D&D 4E 4e-when do you want it?

[PenguinX]

We live in a capatalist society, and we benefit from our ability to buy the things we want. Inevitably we also suffer through not being able to buy all we want. 4th Edition will come. When it does being the fanboy I am I will join the queue. I love that feeling of gaming with a sparkly new system without a plethora of options, allowing my overstretched imagination to plough the fields most furrowed. Three years later my shelf creaks with enhancements that I love to love yet fail to use. I always knew I should become a recluse with only 1st edition to sustain me.

 

[Kobold Avenger]

I honestly think they should go with something like an edition every decade, as 1e and 2e sort of came out that way.

 

[DragonLancer]

I honestly think they should go with something like an edition every decade, as 1e and 2e sort of came out that way.

Exactly.

 

[Astraldrake]

They're gonna do it anyway

As some of the designers have even admitted, Monte Cook in particular, IIRC, 3E was almost obsolete before it went to print. 3.5 was already well in the works within about a year. 4 is probably sitting on the shelf for awaiting mass production sometime shortly after Eberron comes and goes.

Frankly, I'd love to see them go a good 5-10 years before a new edition. Unfortunately, we are talking about HASBRO here. D&D is not doing Pokemonish numbers, and it has got to be getting increasingly more difficult for the RPG end of Wizards to justify their own existence. Bits of what used to be T$R are flaking off of the company on a regular basis- i.e. Paizo with Dragon, the RPGA's (now-defunct) Living City to Organized Play, etc.

The bottom line is, 4th is inevitable unless D&D changes owners, and then who knows what will actually happen to the game. This is mostly because the only way they apparently think they can sell more Core rulebooks is by constantly releasing NEW core rulebooks. Personally, I think they should come up with new game worlds and modules to support their current product and work harder on bringing fresh players into the hobby, but that is another story all together. And there's always the fear of that new "eating habits of the feral half-celestial formian clockwork" sourcebook.

 

[Ember_Ion]

Honestly, there is a problem-- 2 conflicting things:

1. D&D needs to make money to thrive.
2. D&D doesn't require many editions or books to play a good game.

Many players will avoid new editions, or at the very least, be reluctant to buy them, because the game really is fine the way it is. Heck 1st ed was pretty much fine the way it was: a few house rules and you got one heck of a game. With 3rd ed (and now 3.5) its pretty much as good as it gonna get.
Sure you can keep tweaking the rules...but really this isn't playstation and x-box we are talking about...the technology isn't gonna get much better--its a book! We are not discovering new science to make role playing better, nor are we discovering new ways to print books or pictures. Really, until we somehow update the technology of roleplaying, there really is no need for new editions. Bottom line, D&D had three editions (i dont count the revised 3.5, where they just tweaked it). The first, technology and art in game material was in its infancy: black and white crappy art, crappy binding, boring layouts, and so on. 2nd ed was slightly better. 3e showed us the best: good art, good layouts, good text, good books. But really, where do we go from here? Until we discover something new, or at least enter a new generation with even higher expectations, there is no point to releasing 4e...except to make money.

But will it do that?

ok 3.5 worked. Sort of. I bought it. It was indeed better than 3rd ed. It was mostly compatible with 3e. Did everyone buy it? No. Am I as interested in it as I was when 3e came out? No. Heck, I rarely buy new books anymore because a lot of it is just the same old stuff "updated" to 3.5. Gamers are fairly intelligent people...most dont require another book to aid in translating from a half edition below. Heck I still translate my 1st ed stuff to 3.5. I have probably around 1000 lbs of D&D books (no exagerating). I got rid of the stuff I would never use again. 1/4 of my collection is 1st ed, 1/2 is 2nd ed, and 1/4 is 3rd ed. I have 5 books that are 3.5. If fourth ed came out, I might buy a couple...maybe, if they had something my other books did not...not very likely.

In sumary of this ramble, most D&D gamers really don't want a new edition...ever (or until it will actually make a difference...holographic interactive graphics perhaps?). Wizards/hasbro will give us one anyway...probably sooner than later. Some of us will buy it. It will prolly be better than 3.5. It wont sell well, buit we'll still see the equivalent of "the rangers hanbook" and "Gnomes & Halflings" come out anyway. I dont really know where it will head, but it looks dismal.

Personally, I think perhaps D&D has met its final incarnation for now. Its not magic the gathering, pokemon...its more of a chess or monopoly. Sure you can put out new editions...but you not really adding anything thrilling anymore. I would like to see it left alone for another decade or so.

I really do ramble on and on.

Ember

 

[MerricB]

By identifying the different stages of gamers, WotC has gone past the merely "we only sell Core Books" philosophy.

Stage I: Beginner (http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=80863)
Stage II: Player (http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=80868)
Stage III: Hardcore Enthusiast (http://www.enworld.org/forums/showthread.php?t=80862)

With the Beginner, you want to attract people to the game.

With the Player, you want to support their game. Not with new rules, but with things to help them play the game with. Character Sheets, DM screens, Dice, Miniatures. Maps. Tournaments. Dungeon.

The continuing stream of money coming from selling Miniatures to support RPG players is actually quite significant.

With the Hardcore Enthusiast, you have people who are constantly expanding the rules and environment of the game. Thus, campaign settings, supplements like Complete Warrior and Unearthed Arcana and suchlike.

Cheers!

 

[MerricB]

You know, the Miniatures Game probably makes it very unlikely the future form of D&D will change that much, because it will make the miniatures game obsolete - and that's rather significant.

Cheers!

 

[cybertalus]

What Sir Whiskers said.

3E was a good edition not just because it was new, but because it got people excited about the game again and got a lot of people who hadn't played in a while to check the game out again.

That's what a 4th Edition should do.

And yes, the company who produces D&D needs and deserves to make money from it. HOWEVER, if they do that in a way which makes their customers feel like they're being taken advantage of then they're not doing themselves any favors in the long term. When a new edition comes out and people buy it, both the customer and the company should feel like they've come out ahead in the deal. Based on my experience and the comments I've seen, that was true of 3E, and when 4E comes out it should be true of it as well.

 

[qstor]

I think its a shame at they're planning it at this stage. I voted for 2010. Let's give 3.5 some time to "grow"

Mike

 

[MerricB]

There has never been a stage in D&D's history when development wasn't occuring for the next edition.

Of course, those designs weren't always used... but new stuff has always been added to the game which then influences the next edition.

Want to see the face of the new edition? Have a look in the latest books out and see what they do with the game.

Cheers!