Costs and Requirements?

[sjmiller]

Everyone I have talked to who is not online (a large number of gamers I know) all want to know the same answers:

What is this all going to cost? Are the three core books going to run $20, $30, $40, or more? What will supplemental books run? A lot of people have a limited gaming budget, so these things need to be planned for well in advance.

What is Core/Required for play? What is going to be needed as a player? Will they need just a PH, dice, paper and pencil? Will an online subscription be needed to "complete" the PH? This really concerns a lot of people. It seems that signals are mixed. Some WotC reps are saying online aspects of 4e will be integral, while others seem to say that it will just be enhancements. Which is it? What will we need to play?

 

[Aloïsius]

Everyone I have talked to who is not online (a large number of gamers I know) all want to know the same answers:

What is this all going to cost? Are the three core books going to run $20, $30, $40, or more? What will supplemental books run? A lot of people have a limited gaming budget, so these things need to be planned for well in advance.

What is Core/Required for play? What is going to be needed as a player? Will they need just a PH, dice, paper and pencil? Will an online subscription be needed to "complete" the PH? This really concerns a lot of people. It seems that signals are mixed. Some WotC reps are saying online aspects of 4e will be integral, while others seem to say that it will just be enhancements. Which is it? What will we need to play?

I'm sure this will be like before : the DM needs all books, the players need none. Remember that there will be an SRD.

 

[Umbran]

What is Core/Required for play? What is going to be needed as a player? Will they need just a PH, dice, paper and pencil? Will an online subscription be needed to "complete" the PH? This really concerns a lot of people. It seems that signals are mixed. Some WotC reps are saying online aspects of 4e will be integral, while others seem to say that it will just be enhancements. Which is it? What will we need to play?

I don't recall anyone saying that the online subscription will be at all required to play at home around your own table. There may be supplemental material that is considered 'canon' to settings, and so on, but I don't think anyone has said that the physical books will be anything less than a complete, playable game.

Core books - DMG, PHB, MM. What's required to play? Well, the DM will probably want all three. Most games I've seen, not everyone strictly needs to have a PHB, but it is nice. Players should have no need to own the MM or DMG, I expect.

Specifically (from Didier Monin's Blog):

First, it needs to be said that D&DI will be a part of 4th Edition D&D, but is not required to play D&D. D&DI will facilitate certain tasks and it is up to each of you to pick which parts of D&DI you will choose to use if you become a D&DI subscriber. Obviously, we are planning to make the whole offering attractive, but D&DI applications and web resources will be very modular and varied, reflecting the flexibility of the game itself. Between the game table, the character sheet, the character builder (also called visualizer), the dungeon builder or the encounter builder, these applications, like various pieces of a kit, will be usable independently of each others, or together. It is also important to highlight the fact that the game table can be used for any RPG purpose. It will be particularly well suited to 4th Edition, of course, but not restricted to it.

 

[Atlatl Jones]

What is this all going to cost? Are the three core books going to run $20, $30, $40, or more? What will supplemental books run?

No one knows yet. It's not going to be $20 each, since that price was 8 years ago, and at the time it was a loss leader (ie. purposefully underpriced in order to make the transition easier) for a limited print run. Even the $30 current price tag will be 5 years old by the time 4e comes out. My guess is that they'll be $30, priced as a time-limited loss leader. Today, RPG books of equivalent size tend to be around $40. The supplements will probably be roughly the same price as current 3e supplements.

What is Core/Required for play? What is going to be needed as a player? Will they need just a PH, dice, paper and pencil? Will an online subscription be needed to "complete" the PH? This really concerns a lot of people. It seems that signals are mixed. Some WotC reps are saying online aspects of 4e will be integral, while others seem to say that it will just be enhancements. Which is it? What will we need to play?

They've made is absolutely clear that all you need to play D&D is the books, dice, & paper & pencil. Several designers, and the head of the DnDI project have said so. D&DI will add useful tools and resources, but won't be neccessary.

 

[Reaper Steve]

A lot of people have a limited gaming budget, so these things need to be planned for well in advance.

Assuming the quickstart adventure in April will be $20 and the 3 core books will be $30, if you set aside $10 a month, starting w/ Sept, you'll be set through July.
Sept - Apr: save $80 -$20 for QS adventure = $60.
May: +$10 -$30 PHB = $40
Jun: +$10 - $30 MM =$20
Jul: +10 - $30 DMG = $0

Make it $11/month to cover tax.

Hey, I think I'll even follow this plan!