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

[Aloïsius]

Awesome ?

If 4e is as longlived as 3e, it means that, by the end, we will have 24 core books, plus a fully errated reprint of the first three.

 

[William Ronald]

The concept of additional core books is a good one, as players and DMs would likely buy those more readily than a complete book on a class or a race that may or may not be in the campaign or in the current group of player characters.

 

[Kaodi]

I must say I am more or less with Devyn on this one. The more " Core " you have, the less meaning " Core " has. The one and ONLY way for them to circumvent this is if the SRD contains all of the additional " Core " as well. If it does, then this may be in fact an amazing turn of events for those who always wanted to see the 3rd party publishers be able to use the " expansions " of the game. If not, then this really does come down to a money grab by artificially inflating the " Core " material. Being in the SRD doesn't make you Core, but to be Core you must be in the SRD.

 

[Visceris]

Awesome ?

If 4e is as longlived as 3e, it means that, by the end, we will have 24 core books, plus a fully errated reprint of the first three.

3e only lived for 3 years.

 

[Zaruthustran]

I'm just really stunned at the depth of the changes WotC has brought in, and hope that everyone else can see them as well.

Well, yeah. The changes are obvious, and out in the open: new core books every year. Like I said above, that's wonderful for both WotC, Inc. and for consumers.

For WotC, it's more $, more reliably. Instead of spending A, B, C, X, Y, and Z each year to develop and publish six books of new feats, classes, and rules, they can spend only A, B, and C--and sell just as many total units, and likely a whole lot more. That's great!

For consumers, it's more concise, better-balanced rules, presented in a better format (and without filler material to pad the page count). I'd much rather buy the new three core books every year than hunt and peck half-a-dozen splat books (each costing as much as a new core book). You can count on other players have the new Core books in a way that you simply can't count on other players having a particular splat book. Heck, I know some players that don't know of the existence of divine and reserve feats, or immediate actions. Those are terrific additions to the game, and improve the fundamentals of D&D. Putting that kind of stuff in annual core books is just better for the game.

I guess I don't see what the problem is. I mean, c'mon: $25/year (for players) or $75/year (for DMs) to support a fun hobby is cheap, cheap, cheap.

-z

 

[Charwoman Gene]

Speculation time!

Yeah, I posted the SAME conclusions in another thread, J. Wyatt revealed a bit too much... He also thinks like I do, anytime he says anything cryptic I've guessed right on the money.

 

[Ankh-Morpork Guard]

We will see who is right and who is wrong soon enough.

First off, that sounds like something a bad Bond villain would say.

Second, and more seriously, note that this report is SECOND HAND and not from a WotC employee. It very well means that the word Core could be completely misrepresented here.

Again, were PHB and DMG II new versions of 3e?

 

[Zaruthustran]

Speculation time!

Arcane Controller: Wizard
Arcane Defender: ?
Arcane Leader: Bard?
Arcane Striker: Sorcerer

Divine Controller: Druid?
Divine Defender: Paladin
Divine Leader: Cleric
Divine Striker: Ranger?

Martial Controller: Ranger?
Martial Defender: Fighter?
Martial Leader: Warlord
Martial Striker: Rogue

Now, the ranger could be either way - they "killed the scout and took his stuff", so they could work as a striker, but then the scout was more of a martial class . . .

I like your list, but I'd put the Warlock as Arcane Striker, and a Summoner (or Sorcerer who summons/pacts with entities) as Arcane Defender.

Druid as Divine Controller, for sure.

And heck, Paladin as Divine Striker. I don't think each class is limited to a single role. I bet a lot depends on the feat and ability choices you make for the class.

 

[Kaodi]

Anyway, the four roles I spotted on the Wizards boards somewhere were Tank, Healer, Controller and Striker, but I can work with the four here.

Arcane Controller: Wizard
Arcane Defender:
Arcane Leader:
Arcane Striker: Sorcerer

Divine Controller: Druid
Divine Defender: Champion (Paladin)
Divine Leader: Cleric
Divine Striker: Ranger

Martial Controller: Rogue
Martial Defender: Fighter
Martial Leader: Warlord
Martial Striker: Barbarian

 

[Visceris]

Again, were PHB and DMG II new versions of 3e?

Don't know, never bought them, however there was 3.5e released only 3 years later after the initial release of 3e.