's specialty. Add to that negative auras (fear aura mainly) and some ferocity type attacks, and you're set. Those ferocious attacks don't even have to be against multiple enemies - wizards have some single-target spells, too.

 

[Khairn]

...

Aheheheheh.

If you're kidding: good one.

If you're not kidding, suffice to say that my concerns about the D.I. could fill an entire thread, and I suspect they probably have. Long story short: I ain't renting no online content. That's a sucker's game.

-The Gneech

Yes I am kidding ... which is why I am concerned.

I still think that WotC is re-designing the playing field and we still haven't figured out exactly what how their new rules will work in the new field. We have our assumptions from how things have worked in the past, but this is a brand new day, and I think there will be some rude awakenings for some players once the bills arrive and they realize what they've signed up for.

But again ... its just the view from within my crystal ball.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Any guesses as to what the Monk (presumably to be included in the PHB 2 since they mentioned that all the missing classes will be released later) will end up being?

Martial? Divine? Striker? Controller? Meat puppet?

In another thread, I thought about this and (looking at what roles I deemed already taken) thought of them as arcane defenders. Sure, they're considered more or less priests in 3e, but if you're honest, they don't really pray to some higher being or concept and get power from that. They use extreme self-discipline and mystical practises and then do supernatural stuff. That could be considered arcane. Plus if they're going to inherit anything from the Tome of Battle, it might be stuff like Desert Wind.

3e monks always had some staying power - they were able to get a decent AC - what with dex, wis, and bracers, had all good saves and several other defensive abilities. They could also do stuff like grapple and stun. Boost them a bit and they could be the ones to hold the line. Be defenders. They don't have to be juggernauts of destruction - they just have to keep the enemy from running around unchecked, killing off your friends!

Of course, their fast movement (and lots of manoeuvres the monky swordsage gets in ToB) would make them good strikers, too.

 

[hopeless]

Really?

As I said, they could still release the splatbooks. They just focus on more options for the existing (core?) classes and races.

One of the things I found most annoying about the Complete Mage was how much was centered on the warlock and other Complete Arcane classes and ideas. This was even though I use the warlock. I just felt it reduced the usability of the book.

I think the PHB II, and to a lesser extent the DMG II, were among the strongest products WotC has produced. If they duplicate that success and use it to move stuff away from the other books, and give those books more focus, I'm on board.

Never noticed that about the warlock as a rule I don't recognise that as a class, it should have been a prestige class given all of its abilities.
Did like the option to make the other classes obtain a bit of spellcasting capability but other than that...
Kept both of those the phb2 because of the knight and the fast character creation at the end, thought the character recreation was pointless after all thats what you've got the druid ressurection spell for (Oh you don't fancy playing a squirrel paladin?).
Have no use for the tiefling, just keep it simple and if you're really looking to making it work better kindly remember this is a roleplaying game not a powergame that the other extra that was released merely showed...

 

[Lonely Tylenol]

For what it's worth, I think this is a good idea--use the PHB/DMG/MM series to increase breadth, and the splatbooks to increase depth. I can even see a tree-like design, where a given splatbook might expand upon rules presented in the core books, or the core II books, or the core III books, etc. That way, if you don't use Class X from the PHB II, you aren't buying support material for it, but if you are, there's a whole book of it, unadulterated by material that doesn't expand on the books you own.