4th Edition?

Rotku · Post by **Rotku** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 6:44 pm

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/welcome

http://www.enworld.org/showthread.php?t=204119

A publicity stunt? Or maybe Wizards pockets are running low.

Mikayla · Post by **Mikayla** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 6:57 pm

I swear to Lolth I will have to hurt them.

Mord · Post by **Mord** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 7:15 pm

Wizard's balance sheet goes from red to black through green.

Grand Fromage · Post by **Grand Fromage** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 7:24 pm

Yep, it's coming next year. The real question is if it's going to be a refinement of 3rd or a total reworking, like the 2nd to 3rd change.

dergon darkhelm · Post by **dergon darkhelm** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 9:15 pm

My PnP group made an agreement that we stop at 3.5....

Just say no to 4th!

Thangorn · Post by **Thangorn** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 9:16 pm

bah.. I still play 2nd Edition PnP. Sif I care if they bring out a new edition..

NESchampion · Post by **NESchampion** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 9:17 pm

Mayhem · Post by **Mayhem** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 9:56 pm

Thangorn wrote:bah.. I still play 2nd Edition PnP. Sif I care if they bring out a new edition..

Clearly you are some kind of masochist...

***

The important question is what will this mean for NWN2 / ALFA ?

Have we ever carried out a survey to see how many ALFANS come from a PNP background, and how many from a CRPG background? The latter presumably wouldn't give a monkeys about 4th Ed, but a dedicated PNPer arriving in ALFA ony to discover we are behind the edition curve would be put off, if there is a significant difference...

Dove de Domus Phoenix · Thu Aug 16, 2007 10:01 pm

And it seems like just like yesterday 3e came out. -sigh- The ironic thing is that I was debating with myself about if I should run my next campaign in 2nd or finally bite the bullet and update to 3e. Hey maybe they will bring back THAC0 I miss my THAC0 dammit.

indio · Post by **indio** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 10:15 pm

I've been playing BG again recently, and there's a lot more romance in that system than the clinical 3e. I miss THAC0 too. But ALFA needn't worry about changing. If NWN3, if ever there is such a thing, embraces the new ruleset, then so will we. Till then, 3.5 it is.

indio · Post by **indio** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 10:18 pm

And there's this little tidbit.

A 4e Forgotten Realms will be the first setting book released, and I believe that is scheduled for next August.

Hopefully they make some really good maps this time round.

NickD · Post by **NickD** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 10:50 pm

Well... the 4th edition announcement came up... but now the website seems to be down...

Post by **paazin** » Thu Aug 16, 2007 11:40 pm

http://www.247wallst.com/2007/08/can-a-new-dunge.html wrote: Can A New Dungeons & Dragons Version Insulate Hasbro From Current Toy Industry Woes? (HAS, MAT)

Mattel's (NYSE:MAT) recalls are quite well known now. We know that Chinese toys are being checked and tested and complained about across the board, and rightfully so. Chinese suppliers have been exposed probably hundreds or thousands of times of cutting corners and using cheap or substandard materials all the way down to poison or contaminated goods. So right now every toy company and consumer products company is testing their products from China.

This morning Hasbro (NYSE:HAS) announced that in light of Mattel's woes that it too is intensifying safety checks on its own toys. How could they be completely immune? We didn't exactly give Hasbro the world's greatest marks on their announcement this morning, but there is another development that might actually help. Hasbro has a franchise on its books that acts as a gift that keeps on giving: Wizards of the Coast, and the beloved Dungeons & Dragons (R) franchise. This is the game that all the parents used to worry about their kids playing because of exaggerated and isolated instances of some kids losing their minds, and now all those parents read Harry Potter themselves. It is still a puzzle as to whom the real joke is on. But the Dungeons & Dragons franchise is about to get another formal makeover for next year.

Today Wizards of the Coast confirms that the new edition will launch in May 2008. The new system will include illustrated rulebooks, pre-painted miniatures (test that paint boys), web-based tools, online community forums, faster game play, faster prep time, new character options, faster campaign building tools, online magazine content, and a digital game table for virtual and remote game playing. There will be some book preview releases late this year and early next year, but the first live demos of 4th Edition will happen at the D&D EXPERIENCE(TM) gaming convention in Washington, D.C., in February 2008. The full scope of 4th Edition books, miniatures, and adventures will be available in the spring and summer of 2008.

This new 4th edition is dubbed the D&D Insider(TM). Web estimates are far as total dollars spent on the gaming system are impossible to track because new sales often get recycled as used game sales and hand-me-downs. Some estimates have 15 million game players over the history of the game and some estimates are north of 20 million players since its inception in the 1970's. Generally speaking, the game itself and the offshoots for it have been responsible for over $1 Billion in retails sales in the US alone.

Hasbro just expanded a prior share buyback plan by $500 million back in early August, and it is no secret that a crummy market is not helping stocks based on discretionary income. Hasbro shares are down 1.5% today at $27.18, and the 52-week trading range is $19.13 to $33.49. Apparently our interpretation of the Transformers(TM) related sales already being baked into the cake was true and then some.

Jon C. Ogg
August 16, 2007

And in case anyone is wondering, here is the press release:

http://ww2.wizards.com/Company/Press/?doc=20070816b

Lusipher · Post by **Lusipher** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 1:02 am

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.

This is the future of ALFA right here, friends. Digital game table that lets us play 24/7 on the net. It wont necessarily be us playing with a toolset anymore, but it will be more like these Online D20 systems Ive been reading and seeing a lot of in the past number of months.

Veilan · Post by **Veilan** » Fri Aug 17, 2007 2:08 am

Mayhem wrote:The important question is what will this mean for NWN2 / ALFA ?

Let's just hope not another awkward bastardization between editions (3 and 3.5) and platforms (PnP and PW)

.