[Rumors?] D&D 4th edition fans will become the new grognards

[DeltaEmil]

According to a person (Margaret Weis) who heard it from a friend who is friend to some guy (Monte Cook), a new D&D version is being worked on.

Let the wailings of doom and despair begin.

Ah, and here's the link where this rumor is from:

http://www.dragonlanceforums.com/for...745#post491745

[NecroRebel]

4e is 4 1/2 years old now. That would make 4e 5 years old when the new system comes out if it comes out in 6 months; a reasonable amount of time from a business standpoint. The rumors seem plausible, especially since there doesn't seem to be many new 4e products planned in the near future.

I'm hoping "wailings of doom and despair" aren't going to occur due to this, however, as I like to think that people aren't so... zealous about 4e as the 3.x people were about "their" game. While it's reasonably unlikely that I'll switch to a new system, I don't really care that a new one is likely to come out. I might check the books out, though. Just seeing what the system's like costs nothing, after all.

[Zaq]

4e is 4 1/2 years old now. That would make 4e 5 years old when the new system comes out if it comes out in 6 months; a reasonable amount of time from a business standpoint.

My copy of the PHB1 says "first printing: June 2008." It's now October 2011, which is a little less than 3 1/2 years later. Whether this changes your point is something only you can know.

Anyway, regarding the rumors themselves . . . eh, they're rumors. No sense getting worked up about 'em. No edition is eternal, after all. I don't think it makes a lot of sense for them to be releasing 5e anytime soon, but eh, what do I know?

[deuxhero]

My main concern is what effect this would have on cRPGs. I don't think we got a 4e one. Wonder if 5e would even be suited for one.

[Dumbledore lives]

This seems like a definite possibility, assuming a 2 year development like the person in the other thread said, and about half a year already spent making it, it would fit in with the 5 year life of 3.5, though it did have 3 years of 3.0 before it.

[Killer Angel]

My copy of the PHB1 says "first printing: June 2008." It's now October 2011, which is a little less than 3 1/2 years later. Whether this changes your point is something only you can know.

The amount of time needed for a new edition, probably depends a lot on the sell percentages. I don't know if 4e is up to the initial predictions of WotC, but that can be a decisive factor.

[NecroRebel]

My copy of the PHB1 says "first printing: June 2008." It's now October 2011, which is a little less than 3 1/2 years later. Whether this changes your point is something only you can know.

...Right. I'm bad at math, apparently I checked my own PHB1's publication date and found the same number, but mistakenly thought that was 4 years ago, not 3.

Doesn't really change my PoV, though, as, reading the linked thread, it seems that editions have a longer development period than I thought and the whispers haven't been going on that long. One person suggests that there's still probably ~1 1/2 years until the release, so, again, 5 year life-cycle on 4e.

[KillianHawkeye]

My main concern is what effect this would have on cRPGs. I don't think we got a 4e one. Wonder if 5e would even be suited for one.

Well you might be interested in these.........

Dungeons & Dragons - Daggerdale (2010, action RPG)
Dungeons & Dragons - Neverwinter (still in development, MMO)

[WitchSlayer]

I doubt it, especially considering Monte Cook already published an article about perception in 4e and how to adjust it a little.

[Killer Angel]

Do you have a link? it would be interesting to read Kook's PoV.

[Kurald Galain]

Well, it's certainly possible. MtG has traditionally had a new edition every two years, and has moved on to a yearly edition in 2010. MtG is bringing in much more money than D&D is, so it would make sense for Hasbro to use similar strategies for D&D.

Also, it's a matter of design principles. 4E has online tools, but is at its core a pen-and-paper game. It seems there's a big market for phone apps, facebook apps, and other online tools, so it would make sense to make a game fundamentally aimed at that. Of course, it's a pretty crowded market too.

That said, this is hardly the first rumor for 5E, and we have no way of knowing whether any of that is true. WOTC will, of course, deny everything until they have a product ready to sell. But it's fun to speculate, and it's certainly plausible that 5E will appear at some point.

[WitchSlayer]

http://wizards.com/dnd/Article.aspx?x=dnd/4ll/20110927

It's actually not a bad idea, although it is a bit similar to passive perception.

[Yora]

The problem with 4th Edition is, that a lot of people seem to think that WotC does not have any idea where to go with it. Essentials was one attempt to turn things around, but the results were very mixed as well. And since then they seem to have played it very safe with a few splatbooks and that's it.

[tcrudisi]

Yay! I do hope the rumors are true.

And I'm a huge 4e fan. It is easily my two favorite RPG (with only one other RPG even coming close). But, 4e will continue to be on my shelf long after 5e comes out. (3.5 is still on my shelf; I just refuse to play it since my last bad experience with it.)

I can only hope that WotC makes the same jump that they have demonstrated with previous editions. Each edition has became exponentially better than the last. I find it difficult to imagine 5e being better, but several years ago I said the same thing about 3.5 when I heard that 4e was coming out.

[Shatteredtower]

The problem with 4th Edition is, that a lot of people seem to think that WotC does not have any idea where to go with it.

The game does give a very "We're learning as we go," impression to its design, though some of that may result from different design teams working toward different objectives.

[Yora]

That to. The developers giving the impression of saying "We had no idea what we were doing, but trust us, now we know better" doesn't get you to have much faith in their work and that they won't come with something else in half a year.

We've discussed a lot of these thing in an earlier thread.

[DrBurr]

I'm not against a 5e coming out in like 2 years, just a bit disappointed that they screwed up 4e bad enough that they think they need a new RPG. But who knows perhaps this is only 4.5e It has only been 3 years, and that could explain why they were loudly declaring essentials isn't 4.5

[Sipex]

Does this mean I'll finally be accepted by the other grognards?

I should practice.

"I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS BUT I ALREADY LOATHE IT!"

...

Seriously though, if it comes out this soon I'll wait a bit to get it, I'm just starting a new 4e campaign after all, I don't want to learn something new in the middle of it.

[Yora]

I'm not against a 5e coming out in like 2 years, just a bit disappointed that they screwed up 4e bad enough that they think they need a new RPG. But who knows perhaps this is only 4.5e It has only been 3 years, and that could explain why they were loudly declaring essentials isn't 4.5

It's 4.4

[OracleofWuffing]

Of course, since some fans called Essentials 4.4, they'll have to start calling this 4.45.

[Blackfang108]

My main concern is what effect this would have on cRPGs. I don't think we got a 4e one. Wonder if 5e would even be suited for one.

The FB Neverwinter is the closest thing to a decent one, because Daggerdale sucked.

[Sipex]

Calling Daggerdale a 4th edition game is like calling Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance a 3rd edition game.

Sure, they both have pieces of the systems in them but really, they're just hack and slash games with D&D thrown in the title.

Although, in it's defense, Dark Alliance was actually fun.

[Blackfang108]

Calling Daggerdale a 4th edition game is like calling Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance a 3rd edition game.

Sure, they both have pieces of the systems in them but really, they're just hack and slash games with D&D thrown in the title.

Although, in it's defense, Dark Alliance was actually fun.

Believe me, I agree with you.

And I have to be honest, I'll need more than an offhand post by a fiction writer before I start to believe this.

[Seerow]

Believe me, I agree with you.

And I have to be honest, I'll need more than an offhand post by a fiction writer before I start to believe this.

There's also been discussion of it over on the Gaming Den. There have been a lot of rumblings from different people and places that point in the direction of 5e being developed, but being a year or two from coming down the pipeline.

[huttj509]

There's also been discussion of it over on the Gaming Den. There have been a lot of rumblings from different people and places that point in the direction of 5e being developed, but being a year or two from coming down the pipeline.

Aye, there's a large distance between "we're starting thinking about what we might want to do in the direction of a new edition" and "it comes out next week."

[MeeposFire]

It is going to happen sooner or later. The question is will it be very different as in 3e-4e or will it be more analogous to 1e-2e (same basic ideas with a bunch of refinements)?

[DrBurr]

It's 4.4

Lol exactly so logically the next step is 4.5 right? Well if its 4.5 or 5 I just hope its good and that I don't become a Grognard

[surfarcher]

Wow! A 5e rumour. Never heard one of them before! ;)

[Killer Angel]

Of course, since some fans called Essentials 4.4, they'll have to start calling this 4.45.

Then it will come the 4.5, the 4.66666666....
(I hope not)

[Tengu_temp]

I like 4e but don't like Essentials. I'm already a grognard!

I'm looking forward to seeing what they do with the next edition, though.