What direction will D&D head in?

[Wormwood]

Considering the 4e DMG provides better advice about roleplaying and story than any previous DMG, I'd say game is trending toward better roleplaying and stories.

 

[Derren]

The direction 4E will be heading will be the same direction every released edition took.
More power to sell splatbooks

If there will be a 4.5 (be honest, the skill challenge system, a major part of 4E, is broken and people will find out more broken stuff over time) it will mostly consist out of clarifications (whats an attack?), more simplifications and a new Skill Challenge system.

5E will either be another 180° turn making D&D more simulationist again or will be even more simplified making D&D combat even more like a miniature game while the non combat component will be completely freeform without any rules support like skills, etc.

 

[Tervin]

In general I think future editions will keep looking at what is happening in popular culture, technology and game design around it, just like they tried to do this time. But that is a boring answer. Lets try to have a bit of fun instead.

I think future D&D will come in the shape of database structured ebooks, where some patches are free, others are included in subscriptions and the rest will have to be bought.

The publishers of these rules will learn to make use of the things that this kind of design opens up, and it will be possible to choose a subset of the rules depending on play style. A DM will be able to create encounters, maps and NPCs on the fly, having set parameters beforehand. I expect some sort of handheld ebook reader to be the standard interface used, unless people can be bothered to bring their laptop.

Support will exist for bluetoothing (or something similar) from the devices/laptops to the home telly, which will then be used as gametable.

When all of this is announced, there will be a huge outcry on the Internet as many people feel that the game designers have cheated them all these years, selling them books, dice, miniatures and tiles - and now making them all obsolete. Others will say that it is now impossible to roleplay, as all the gadgets do is help combat. A third group will demand to get all the software for free, as it doesn't cost anything to let many have it than just a few.

And then there will be those who claim that this is nothing new. This is how they have been gaming for over 30 years, and they are glad that the designers have finally caught up. The possibly biggest group of all will be people who will support the new ideas because they are new, in many cases without even knowing how the new things will work.

 

[xechnao]

If DDI succeeds perhaps this will be the last edition. Perhaps there will be World of DDI where you could transfer your players along various adventures and therre will be cities and other stuff out of combat in the looks of Heroes of M&M where you could trade stuff or whatever.

 

[Turanil]

What do you guys think? Where do you think it's headed?

My guess is that it can only become worse, where my tastes are concerned. My belief is that edition has been mostly driven by the marketing department, everything done in the hope it would sell more product to more people. Maybe they will achieve that goal, seeing all the people who like it. Personally I don't like miniatures games, but others do like them, and it's okay with me. I guess they sell way much better than "traditional" rpgs, especially when you add in all the relevant minis, terrains tiles, etc. Also, I hear that there are similarities between MtG card game and 4e, but since MtG apparently sells very well, it's but an obvious choice to try to cater to that customer base. All in all, next edition will try to be what sells the best and the most. Only small part-time publishers, in the hobby for the love of it, will develop and publish without but considering business results only.

 

[Jackelope King]

My guess is that 5e will be the "Avatar: the Last Airbender" Edition. 6e will be written precisely in the style and play in precisely the style of 1e, but will be written off as worse than Gygax by grognards and just plain weird by new fans. 7e will be released two months later in collectible card-game format, featuring kewl new fighter powers in every pack. By 8e, the Tarasque will be completely unrecognizeable from a dire bunny of similar hyper-level, dragons will poop marshmallows, the primitive concept of "dice" will be replaced by "Feats of Strength", and beholders will have six eyes. Long-times fans will lynch the horrible artist who ruined D&D by drawing a beholder with six eyes, and there will be much rejoicing. 9e will feature the first use of a playable race of talking toothbrushes.

...

In all seriousness, D&D will continue to be what it's always been: a game dedicated to killing things and taking their stuff with pseudo-medieval trappings and races which are basically humans with funny-shaped ears. The methods will change. They'll continue to improve in the eyes of some fans, or they'll destroy everything other fans hold dear. Such is the nature of D&D.

 

[renatoram]

I think 5e will be a weird Forge-y strongly player empowering system with minis that a lot of people will say isn't a roleplaying game.

Well, apart for the "strong player empowerment", you've just described 4E and the reaction of a lot of people. 4E has been strongly influenced by The Forge and the new wave of designers.

Heinsoo plays Agon with the author (and IMO it shows in small bits of the rules).

Mearls loves The Shadow of Yesterday and Spirit of the Century.

At the last GenCon the 4E dev team bought tons of games at the forge booth, and several of them were held in wotc offices as examples of "that's how a good, modern game is done".

But most of all, the DMG is simply full of play advice coming from that direction, and the design is for the first time in 20 years a focused gamist oriented game.

So, yeah, no need to wait for the next edition.

 

[NewJeffCT]

My group seems a bit reluctant to try 4e, and have suggested waiting for 4.5 or 5e to see if it heads back in a "more roleplaying, less combat focused" direction. Personally, I don't think it will... I think it will continue on the path it's on, with a heavy focus on combat powers and relatively few utility powers and rituals in future editions, though inevitably supplements will expand the number of rituals (and possibly introduce some classes with more Utility powers than Attack powers).

What do you guys think? Where do you think it's headed? Any experience in using 4e with a group heavily focused on roleplaying and social encounters, with maybe 1 combat every 3-4 game sessions, and how well did it work?

I think role-playing is solely the domain of the DM and the players themselves. If the group wants a lot of role-playing and intense, plot-driven adventure involving politics and court intrigue, you can do that regardless of edition. I've actually found some of the best in-game role-playing occuring since the advent of 3E, while it was very rare when I played 1E, and limited in 2E...

 

[The Little Raven]

Considering the 4e DMG provides better advice about roleplaying and story than any previous DMG, I'd say game is trending toward better roleplaying and stories.

And the PHB contains a greater treatment of roleplaying than any previous edition's PHB (and most other game's sections on roleplaying), before it jumps into any of the game mechanics at all.

People don't seem to understand that tactically interesting combat system and roleplaying are not mutually exclusive.

 

[ThirdWizard]

Why don't you start a new thread to discuss that, instead of highjacking this one?

Well, the OP's premise is totally flawed. I mean, I could find more information and guidance for roleplaying in 4e Core than I did in 3e/3.5 Core.