D&D 4th Edition Next Year?

[Einan]

Wow, this thread went from being funny and amusing right down the drain to informative and thoughtful.

GET OUT OF MY HEAD! GET OUT OF MY HEAD!

 

[OptionalRule]

4th Edition is already out, it's called Blue Rose.

 

[JVisgaitis]

And if he even suspected that a new edition was coming within the next 2 years do you really think he would be picking GenCon 2006 to release his magnum opus, 3.5 compatible, Ptolus?

Honestly? I would buy it anyway. And if I was Monte I would release it anyway. We did the pull our product when 3.5 was coming out with Denizens of Avadnu, and that decision seriously killed the print side of our business. Our sales were cut in half.

 

[GVDammerung]

But what strikes me most about this post is the crude and offensive tone its author takes in addressing someone's simple request for a confirmation of many rumors or a simple statement of debunking. Apparently he has never had to ask a question that someone else thought common or simple. That must be a very special place to be.

When someone starts a 4e thread and questions when or under what conditions it might occur, and then a group of folks see fit to do nothing but make fun or say, in so many words “not again!” this is a form of ridicule only thinly disguised as “jokes.” The “jokes” however serve to hijack the thread away from the topic as well as belittle the poster who raised the 4E question.

That the forum moderators are not quick to address these “jokes,” I cannot speak to. What I did was give those who want to “joke” a taste of their own medicine and a whiff of grapeshot. If the jokers want to ridicule 4e threads and those actually interested in the topic and the forum admins will not put a stop to it, I have no compunction about ridiculing the jokers right back. What is fair for the “jokers” should be fair for the counter-jokers.

That the jokers do not care for someone calling them on their actions . . . well, the only way to deal with a bully is to face ‘em down.

I suggest the forum admins take the 4e jokersters and “not againers” in hand. Or else, all would seem to be fair.

This forum was largely built on rumors of 3E. 4e speculation is then entirely legitimate, as well as being otherwise germane. If someone does not want to read another 4e thread they have a simple solution - do not read it - they do not need to ridicule the topic and posters under the guise of “jokes” or “not again” posts.

 

[Einan]

Wow. Is the air thin way up there on your high horse?

Lighten up. The constant barrage of 4E rumors is humorous. We are people who sit in room rolling dice and pretending to be elves. We spend hundreds of dollars on books that tell us how to imagine we're even cooler elves. We use phrases like "I smite the orc!' and 'I'm pretty sure that passing that close to the rear of the bullette causes an attack of opportunity" and don't think it's odd. If we can't laugh at ourselves and our hobby, well, we really should be locked up somewhere for our own safety.

And yes, the above contained "jokes" as you put it. Meant to be "funny". Darn your vaunted Vulcan logic, GVDammerung!

Einan

 

[Truth Seeker]

4th Edition is already out, it's called Blue Rose.

Ah...Hello?

 

[Truth Seeker]

Darn your vaunted Vulcan logic, GVDammerung!

Einan

EXCUSE ME!!! There are NO Vulcans in D&D...nadda, zippo, nyet. Please teleport that reference to the correct forum Danke.

 

[Umbran]

This forum was largely built on rumors of 3E.

Small correction - the site was built upon news tidbits of 3E. There was a flow of information of the new edition into the site that could be fact-checked. That was clearly separate from the speculation. If anything, the effect was to give people a source of true information, rather than to give them access to rumors.

4e speculation is then entirely legitimate, as well as being otherwise germane.

On the other hand, any topic, germane, legitimate, or otherwise, can be overdone. Doubly so when discussion of the topic has en emotional effect upon the readers. The fact that so many people have gotten tired of completely unfounded speculation is an indication that while technically within bounds, the topic probably ought to be given a rest.

It isn't as simple as just "don't read it". The fact that new threads on this topic keep coming up suggests that the site is not serving the original function of distributing news well. For a while, perhaps we need to have new threads closed, and the posters referred to the old ones so that the exact same discussions don't get repeated.

 

[SBMC]

So then, an announcement at '06 Gencon for an '07 release would be about right. So he wasn't too far off --- provided it is true. Which is no guarantee. And was most likely speculation from the sounds of it. But the speculation does make a certain sense. But all we need do is wait a year and see. Simple enough.

As to the cost issue, $100 in books once every 4 years is reasonable, your right.

But what about this math?
$105 for the first 3 (at $35/ea)
$120 for the class books (warriors, arcanists, divine, roguish - $30/ea)
$120 for the race books (elves, dwarves, halves, and halflingish - $30/ea)
$95 for the 3 extra monster books ($30/ea for 2 and $35 for 3)
$65 for the miniatures/battles books ($30 & $35)
$120 for the environment books ($30/ea)
$35 for the DMG II
$35 for the PHB II
$60 for Exalted and Vile ($30/ea)

Total for this: $765 (probably $520 or so on Amazon though)

And then there are 3rd party types - which I have basically given up on because its just too much work to find good quality products, and the various D&D settings that WOTC puts out.

Now, I don't mean this as a rant or anything, because all in all WOTC's newest batch of books have all been quality products. I am merely pointing out that there is more than $100 tied up in the game. I also didn't buy all the books and some were given as gifts to me, but still, to have your fan base keep forking it over every couple of years gets tedius and a little too pricey for me.

Also, as the rumor appears to be speculation fears can be calmed for a time.

I think that 3.5 has a long life ahead of it. One main reason is that folks, like many of us, would get real ticked off if all of the sudden, after just a few years, our books were now worthless. They have to at least give enough tiome for the bindings of the 3 core books to start breaking!

Think about it - WoTC has already published plenty of books - but there are tons more subjects to publish on.

Race books for example - some books cover these (such as the aberations book) but there are plenty more - on elves, dwarves, etc. What about Core class books? Fighter, Ranger? What about a "rouges gallery"? Waht about a book on character history? What about books on alignments? A book on how to build insanely detailed cities?...and all he unmentioend stuff that 2.0 had out there as well.

Not to mention for those adult to pre-teen newbies to the game there is always room to publish books such as the "Combined DMG" that just sticks both DMG's together. What about the old "modules" - not even scatched the surface of those yet for v3.5.

WoTC has a good thing going. Why mess it up? Why tick off your customers? If they did 4.0 I would bet the OGL folks would start getting more sales than they could possibly handle.

v3.5 I bet has a good long life ahead of it.

 

[Goddess FallenAngel]

Or maybe jump a rev: D&D 7.0.1.1, with updates/erratta available via a subscription service which gives you DRM protected pdfs.....

I would buy this in a heartbeat. Seriously.

...Well, except for possibly the DRM-protected part. But other than that, in a heartbeat.