Hopes for D&D 5.0

[PetterTomBos]

Just for fun, as the edition wars rage between 3.5/PF/4e;

What do you hope/dream/want/wish for/miracle for/w.e. for the future? How could WOTC make something we wouldn't want to disintegrate them for ? ;)

[DeltaEmil]

They would publish it for free, or even better, they give us money each time we play D&D. Aside from that, the important thing is that they regularly update and publish erratas.

[Talyn]

I'd love for them to keep the 4E paradigm of skill and combat progression, but find a way to bring back true Vancian magic into the system.

No tieflings, no gnomes.

[panaikhan]

I'd want D&D5E to bring back the round circle.
It's the most infuriating aspect of 4E to me.

[Kerrin]

I would like the option to be able to purchase all of the materials as indexed and searchable PDFs.

I like a good hardcover to cuddle up with and read on the couch but I much prefer PDFs for at the gaming table, so I'd buy a mix of both formats.

[dsmiles]

Personally, I wish for a return to the days of AD&D 1e. I honestly don't feel as if it was that complicated. I mean, if a 7 year old can learn it, why can't everyone else?

[hamlet]

I want them to re-release AD&D and BECMI.

If wishes were horses . . .

[Domigorgon]

My ideal D&D 5.0 would be downloadable and easily searchable on the web, in the form of an SRD. The designers would receive feedback and polish the rules on an annual basis (like what we had with 3.0 to 3.5 to Pathfinder). Software programs (like DM-Djinni and E-Tools) would be available to help DMs organize and prepare their sessions better.

[Longcat]

Hmm, let's see:

Classes: Every class should have at-will and encounter powers, kinda like 4e or SAGA, but they should remain unique and flavorful. Get rid of Daily abilities altogether.

Can't think of anything else of the top of my head now.

[Comet]

Planescape, Ravenloft, Dark Sun and Spelljammer.
All those, neatly in a row on my shelf with the new edition core rulebooks. Everything I'd need.

[Kyrthain]

Hmm, let's see:

Classes: Every class should have at-will and encounter powers, kinda like 4e or SAGA, but they should remain unique and flavorful. Get rid of Daily abilities altogether.

Can't think of anything else of the top of my head now.

Definitely agree that all classes should be able to enter each encounter with at least 90% of their shiny abilities ready to go. That's the big reason I love playing TOB characters in 3.5

[LordBlades]

Bring back the freedom and variety of pre 4th edition, while still having a reasonably balanced system.

[The Rose Dragon]

For starters, Wizards would no longer be associated with the name.

Second, Hasbro would also no longer be associated with the name.

Third, it would use Unisystem as a base.

[Thialfi]

Since my group never switched away from 2e, I will echo Dsmiles sentiments. It would be nice to have some new published 2e material. Specifically in the Planescape and Dark Sun settings. It is tough coming up with new stuff on your own after 30 years of playing.

[Yora]

I want them to re-release AD&D and BECMI.

If wishes were horses . . .

I'm not a fan of classes and character levels, so it's unlikely I'll ever return to run D&D. But what could bring me back were a continuation of AD&D, returning back to a point before d20 and start again from there.
3rd Ed. seemed very cool with the customization allowed by feats and I greatly welcomed the streamlining of making almost every roll a "d20 + bonuses - penalties" roll.
But I no longer want to bother with "character builds". Having the ability customize your character is nice, but I don't want to have to bother with long lists of available options to unlock certain actions my character can take, and I don't want my players to spend too much attention to it as well. I want them to think of their characters personalty and the situation they are in, not thinking about numbers and feats.
What I would like is a D&D that has rules to resolve if a certain path of action results in success or failure for the PCs. I don't want a game that is about the rules.
But since all d20 systems are about building character stats, it's not something I see released under the D&D label.

[true_shinken]

For starters, Wizards would no longer be associated with the name.

Second, Hasbro would also no longer be associated with the name.

Third, it would use Unisystem as a base.

OK, we get it, you dislike D&D.

[Tengu_temp]

It should combine the modularity of 3.5 with the balance of 4e.

Every character should be fun to play and possess many abilities they can use in combat. Every character should gain new options as they level up, not just get better at what they already were able to do.

Combat should be fast and exciting. Dying should be hard, but getting knocked out or otherwise unable to fight should be easy if you act stupidly.

Every stat should be useful for every, or almost every, character. Choices made for style (like a lightly-armored warrior) should be viable.

No randomization during character creation, like rolling for stats or HP. No alignment system.

No Vancian magic, no daily powers. Characters should be able to fight as much before resting as the players and DM want them to, instead of artificial limitations of "if you fight too much, the wizard runs out of spells and becomes useless" and "there have to be several unimportant encounters before the boss, or else everyone tramples him with spamming daily powers".

[The Rose Dragon]

It should combine the modularity of 3.5 with the balance of 4e.

Every character should be fun to play and possess many abilities they can use in combat. Every character should gain new options as they level up, not just get better at what they already were able to do.

Combat should be fast and exciting. Dying should be hard, but getting knocked out or otherwise unable to fight should be easy if you act stupidly.

Every stat should be useful for every, or almost every, character. Choices made for style (like a lightly-armored warrior) should be viable.

No randomization during character creation, like rolling for stats or HP. No alignment system.

No Vancian magic, no daily powers. Characters should be able to fight as much before resting as the players and DM want them to, instead of artificial limitations of "if you fight too much, the wizard runs out of spells and becomes useless" and "there have to be several unimportant encounters before the boss, or else everyone tramples him with spamming daily powers".

So, you want something like M&M, but balanced without GM intervention?

[Hammerhead]

No character building beyond rolling attributes, deciding on a class.

Race doesn't matter unless you're a member of the race's class.

No tables or complex rules that need to be looked up during play.

Magic involves extended rituals and inscrutable effects. Players might cast a spell from a dark book of ancient lore, but it won't be easy, and its effects will be lot-relevant.

Every book that's not the Player's Handbook (singular) is a monster manual or setting guide. Every monster gets a page of text.

None of the "Challenge Rating" or "Monster Level" or "Wealth by Level" nonsense.

Planescape, Ravenloft, Al-Qadim and Dark Sun support.

[Tengu_temp]

So, you want something like M&M, but balanced without GM intervention?

More limited in scope. M&M is a universal system, I want DND to focus on heroic fantasy, but do it well. And I guess I'm fine with a class and level system, in this case.

[BadJuJu]

I like the ToB, Totemist, Factotum stuff. Binds, manuvers, and ispiration points are cool. And Binders. Should try and use those as the base of their system. Druid should lose wildshape or spell casting.

[Kaww]

No hopes whatsoever, I will, probably, continue playing 3.5 or PF.
Maybe if they make a system that can make anything and if they pay me to learn it I might play it.

[Orzel]

Something similar to Signature Moves. I want my character to be special when I want him to be special with nerfing. If I make a wizard who chucks fireball the size of houses, I don't and any other wizards casting my spell.

Make every ability stat matter for every character. I don't care how they do it. Make a reason for a base fighter to have high Charisma or a base wizrd to have high Strength.

[Reverent-One]

None of the Challenge Rating or Monster Level or Wealth by Level nonsense.

Why is it better for a DM to have to eyeball it and guess how powerful a given encounter is?

[Hammerhead]

Why is it better for a DM to have to eyeball it and guess how powerful a given encounter is?

CR creates expectations for a proper level of monster to encounter. In AD&D, when players ran into a dragon at level 2, they ran, hid, solved problems and dealt with it. In 3e when level 2 characters run into a dragon, their players whine (and are somewhat supported by the DMG in doing so).

[Psyren]

OK, we get it, you dislike D&D.

^

On topic: I would love it if they integrated more of an electronic focus. Make a social media version (e.g. facebook) - one with more control, unlike the Progress Quest-ish Tiny Adventures. The brand is strong enough - and normal facebook games are boring enough - that they could tap a large audience by putting a nice flash-based dungeon romp with full DDI integration up on the webs.

Make a couple of pre-mades to get fledgling DMs' feet wet, then give them the tools to create their own.

[Bibliomancer]

Why is it better for a DM to have to eyeball it and guess how powerful a given encounter is?

One of the primary advantages to doing that is the DM bases encounters on the players' power level, not level. Thus, there is less of an incentive for the group as a whole to optimize because the world will adjust to them without experience rewards becoming significantly larger. This also would make it easier for the players to agree on a general optimization level, and prevent the DM from pitting them against over (dragons) or under (anything without a range attack) powered monsters.

I haven't tried this myself specifically, but when setting up encounters against a mix of foes I don't bother calculating EL, especially since it reads way too high for low level opponents anyways.

[Sipex]

I really only wish that it's completely different than every other version of D&D so that the edition wars will be interesting to watch.

[Lurkmoar]

I really only wish that it's completely different than every other version of D&D so that the edition wars will be interesting to watch.

That's unspeakable. I like it.

As for myself... something I won't have to shell out more then a hundred bucks to get a game running and annual updates and rules fixes would be nice. I'm not a picky man.

[Kurald Galain]

I hope that all powers, feats, and items would only be available in randomized packs of cards. You can buy a starter pack that gives you a level-1 character, and then you can buy booster packs for your class or power source that give you common options for heroic tier, uncommons for paragon tier, and rares for epic tier. Since D&D is a team game, you can swap these with your party members so that if your wizard ends up with the Sword of Kas, he can trade it for a Meteor Swarm instead.