D&D 4E DnD 4E DOA?

[Aeolius]

I skipped 2e; might as well skip 4e just to establish a pattern.

 

[der_kluge]

I was perfectly happy playing 2e for 10+ years. I'll be happy playing 3e for 10+ years. I'll be excited abotu 4e in 2010, but I'll be hesitant about it before then.

I think Kamikaze Midget is right though. The d20 publishers have already taken d20 further than WoTC is willing to take it. And thank the gods for that! I agree that I think there are some fundamental sacred cows that need to be removed in 4e if I'm going to take it seriously. Otherwise, there are better alternatives.

 

[Desdichado]

If I consider 4e an improvement over 3.5, I'll buy it whenever it comes out, same as 3.5 over 3.0 and 3.0 over basic D&D. If I browse the books and consider them no improvement or even a regression, I won't buy them until I need, say, the PHB to participate in a campaign I'm interested in.

That's exactly why I didn't buy 3.5. If 4e is still largely compatible, and the SRD is online, and the improvements aren't much more thorough than the transition from 3 to 3.5 (which, IMO, is arguably not really an improvement at all, just different) then I won't buy 4e either.

 

[Narfellus]

There's no guarantee that a 4th edition would actually be an improvement. I hate that we're even talking about another edition.

 

[JoeGKushner]

Certainly not waiting for it, but looking forward to it coming out.

I think D&D players get a little spoiled with the amount of material that's published as many other game systems including Runequest, Call of Cthulhu and even esoteric systems like Battlelords of the 23rd century, are generally younger and have gone through more edition changes.

 

[Henry]

But that's not the point. I very much fear that some higher up bozos at Hasbro will press for a 4e very soon and it will be the first version of D&D to outright flop as a viable brand.

Realistically speaking, I doubt it would happen that way. Whoever at Hasbro is in charge of overseeing WotC's bottom line would not dictate exactly what to do; instead, they'd go to WotC's admins and say, "reports show that the bottom line for 2005 has been weak; we haven't been pleased with this branch's performance lately, and something needs to be done to improve it." It's up to WotC if they want to (A) develop and release a new edition, or (B) come up with a supplement product that is catchy and has people wanting more, (C) reduce staff and services to make the company more profitable, etc. In fact, ALL of these have been done in the past 3 years; (C) was done in 2001 and early 2002, and (B) and (A) were done in 2003, since it takes at least a year to properly develop, promote, and launch a new edition that's sellable.

Fortunately, D&D minis and its Races and Environment lines have performed well for them (according to Charles Ryan and others in the know). If WotC releases a new edition, it will still be WotC's call, not Hasbro's. I feel confident in knowing who to blame if WotC releases 4E too early. It won't be the designers - they're doing their job, and doing it well given the constraints of a project. It won't be the artists, layout staff, web developers, freelancers, project managers, etc. - it'll be WotC administration, because the bottom line of how to make a company profitable or not rests with them, and how well they listen to customers and staff.

 

[Narfellus]

I for one am sure that somewhere behind closed doors there are people scribbling notes and brainstorming 4th edition. Not that it will be put into production anytime soon, but people are bound to be thinking, "Well, if we WERE to do it, what would we change?" I for one think it would extremely hard to redefine DnD from it's current state. The game is geared toward miniature wargaming now, which i like and don't like, and i doubt that would change in the future. But there are SO many third party sourcebooks to choose from that DnD is really quite perfect for me. Even if i don't like a particular core rule, there are plenty of others that i do like.

 

[The_Universe]

I'm happy with the current game (and quite pleased to continue purchasing sourcebooks for it).

 

[evildmguy]

A different perspective

I answered that I am ready for 4E and the reason is quite simple.

After playing DND for over 20 years, and almost quitting in '98 with 2E, 3E helped me revive my interest in DND for a few more years. However, I have not been playing DND for almost two years now. I have been "discovering" and playing other Fantasy RPGs (either my own through Alternity or White Wolf's Exalted) and find them to be much better, for me, than DND ever was. Therefore, a new version might get me back into DND.

Now, I am not down on ANY version or what ANY other group is doing. This is all imo.

I have stated, and like Diaglo's own tag line this is probably getting old, I want to see DND move away from the war gaming roots and embrace more role playing than game mechanics. White Wolf has proven that a line can be based on role playing fluff and there is TONS of material to be printed for the game, without adding new crunchy game mechanics.

3E had some great moves to making DND more personal and less like a war game. For example, saving throws. The old 2E categories make no sense on an individual basis. For a like group, they do make sense that the group has an "average" save against spells, a breath weapon or poison at a certain level. However, role playing, for me, is about the characters and the story. And an individual making a saving throw against a broad category makes no sense to me. However, Fortitude, Reflex and Will are GREAT! I love them and think that is going a long way to removing the war gaming roots.

Further, what I would like to see, is game mechanics within DND that give players more control over their characters. Mechanics that allow them to succeed, perhaps without a die roll, if that's what they really want to have happen. I would also like to see rules to help the players move the plot along and perhaps even shape the plot, rather than being swept along with what the DM has planned every time. Some of the best games I ever played were collaborations with my players!

Again, I love role playing and any role playing is usually good role playing. I did play DND recently and it was a lot more fun than I thought it would, or could, be. I merely think that the underlying rules effect role playing and would like to see DND continue to focus more on individual characters and story, rather than more rules for another prestige class or combat rules.

That's just my opinion. I am only correct for me.

Have a good one! Take care!

edg

 

[Staffan]

I for one am sure that somewhere behind closed doors there are people scribbling notes and brainstorming 4th edition.

During the lead-in to 3rd edition, WOTC mentioned that they (well, TSR) had been working on 3rd edition since 2nd edition was released - mostly in the form of having a file where people could put ideas for the future edition and things that troubled them with the current one. I fully expect that WOTC has something similar, only more organized.