D&D 5th Edition!!! (WITH POLL!!!)

[Redbadge]

Since we're talking business, I'd like to say that unless WotC's marketing and PR skills drastically improve, no matter what 5th edition looks like it won't repair the fractured player base.

Honestly, I think if Wizards had released the mechanics and intent of the 4e system, but had presented it and promoted it from my perspective, there would never had been a fracture in the first place (humble, I know). I've convinced more than one die-hard grognard (and I use that term with the utmost of respect and not an ounce of pejorative-ness) of the awesomeness of D&D 4th edition.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

I think it is pretty clear what the playerbase fractures with each new edition the fact there there is a 1e community out there is proof of that.
What is not clear is how relevent that is.
If the total active player base is static or declining over the last 40 odd years then the fracturing is relevant because at some point the people willing to go with the new edition will become too low to support it.
If the player base is increasing over time then the fracturing may be less of a problem.
Of course even with a declining player base and severe fractuing of said base. Wizards could perhaps release a new version and still make a profit.
The trouble is we do not know.
However I still think we will not see a 5th edition until Wizards online strategey is in place. I think right now we are looking at a company in transition (and a pretty painful one at that, but perhaps the worst is over). I have no real idea on where the end point is, I have some opinions of course but that is just reading the tea leaves like everone else on the outside.
I think the publishing industry is going to be hit by change over the next 5 years or so as big as the change from vinyl to CDs and CD to mp3s.
This will impact on WoTC and it would be very smart of them to have a strategy in place for when the tipping point comes.
By the way I do not see books completely disappearing, I do see the paperback market being most affected. People who buy hardbacks will continue to do so.

 

[AeroDm]

Like most people, I want 5e to take what I think is the best of previous editions and bring it forward. So this is basically a list of what I think is the best...

• 4e math. Really good game design in stable math that steadily progresses throughout the levels but not so rapidly that low level cannot interact with higher level.
• 3e multiclassing. In 4e it feels like you pick from a lot of neat options. In 3e it felt like you built from a lot of neat options.
• 2e speed of play. Less options leads to quicker decisions and the need for more creativity. I miss that, but I am reluctant to give up my options and I didn't enjoy the "mother may I" aspect of earlier editions. I think a middle ground can be found by having a few really dynamic options that cover a lot of situations.

This is sort of the design ethos I've been using to design my homebrew (see sig) and I think bullets one and two are pretty well represented. Still plugging away on bullet three...

 

[havard]

I've played every edition of Dungeons and Dragons and many other RPGs besides. D&D 4e has provided me better experiences and more fun, both as player and GM, than any other system by far. If preferring the 4e design makes me a "kid", as described in the post above, I'll wear that title proudly.

I think this was directed at my post. If so, I appologize. I did not mean that 4E is just for kids, although I can see that my post can be read that way.

My point was that I want the next edition to be aimed at a broader audience.

-Havard

 

[TwoSix]

Whether 5e is 4e+ or Pathfinder+ or OD&D+, I hope Wizards finds a model that is a rousing success at appealing to the younger generation, to the point where I see D&D commercials every time I watch the Hub with my kids. No matter the system, I want D&D to be popular. Because D&D is the flagship for TTRPGs, and I think that not only are new people good for the hobby, but I strongly maintain that the hobby is good for people.

 

[Redbadge]

I think this was directed at my post. If so, I appologize. I did not mean that 4E is just for kids, although I can see that my post can be read that way.

My point was that I want the next edition to be aimed at a broader audience.

-Havard

I XP'd you above, but I though I'd reply anyways.

I don't want to put words into your mouth, but is it possible you could mean: "I would like the next edition to appeal to both you and me, but if that is not possible, I would rather it be aimed at me rather than you."

Like I said to RCK, I understand and respect your wishes, and you'll probably be getting what you want. I would say that this quote reflects my desires as well.

 

[M.L. Martin]

Mike Mearls taked about unity among the fans. I would like to see WotC make the first step here. Make an edition that could appeal to long time D&D fans as well as the kids.

IMO, unity is more of a pipe dream than anything else. This hobby has never been 'unified' beyond the broadest strokes. Remember all those house rules and variants the game was famous for in the 80s and 90s? I think the only reason 3E looked as 'unified' as it did was due to 2E burning out, WotC's marketing blitzkrieg, and flooding the market with compatible product quickly enough. Besides, WotC's policy for two editions now has been 'burn the backstock and start all over.'

I can think of things I'd like 5E to be that aren't beyond the realm of possibility--a streamlined version of 4E with the grid de-emphasized and elements of SWSE folded in--but I'm convinced that by and large, I'm not part of the target market for D&D, and haven't been since 2000 or so. Thus, all I really want at this point is the backstock made available in electronic format somehow. I'll pay attention to 5E when it comes out, but I don't have any expectation that it's going to be My Perfect D&D.

 

[Kaodi]

Now, there is nothing wrong with trying to accomodate other design goals, but in specific the design goal accomodated is the ability to use your cool (fun!) powers in each combat, and to have the monsters use theirs. Why? Well, I'd hazard a guess it's because D&D is about cool combats, and is not about traipsing off to Faerieland to talk to fey creatures.

If I may say so, I think you are have this wrong. D&D is neither about cool combats nor is it about traipising off to Faerieland to talk to fey creatures. D&D is about cool combats before, during, and after traipising off to Faerieland to talk to fey creatures.

 

[slwoyach]

One thing I would definitely like to see is a bunch of optional rules like 2e. For those of you who have forgotten how customizable 2e is, reread the PHB and count how many optional rules there are.

 

[nagol_puppet]

If I may say so, I think you are have this wrong. D&D is neither about cool combats nor is it about traipising off to Faerieland to talk to fey creatures. D&D is about cool combats before, during, and after traipising off to Faerieland to talk to fey creatures.

RC's line about trapising refers to James Wyatt's (in)famous line from Races and Classes (emphasis mine).

WHY FEY AND THE FEYWILD?
Fey have always been a part of D&D that has both proponents and detractors. The detractors have some good points, in my estimation---cute pixies and leprechauns aren't fun opponents, and good-aligned creatures are hard to use in combat-heavy adventures. Yes, people recognize pixies from fairy tales. But D&D is emphatically not the game of fairy-tale fantasy. D&D is a game about slaying horrible monsters, not a game about traipsing off through fairy rings and interacting with the little people.