D&D 4E 4E: What we think we know

[F4NBOY]

The Countdown is almost over, and now there is a calling to the Sagamore Ballroom.
I wonder if they are going to present us with a whole new site or just: 4th edition is here! Surprised?

 

[Mistwell]

Half-Orcs and Monks is my bet.

Half-Eves and Monks is my guess. Monk will be a prestige class perhaps.

Nobody likes Half-Elves. Not even them elf lovers

 

[Eldragon]

You deserve this:

http://www.penny-arcade.com/images/2005/20050826h.jpg

I think that's as the highest compliment I've ever received.

#1 way to lose your customers.

That's pretty predatory, and in no way is it a better option than just continuing to use 3E. I like the idea of having extra content that's online, and I have to have the physical book (and consequently, the key) to access it online. But to have *required* material for the book be online? Not all of us have laptops, and not all of us like having binders full of printouts.

Being required to have a specific book to be able to roll up a class? All that will do is make the portal unnecessary for groups who play face to face. I rarely had a situation where all the players in my group had purchased multiple copies of the one book. Some of the class splatbooks, yes...but otherwise? Often they just shared, passing the books around.

That will help for online play, but that's it.

Banshee

I completely agree. I think there is awesome potential for D&D Insider that links purchased hardcopy books with online content. However when those books become dependent upon the online content (or vice versa) is crossing the line.

What I defined above is the worst case scenario of what WotC could do, if they really wanted to twist the knife and assert their RPG market dominance.

 

[KenSeg]

Yeah, just where is Diaglo? He should be popping up extorting that 4E should be a return to the one true game OD&D.

-KenSeg
gaming since 1978

 

[Odhanan]

No way I'm shelling out 10 bucks per month for stuff I already bought. If they want to get a piece of the MMORPG cake, fine, but if they do it to D&D, they'll lose me as a customer. And I doubt that they'll win many WoW players that way. Might be that they only drive away customers without getting enough new ones. Would serve them right, too.

I still don't like the idea of a D.I. myself. Sounds too much like wanting to play in the MMOs ball park, which is IMO exactly what tabletop RPGs should not do. Also, being a fan of RPGs as I am, I want the full DnD package, not the "base". Online content by subscription is not making me happy at all. I don't like temporary access by subscriptions. Add to this the virtual character of the tools and the natural dependency of the D.I. with the evolution of computer technologies (which makes the whole experience fluctuating, never the same from one year to the next, so to speak), and I'm really not crazy about the whole schtick.

 

[Waylander the Slayer]

I am sure Bruce Cordell has had a major role with the books.

 

[Glyfair]

I don't like temporary access by subscriptions.

Has anything said it will be temporary access. Some elements clearly will be like the virtual tabletop. The character generator likely will be,, but it could be downloadable. If you don't subscribe you don't get updates.

Everything else is likely to be permanent. I thought someone has stated the magazine content would be downloadable (it certainly will be printable or adventures will be useless except for a few).

 

[Banshee16]

I think that's as the highest compliment I've ever received.



I completely agree. I think there is awesome potential for D&D Insider that links purchased hardcopy books with online content. However when those books become dependent upon the online content (or vice versa) is crossing the line.

What I defined above is the worst case scenario of what WotC could do, if they really wanted to twist the knife and assert their RPG market dominance.

Check out the outrage at White Wolf, from players who bought the World of Warcraft RPG Manual of Monsters, and found a few monsters in the book that made references to the online extra material, which was needed to have the stats for the monster in the book..then, when they went online, they found they had to pay for that material...even though they'd already paid for the physical book. Not pretty.

I think that if they want to give extra material for books, you shouldn't have to pay for it. Maybe you pay a base monthly fee for access, and then if you buy the physical books, you input the key code, and get free access to the extra content for that book....covered by the base monthly fee you're already paying.

I think if it's anything more than the $20/month you pay for WoW, they'll be getting really low uptake anyways. I don't hold out much hope for that though. Given what they charge for PDFs of their products, they seem to be of weird opinion that a PDF file has as much value as an actual, physical, book. Unfortunately, the printing costs for the physical book are much, much higher than the costs of generating that PDF, and this should be reflected in the pricing. I'll buy PDFs at $5-10, but not at $30-40. Not when I'll have to spend another $20 printing them out....and getting an inferior product, with no binding, on basic printer paper, one-sided, in a 3-ring binder, as a result.

Banshee

 

[moderadorsud20]

Could you, after 30 minutes, open the Wizard's webpage? I can't...

 

[Bacris]

I am sure Bruce Cordell has had a major role with the books.

And as we've seen, that's a double-edged sword

3.0 Psionics Handbook... 3.5 Expanded Psionics Handbook... Complete Psionic... Hyperconscious...

Then again, hitting .333 can get you in the Hall of Fame