D&D 4th Edition Next Year?

[Dirigible]

My predictions:

Gencon 2006: 4th ed. is released.

Dec 2006: One of the 4th ed. playtesters is found dead, blasphemous obscenities scrawled on the walls of the alley in a combination of pizza oil and blood.

Jan 2007: 4.5 ed. is announced, and released in April.

June 2007: 5th ed. is announced, and released in July.

August: 5.5 ed. is announced and released one week later.

August: 6th ed. is announced and released on the same day.

August-September: By this stage, D&D editions are being created and published at an exponential rate, eventually at up to 400 per day.

Late September: A black-ops team penetrate WotC HQ, and discover the dessicated bodies of hudreds of designers and freelancers hooked up to some kind of machine. At this point, the transmission is cut off.

Remainder of 2007: Within the game, earlier edition characters fight a losing war against the progressively updating rules. Elminster perishes defending Living Raven's BLuff from a Pale Mauve Dragon with the xE3r1004/b template. Sharn is conquered and transformed into an academy for Hulking Hurlers (a core class since 3,812th edition.) The last transmission from Greyhawk mention good-aligned half-succubus drow.

Thousands of them.

In desperation, 1st ed and Basic characters are recruited and sent into battle unconverted. Their THAC0 proves useful in slowing up the Update forces (except editions 65 to 210.3, where THAC0 was reinstated).

December 31, 2007: In a last ditch effort to salvage something, WotC converts a suitcase nuke from d20 Modern.

January 1st, 2008: The smoke clears.

Intermittant distress sendings from BirthRight, Taladas and the other outlying settings report horrific casualties; none of them have saves against radiation.

In the ruined heart of Eberron, something stirs. Somehow, it used the energy of the blast to ascend, to draw upon an external source of rules that could adapt to the unconventional attack...

The era of D20-Gurps begins.

 

[Warmage-in-Onley]

Why don't we spend a few moments to kill 4th edition, for now. How you say? By letting WoTC know that we're happy with 3.5 as it now stands. So far WoTC has kept introducing new books to feed our appetite, more products for 3.5 that entrench us in 3.5. All those Forgotten Realms and Eberron books are going to take some time to fully devour. And, truth be told, we probably don't NEED even 1 more book to enjoy 3.5 for a long, long time. Before 4.0 arrives, WoTC will have to consider what the monetary impact is for supplanting 3.5. In that regard, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" can get us some more time with 3.5 and its never-ending supplements.

 

[kanithardm]

I think its funny that there is 1 4e little subsection thing when you pick your topic

 

[shadow]

Why don't we spend a few moments to kill 4th edition, for now. How you say? By letting WoTC know that we're happy with 3.5 as it now stands. So far WoTC has kept introducing new books to feed our appetite, more products for 3.5 that entrench us in 3.5. All those Forgotten Realms and Eberron books are going to take some time to fully devour. And, truth be told, we probably don't NEED even 1 more book to enjoy 3.5 for a long, long time. Before 4.0 arrives, WoTC will have to consider what the monetary impact is for supplanting 3.5. In that regard, "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" can get us some more time with 3.5 and its never-ending supplements.

There are two problems with your suggestion:

1. WotC does not make marketing decisions based on the ramblings on internet message boards. They make decisions based on marketing research. Therefore they will release 4e when their marketing research indicates that it is a convenient time; the rants and trolls on EnWorld aren't going to change that.

2. I really am NOT happy with 3.5e! I'm one of the few players on the planet who was completely dissapointed with the revision. Although, truthfully, given the direction that D&D is going, I doubt that I'd like 4e that much either (unless they reverted several of the revisions to make it closer to 3.0e)

 

[Ulrick]

All right, fine.

I'M PRODUCING 4th EDITION!!!

WotC and Hasbro aren't going to anytime soon. So therefore I'm going to.

In order to get around a lot of legal crap I'm not going to call it D&D. I'm just going to call it "4th Edition!!!"

And the slogan will be "4th Edition Rules, 1st-3rd Edition Feel, but better."

 

[CharlesRyan]

P.S. more importantly Charles, when's Millenium's End 3.0 coming out...?

Haven't you heard? ME 4.0 is right around the corner!

 

[Storyteller01]

it doesn't die...

THIS... THREAD... JUST... DOESN'T... DIE!!!!!

MAKE IT STOP!!! MAKE IT STOOOPPPPP!!!!!!!!!!

 

[runtime]

Maybe they'll follow the software industry, and call it D&D'07. 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.....

or maybe D&D XP?

 

[buzz]

Every week or so, somebody goes and posts a 4e rumor thread, which goes about like this:
1. ...

You forgot: "9. Rasyr pops in and posts copius arguments to show us that, yes, 4e will be out [current year + 1-2]."

And I've got John Wick and Bruce Baugh telling me the same thing over in a thread on RPG.net. I figure these predictions from various industry folk will continue each year until 4e is actually relaesed so they can say, "See, I told you 4e was going to be out next year."

 

[buzz]

...M&M/Mars Corporation...

Dude, I knew it! Steve Kenson is from Mars!