Speak Your Mind in the Next Version of Dungeons & Dragons

[Folio]

I hope they'll do alright. They've improved 4th Edition with the Essentials line, giving each class more a unique feel of play instead of a set of powers.

4th Edition, in my opinion, is an edition for spoiled players. Even though I started it and am DMing for it myself, everything is done so that players are satisfied even though they command more and more loot and weapons to dick around with.

It's also very combat heavy, meaning that they need to plow through hundreds of battles to get to where they want to be. It's not SO bad, but to speak with an Arch Lich, you really need a higher level.

And even with that they find it really hard. I don't want to hand out magic weapons like candy at Halloween. They'll just become pompous, greedy and overconfident. But without that or min/maxing, they're hopeless.

I just hope they can create classes that are individually unique, create a way for players to need less powerfull magic items. (or more rare, powerful items) And if they really need to put the players in front of a gridline for battles. Give us miniatures without the randomness factor of Magic: The Gathering cards.

More about this here:
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Article.aspx?x=dnd/4ll/20120109

 

[yaballa]

NOOOOOOOOOO, NOT ANOTHER EDITION!

I wish they would stop "creating something new" and focus on supporting older editions. I would buy a 2E Planescape book if it came out tomorrow. My friends would do the same for 3E books. In the end, we would play whatever suits us. Everytime they release a new edition they alienate a lot of their old customers. That is something they don't get.

 

[craddoke]

What they intend to do is a big ask. I can't imagine it actually working, providing the best and greatest of all editions, and keeping everything everyone liked about them just seem entirely impossible.

Here's how they could do it: A radically simplified "core-set" of rules that only has the bare minimum needed to play; these have been largely static through all editions (excluding some seismic shifts like the abandoning of Thac0 from 2nd to 3rd edition). Then sell a series of "modules" that stack the unique rule-sets of different editions onto that core-set.

One group could do core-set plus 3rd edition skills, another could do core-set with 4th edition combat, etc. Just think of the money-making potential if they split up these modules into really small units: 1st edition rogues, 2nd edition mages, 3rd edition sorcerers - each with their own (not necessarily print) product! It would be a more reliable revenue stream then miniatures.

 

[Alex_P]

Everytime they release a new edition they alienate a lot of their old customers. That is something they don't get.

They do get it. But supplements -- particularly ever-narrowing supplements -- are a poor income stream. And, eventually, a lot of people do get tired of a particular ruleset and start looking for something new (just not "too new").

-- Alex

 

[ZombieGenesis]

Didn't 4e only come out not long ago? I remember the Penny Arcade podcasts from before it was even released... maybe that's just me being old, I'm not sure.
I honestly don't mind the changes but that's mostly because I never actually bought any manuals or anything for 4e so I don't feel very ripped off (I'm sure a lot of people will be feeling this way though)

 

[Croaker42]

I shall be optimistic and happily flip through a few scans before I sink money into this. I honestly hope they can make a solid set of conversions and overhead rules.

 

[Dirty Apple]

I've been thinking this for awhile. Why couldn't a glorified chat room with shared interface and GUI screens work. Everyone uses a number generator for the dice rolls, a board application if you need it, and maybe even some static images to choose from for fluff heads

http://www.rptools.net/index.php?page=maptool

WOTC are also already making their own one. http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/26286405/The_Dungeons__Dragons_Virtual_Table

And they do work very well. I have a regular once a week internet game with a group from all over the UK. We've been playing for 3+ years Add in Skype for voice chat and it is great.

See, I knew there had to be something like this out there. I've done a few basic google searches, but nothing ever really turned up. I can't help but think that an online setup would allow the game to reach people that are having trouble finding a gaming group in their local area. Also, just because there may be a group in your area doesn't mean you can join. I'll have to look into this. Thanks.

 

[Xennon]

I've been thinking this for awhile. Why couldn't a glorified chat room with shared interface and GUI screens work. Everyone uses a number generator for the dice rolls, a board application if you need it, and maybe even some static images to choose from for fluff heads

http://www.rptools.net/index.php?page=maptool

WOTC are also already making their own one. http://community.wizards.com/go/thread/view/75882/26286405/The_Dungeons__Dragons_Virtual_Table

And they do work very well. I have a regular once a week internet game with a group from all over the UK. We've been playing for 3+ years Add in Skype for voice chat and it is great.

See, I knew there had to be something like this out there. I've done a few basic google searches, but nothing ever really turned up. I can't help but think that an online setup would allow the game to reach people that are having trouble finding a gaming group in their local area. Also, just because there may be a group in your area doesn't mean you can join. I'll have to look into this. Thanks.

Indeed There are also communities for finding games, such as http://www.penandpapergames.com/forums/forumdisplay.php/17-Find-or-Advertise-Games-in-Your-Area where you can sign up, put your details, location, requirements etc in and then you appear in a directory of people looking for players/dm's for both face 2 face and online games

 

[Something Amyss]

I wouldnt worry too much, another Star Wars RPG is in the works by an unnamed company

In other A Call to Arms news, I can now report that we did not manage to grab the licence we were chasing for the game - Star Wars. We weren't really expecting this one to happen (we made a sideways reference to it in the State of the Mongoose), but we got much further along than we thought we would.

The interesting thing is why our negotiations ended - another company beat us to it. We are not going to reveal who this is (you have heard of them), as that is their fanfare to blow. However, I am sure many will find it intriguing that the licence covers card games, RPGs, and... miniatures. Now, the company concerned is not known for its miniatures lines, which will probably put paid to my dream of 28mm multipart/multipose Stormtroopers.

SO hopefully soon someone will reveal their new Star Wars RPG and card games!

I was never a fan of Saga (And hated 4e) I always preferred d20 revised

Yay!

I really preferred Saga in most respects, but I enjoyed Revised. I cut my teeth in gaming on the WEG version, so I always compare the new editions to it anyway.

 

[General Vengeance]

Played D&D since the Chainmail magazines days. Purchased First, Second and even the Third D&D editions. However when the fourth edition, that was enough. Our group finally said "fuck it". We just made our own rules if we found something we didn't care for. As we had done all along in the first and second editions as well.

It's not about the books, it's about the friends you make and can't believe your still playing with, surprised by the years that pass.

If by tweeking a few things here and there, your hoping entice gamers to buy the entire sets of manuals again and again, your dreaming, remember who your dealing with. The game is alive and fine. The sales are low because aside from the figs we need, we simply don't need new manuals everytime your guys are have a cash crisis. We play D&D, pretty sure we can figure out something on our own.

 

[Something Amyss]

Nothing ever quite lived up to the WEG version, I just couldnt get my friends to read the "old rulebooks" ~.~

Same for basically every gaming group since the D20 system came out. In fact, I can rarely get my friends to look at anything not D20.

Lousy philistines...

*shakes fist*

BARROWMAN!

 

[Something Amyss]

If by tweeking a few things here and there, your hoping entice gamers to buy the entire sets of manuals again and again, your dreaming, remember who your dealing with.

The same people who bought 3rd, 3.5, 4, and Essentials?

That's like telling Activision that if they think people are going to keep buying Call of Duty games they're dreaming.

 

[BaronIveagh]

The sad part is that the real reason behind this is that WotC and it's foul lord, Hasbro, are out of ideas, and now they want yours. For free. To sell back to you at a profit.

For some reason..

"Tyler sold his soap to department stores at $20 a bar. Lord knows what they charged. It was beautiful. We were selling rich women their own fat asses back to them. " - Fight Club.

I hope the whole thing falls down and Hasbro shuts down WotC and gives up on the brand. Seriously, I've spent years having to deal with how they defiled D&D.


Let it burn, it's more merciful this way.

 

[Alex_P]

The sad part is that the real reason behind this is that WotC and it's foul lord, Hasbro, are out of ideas, and now they want yours. For free. To sell back to you at a profit.

Oh, please.

The thing about the "open playtest" is that playtesting is what WotC does after these two others stages called "design" and "development". An open playtest is mainly a way to generate buzz and tighten up presentation. It's certainly not the right vehicle for actually collecting fundamental design decisions.

-- Alex

 

[bdcjacko]

Great, just great, you actually got me playing D&D. Thanks a lot Greg.