D&D 4E Will 4E be backwards compatible?

[haakon1]

The good news

The good news is, with subscription-based D&D, there's no incentive for WOTC to "innovate". They can cut back on rules changes to only what the rules-change-hungry players want, rather than NEEDING to change the rules every 4 years to sell new books to "monetize" us.

I'd be willing to pay $10 for a privilege of WOTC never having another new edition (including 4.0) and not publishing anymore crunch books.

 

[AllisterH]

A new edition, I believe, shouldn't have to come for at least 20 years.

Twenty years?

Are you serious?

 

[caudor]

Were they converted characters? No way. We had only eight classes and a handful of races. More than a few PCs have new races, new classes, or both.
--David Noonan, game designer, Wizards of the Coast.

Ah, an interesting tidbit has been revealed....8 classes. Only what will these 8 classes will be?
Well, that's probably a topic for another thread.

 

[Agamon]

Ah, an interesting tidbit has been revealed....8 classes. I only what these 8 classes will be?
Well, that's probably a topic for another thread.

That's not a final number apparently.

 

[Arashi Ravenblade]

Well as of today I have two players who absolutly refuse to play 4e without backwards compatability.

And ot be honest I love dozens of books and thousands of options. If i want a Troll Fighter/Druid I can. If I want that Blink Dog Fighter gaurding a sacred temple I can. Doesnt sound like I can do that in 4e and to be honest it sounds like they are going to be seriously cramping my creativity. Sure I could make it up ,by why not keep to the same rule set i love already, have no problem with and allows virtually anything?

 

[The_Gunslinger658]

Hi-

As some posters have eluded to, many OG DM's hated DM'ing 3.x just because the prep time invloved was just staggering. So basically, I personally stopped DM'ing 3.x and began playing it more then DM'ing. And in actuality, 3.x is a blast to play as a player due to the many choices you have available to you. So many choices that used to make my head spin as a DM.

Ya, 3.x is popular, but it takes a dedicated DM to work up the adventure and deal with the plithora of rules during each gaming session, my hats off to you guys for your dedication to such a clunky system.

Hopefully, 4E will harken back to those heady days of 1E, simple to play, simple to DM.


Scott

 

[RigaMortus2]

In one of those GenCon interviews with Andy Collins (I think it was him) he actually stated that it would not be backwards compatable. Actually, he said that there wouldn't be any conversion guide from 3.5 to 4E (which esentially means the same thing). He said that while conversion guides are good intentions, rarely do they help converting with 100% accuracy. He said the best thing to do is try 4E out with new characters so you can get the right feel for it right off the bat. (paraphrasing all this).

 

[Mouseferatu]

The good news is, with subscription-based D&D, there's no incentive for WOTC to "innovate". They can cut back on rules changes to only what the rules-change-hungry players want, rather than NEEDING to change the rules every 4 years to sell new books to "monetize" us.

I'd be willing to pay $10 for a privilege of WOTC never having another new edition (including 4.0) and not publishing anymore crunch books.

Uh, the subscription is for the DI only. Tools, additional material, etc.

But the core of D&D is still going to be hardcover books, which you buy, or not, at your leisure.

 

[Shadeydm]

Nice. What's it like on the planet where you live?

1st edition was released in 79, 2e in 89, 3e in 2000, and 4e in 2008.

See a pattern? 8-11 years between editions every single time.

Nothing new or totally shocking about this edition.

It's about that time.

I have a bookshelf with 28 books on it which say your math is faulty v3.5 anyone?

 

[Wraith Form]

"6. C'est La Vie - Robbie Nevil"

Ooooooooh god, oh. Make the pain STOP.