D&D (2024) 6E When?

[Tony Vargas]

The dice pool mechanic ...
Armor would be solely damage reduction
Hit points would be used as injury thresholds,

Those changes are even more radical than every change form 0e to 4e, happening all at once.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

We have to wait until the return of Ravenloft (not only a module but all the demiplane of dread), Dark Sun and Dragonlance. And maybe this will be after a movie adaptation learning with the experiences of the first D&D movie.

In the hands by the right writers a Ravenloft teleserie could be a smash-hit as Game of Thrones but a story so good needs years. Other option could be a new cartoon based in the children gamebooks "the fantasy forest". Now there is a public for interactive game book and they only need a streamer platform. It wouldn't too different parents giving a tablet to children to watch cartoons.

If they want to try new ideas, then better to start a new line from zero, or like a videogame, or to publish a new edition of Unearthed Arcana (why not a module about an optional list of abilities scores?).

 

[Parmandur]

What they ought to be doing is developing 32-page adventures that are generic, setting-wise, but with a sidebar identifying where to locate in Greyhawk, FR, and Mystara. Do one every 4-6 months.

They do this already, just as chapters in larger books. Which are selling like hotcakes.

 

[3catcircus]

They do this already, just as chapters in larger books. Which are selling like hotcakes.

Not as independent stand alone modules like in 1e or BECMI...

 

[Parmandur]

Not as independent stand alone modules like in 1e or BECMI...

Right, because buying 7-8 modules with a thin connecting material for $30-50 is a better deal than paying in excess of $100 for the same material, and they want to make it easy and affordable for people to get a lot of material.

 

[darjr]

And they are getting better at it

 

[Parmandur]

And they are getting better at it

True, iteration and testing has worked well.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

They can't publish a new edition if they are still selling "remakes" and almost nothing new.

Hasbro doesn't want to sell more books, not exactly, but they want a more powerful brand. Then the goal is the highest number of players. They want Dragonlance to become as famous like Conan, Lord of the Rings or Warcraft.

Maybe Hasbro buys a cinema studio like Dreamworks or Liongate. They know the future is in the media and videogame e-sports.

 

[3catcircus]

Those changes are even more radical than every change form 0e to 4e, happening all at once.

Nope - every single one of the things you listed as "radical" has been introduced as optional rules at least as far back as 3e (such as Armor as DR) and Vitality/Wounds) if not in earlier editions.

AD&D 1e and 2e had optional rules using negative hit points, with Gygax stating in the 1e DMG that going below -6 hp resulted in some type of permanent injury.

5e's advantage/disadvantage is a form of dice pool.

AD&D 1e/2e had optional rules for armor vs weapon type, a form of armor as damage reduction.

An optional system for wounds, injury, and pain thresholds was introduced as far back as the Feb '87 issue of Dragon (issue 118). The author wrote "Basically, a wound of sufficient severity should cause pain (as well as actual mechanical damage to the working parts of the body) that affects a character's performance." It used the CON score to identify a percentage of total hit points that acted as a pain threshold, modified by race and class, with options for hit location, being knocked unconscious, avoiding wounds, and healing of specific wounds, as well as rules for mounts.

 

[schneeland]

The dice pool mechanic I'd advocate is roll a number of d20s based upon your skill ranks (and combat would be skill-based too). Roll under compared to your target number (skill value with conditional modifiers). The amount you succeed is a margin of success (and vice versa for failure). Additional successes add to your margin of success.

Armor would be solely damage reduction rather than the insipid "makes you harder to hit" in D&D.

Hit points would be used as injury thresholds, so you don't remain 100% effective down to 0 hp (with the added benefit of the player naturally knowing when it is time to run away rather than stubbornly staying until you have a TPK).

I like this type of mechanic because everything can be precalculated on your character sheet.

The thing is: it's not that I don't agree with many of your points or at least find them interesting enough to see them pursued, but I feel at some point you start to have a new game (in particular: I cannot see D&D ever drop the d20).