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Underground > Games & Gameplay >

Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition

  
 
A0S
12:54 / 21.08.07
Gen Con 16th August 2007-

‘Today, Wizards of the Coast confirms that the new edition will launch in May 2008 with the release of the D&D Player's Handbook.

The 4th Edition Dungeons & Dragons game includes elements familiar to current D&D players, including illustrated rulebooks and pre-painted plastic miniatures. Also releasing next year will be new web-based tools and online community forums through the brand-new Dungeons & Dragons Insider (D&D Insider) digital offering. D&D Insider lowers the barriers of entry for new players while simultaneously offering the depth of play that appeal to veteran players.

The 4th Edition rules emphasize faster game play, offer exciting new character options, and reduce the amount of "prep time" needed to run the game. D&D Insider includes a character creator that lets players design and equip their D&D characters, dungeon- and adventure-building tools for Dungeon Masters, online magazine content, and a digital game table that lets you play 24/7 on the internet — the perfect option for anyone who can't find time to get together.

"We've been gathering player feedback for eight years," said Bill Slavicsek, R&D Director of Roleplaying and Miniatures Games at Wizards of the Coast. "Fourth Edition streamlines parts of the D&D game that are too complex, while enhancing the overall play experience. At its heart, it's still a tabletop game experience. However, D&D Insider makes it easier for players to create characters, run their games, and interact with the rest of the D&D community."

Wizards of the Coast will release two 4th Edition preview books in December and January — Wizards Presents: Classes and Races and Wizards Presents: Worlds and Monsters. The full scope of 4th Edition books, miniatures, and adventures will be available in the spring and summer of 2008.’


So there we have it 4th Ed is out in May.
Reading through the statement makes me wonder how much of an impact Dungeons & Dragons Online and particularly World of Warcraft have had on the development of this new edition.
What exactly does “Fourth Edition streamlines parts of the D&D game that are too complex, while enhancing the overall play experience. At its heart, it's still a tabletop game experience. However, D&D Insider makes it easier for players to create characters, run their games, and interact with the rest of the D&D community." Actually mean?
Will we be getting an online game with tabletop rules tagged on? If this is the case does it bother you that the original tabletop RPG is embracing the online community so tightly or do you see it as a natural progression?

As a long term tabletop player I personally find that online RPGs don’t hold my attention in the same way and so I’m hoping that the new online elements enhance tabletop play rather than distracting from it.

What do you think?
 
 
Digital Hermes
15:55 / 21.08.07
In terms of progression, it seems as though the last 'necessary' edition was 2nd. It incorporated a lot of what had developed before, into a whole, that might not have been perfect, but became the standard. Both 3rd and 4th editions seem more like an attempt to recapture interest than a necessary upgrade.

The rules changes themselves seem to be more focused on emulating video games, with 'power moves' and crazy effects above and beyond whatever your character can do better, now that they've reached a higher level.

It seems like a generally bad idea to skew a whole new edition on their loyal players, and people just getting into it now have way too much choice for D&D to have enough punch as a New Edition, than it did as 3.5 or whatever it was.

I know that I was hesitant about getting onto 3rd edition, and I didn't see anything in the rulebooks that necessitated me having to buy a whole new core set, if not a whole new library of books. Hearing now that there's yet another new core set pretty much means that if I play D&D again, it'll be out of nostalgia, and it'll be with old-skool 2nd edition rules. Or I'll just play GURPS instead!
 
 
Katherine
09:53 / 22.08.07
Well I can understand why Wizards want a piece of the online pie, WoW is a big profit making chunk. However until we see the fourth edition engine in action we can't see what is going to happen yet. I would guess that the online stuff is going to appeal to people who like the online gaming experience. Personally I'm one who just can't understand the appeal of sitting at a computer instead of meeting up with friends (plus snacks) and playing face to face.

The options that I have seen in the online articles on the Wizards site suggest show they are trying to give more options for the various races and classes, it is true once you get to high levels with the right magical weapons, enhancements, armour, feats and suchlike there is only subtle differences between a dwarven fighter and a half-orc one. What Wizards are touting is racial feats and for fighters there will be feats for certain weapons which will make interesting reading. Not sure this will be enough to make me change from 3.5 though.

2nd edition doesn't work for me I'm afraid it is a slower way of playing in my opinion unless you house rule it to speed things up. 3.5 has problems too but it is easier for a new player to pick up and run with, 2nd you needed a guide.

The other interesting idea is with the racial feats this means level adjusted races may be more playable, for example instead of the Drow being overloaded with extras at 1st level, you add bits on as they go up in levels. What Wizards are claiming is they are trying to make a better system for differing races to progress rather than use a race adjusted table for progress. Sounds interesting and maybe workable.

But as I said this is all just thoughts until the first publication, but I note that Dragon is going to be published by Wizards now. So was the withdrawal of the licence to Paizo so they could start to bring Fourth onwards into the Wizards only publishing instead of open gaming licence?
 
 
semioticrobotic
13:23 / 18.09.07
Just popping in to link a piece on 4th Edition that recently ran on The Escapist (the site, not necessarily the magazine, though this is getting more complicated with the publication's recent re-design, but that's another issue entirely). My party is still happily stuck in 2nd Edition, but I'm reading commentary like this with much interest:

'Many of the statements WotC has made so far have been intended to calm current players, and might persuade you it's really not looking to cast its net far and wide. Phrases like "the digital tabletop isn't intended to take the place of your gaming table," the intent to "bring the current players along before we go looking for new ones" alongside aphorisms like "tabletop gamers may be niche, but they're our niche" all convey a certain respect for the past.

But it's transparent, at best. You don't get into social networking for the fringe niche. The announcement of a subscription service for a tabletop game with user-friendly rules and a slick, new format just a few years after the popularity explosion of subscription-based online games with user-friendly rules and a slick user interface? If WotC isn't aiming to be the Blizzard of the tabletop gaming industry, it's certainly putting on a good show.'
 
 
Crestmere
05:48 / 25.09.07
It will be a videogame with dice, the same way 3E and 3.5E were. This will end up even more like WOW or other MMO games then the older editions were. And it is a double edged sword, I love the flexibility of the new system but, at the same time, it loses something from the original and it tries to be something that it really isn't.
 
 
Dead Megatron
14:02 / 26.09.07
I fully intend to use the digital version for character creation and dungeon design (and maybe DM* dice rolling). But I intend to print everything and go analog from then on.




* "DM" as ins Dungeon Master, not Dead Megatron, for once.
 
 
My Mom Thinks I'm Cool
14:58 / 26.09.07
I may now ask people whether they mean Dead Megatron in the future when I hear DM.

...anyway, this sounds pretty exciting to me, because I (and my friends) move a lot, and live in many different cities, and they're the only people I've ever had an enjoyable RPG session with - meeting up with new groups in whatever city I'm in has so far been a disaster.

this is really the only reason I'm on WoW at all - because I want to hang out with old friends and maybe do a little RPG. If I could have someone I know acting as Dead Megatron for our session, instead of some fuckwit at Blizzard...and not have to put up with finding 16 other jackasses on the same quest to kill some spiders or whatever as me...I'd be in heaven.
 
 
Dead Megatron
15:04 / 26.09.07
If I could have someone I know acting as Dead Megatron for our session

Damn! I know I should have copyrighted that name.
 
  
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