D&D General 6e guesses

[Jahydin]

No idea where the current direction of D&D is going, but hopefully it's a sharp pivot from what we have now. I'm so done with cuddly monsters, purple skies, and cozy dungeons.

We need a version of D&D that the Hellfire Club would approve of!

More of a hope than a prediction of course. And note, I don't want it to replace 5.5; I'm thrilled others are liking it. Just would be great to have two separate lines going. Maybe call it D&D Classic or something...

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

...based upon historic product life-cycles, D+D will be due for a brand refresh in 2031, just in time to celebrate the 50th anniversary of B/X and mystara...

I will eat a commonly available bug of your choice if WotC makes a big deal about the anniversary of B/X or Mystara. We'll get an article on whatever their website of choice is in 2031 at most.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

No idea where the current direction of D&D is going, but hopefully it's a sharp pivot from what we have now. I'm so done with cuddly monsters, purple skies, and cozy dungeons.

We need a version of D&D that the Hellfire Club would approve of!

Since that vibe is out there in the marketplace, just not produced by WotC, why does it matter?

Anyone who wants a grittier D&D-style game has so many choices now that their biggest issue is analysis paralysis.

 

[Remathilis]

Fortunately, I’m not required to want or advocate for things that are practical.

Then I want 6e to be a 3d holodeck created by hyper intelligent AI. Rules for imagination are so 20th century.

 

[Blue]

Okay, with the premise that they are moving away from the "evergreen" 5.x design, they would have not a single whit of incentive unless it was a drastic departure. So we know for purposed of this post that it cannot be similar to 5e, because that doesn't satisfy moving off 5e.

That said, the most likely cause of 6e that would in any way interact with "current trends" like the OP asks is executive meddling. Just like 3.5 was pushed out so quickly as a money grab (see the Monte Cook information).

So, this isn't about improving the game or taking it in a game direction that current players are looking for, it's to capitalize on current trends that have a good market share, crush competitors that are picking up market share, create new sales opportunities, or move to a subscription/recurring income stream model.

We've just had a host of D&D-replacements come out. If you consider that they want to wider the audience and therefore not go more complex competitors with decent market shares like Pathfinder, I could see this executive-directed, much different 6e to pick up on things that are working from the D&D-replacements, but then combine them in such a way that you need a subscription to play. Or maybe to run, and you can let your players in, whom only have one-time purchases.

I don't track the new D&D-replacements enough to have an idea of what they do that can be monetized in a recurring way. But someone gets paid the bucks to do so.

 

[Jahydin]

Since that vibe is out there in the marketplace, just not produced by WotC, why does it matter?

Anyone who wants a grittier D&D-style game has so many choices now that their biggest issue is analysis paralysis.

Even though I broke up with my ex and have moved on, I still wish the best for her.

Also, every now and then, I'll run past a rumor video like this or this that gives me hope...

Will admit, the analysis paralysis is strong with me. I was secretly hoping some of the games I picked up would just be fun reads, but seems like everything coming out is fun to play too, grsh drn it. Committed to my Drawsteel game this week, Dragonbane this weekend, and running random games of Outgunned with my wife when we get random pockets of free time. It is a struggle though. The only thing that's consistent is my biweekly PF2 campaign.

 

[mamba]

Even though I broke up with my ex and have moved on, I still wish the best for her.

and the best is to get back together with you?

Also, every now and then, I'll run past a rumor video like this or this that gives me hope...

ugh, there is literally nothing I would ever believe that first youtuber, she is the worst, and the second one is just wild, unfounded speculation that diminishes my respect for that youtuber along with my willingness to watch him again / believe anything from him either.

These two videos do not give me hope about their content, they make me question why I should watch their channels ever again… this feels a lot more like wishful thinking on your end than anything else. Guess you are not over your breakup yet after all

 

[delericho]

I think 6e will come sooner than you'd expect, will change more than you'd expect (probably leaning hard into AI, either in design or the use of AI players/DMs), and then fall into the "even editions" rule where the game all-but-dies shortly thereafter (though not necessarily because of anything to do with the edition itself).

Then 7e will release a few short years after that and lean hard back into nostalgia in the same way as 3e and 5e.