I just got this off the frdming mail server...

Wizards of the Coast announced at Gen Con Indy Aug. 16 that the much-rumored fourth edition of the seminal role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons will be released in May 2008. However, several D&D support products scheduled for earlier release, including January’s Classes and Races book and the April adventure Keep on the Shadowfell, will be 4th Edition previews.

The transition to D&D 4th Edition begins in April with a new edition of the Dungeons & Dragons Miniatures starter set and the Dungeons of Dread booster expansion. Older D&D minis will need updated stat cards to be used with the new editon rules. Wizards plans to release converted cards for figures in Unhallowed, Night Below, and Desert of Desolation via the company’s website, as well as updated cards for select “all-star” figures from previous D&D Minis expansions.

For the role-playing game, the 4th Edition Player’s Handbook is scheduled for May release, followed by the Monster Manual in June and the Dungeon Master’s Guide in July, with additional volumes to follow. D&D 4th Edition will continue to use the d20 game system— according to Wizards of the Coasts designers, the 4th Edition rules will be an “evolution of the system, not a revolution.” 4th Edition play is designed to be faster and easier for the Dungeon Master to adjudicate. Each character class will have a specific, defined role within an adventuring party, and the designers’ goal was to give each class interesting options for gameplay at every level. Character races have undergone a similar overhaul, with at least two new player races included in the Player's Handbook, and the core rules now go up to level 30 for characters; with the levels divided into three tiers: heroic for levels 1-10, paragon for 11-20, and epic for 21-30. One goal was to avoid having a single “sweet spot” — a specific range in levels where everyone wants to play. In D&D 3.5, this tends to be levels 7-13. For Dungeon Masters, the new edition includes new ways to build encounters by giving every monster in an encounter a role to play, and addresses or removes “game-stopping” rules like grappling in combat.

In addition to the physical rulebooks and supplements, a major component of 4th Edition will be digital. Wizards has launched a free beta version of Dungeons & Dragons Insider, the online component for 4th Edition, shortly after the Gen Con announcement. D&D Insider will change over to a subscription model around the time the new Player’s Handbook is released. For $9.95 per month, D&D fans will have access to the online versions of Dragon and Dungeon magazines; online tools for players and DMs, including a character creator and map, encounter, and adventure building tools; D&D Anytime, a round-the-clock virtual game table which will allow gaming groups to get together and play D&D online; and forums and other community features.

The character-generation tool includes a feature that will allow players to create a visual representation of their character which can be printed out or saved and used as a virtual minia-ture on the D&D Insider Game Table. The virtual game table will be available to non-subscribers for a nominal fee, and includes a die-rolling tool, character-sheet displays, and three play surfaces for the DM to choose from: a virtual dry-erase board, a selection of pregenerated maps, and dungeon tiles. The three play surfaces can be combined. Voice chat will be available through the Vivox service, and in addition to virtual miniatures generated through the character builder, DMs will have access to additional virtual miniatures.

The community features of D&D Insider will be linked with Wizards of the Coast’s Gleemax infrastructure, with users able to blog, chat, post on message boards, and build “my character” or “my campaign” pages. The D&D Insider online community will allow for more interaction between players and Wizards’ designers, and players who use the community to share their home-brewed campaign ideas, monsters, feats, and other game content will also have the option of submitting them for the online magazines or making them available for other players to rate and download.

With a larger portion of the D&D experience being made available online, Wizards also plans to update its Organized Play programs for 4th Edition. Working in conjunction with the RPGA group, current plans will continue to include the popular Living campaigns and other tournaments and events held at conventions and stores. In addition, Wizards plans to holdmany online events.

This is out of control. WotC is blatantly trying to sell books. 4th edition already? I mean, come ooonnn...

D&D 4th Edition News

The following is some of the information that came out during the 2 PM (CT) seminar here at Gencon concerning 4th edition.

Mike Mearls is the lead developer for 4th edition. The other panelists where Rich Baker, Andy Collins and Bill Slavesiek

The 3.5 Rules Compendium will be something of a last hurrah for 3e, "A celebration and compilation" (Bill Slavesiek). The book will feature an encyclopedia like layout and have designer commentaries on why the rules were structured are the way they are. Many of the products between now and may will have 4e material for them on D&D Insider Elder Evils was discussed. It is a compilation of mini adventures structured around famous super monsters that aren't quite god level in power such as Kezef Chaos Hound and Dendar the Night Serpent. Some new monsters from the 4e Monster Manual will debut in D&D miniatures in November Books that are being put out between now and May will be of an "edition proof" nature. Dungeon Survival Guide was discussed. It will be a pictorial tabletop / coffeetop book that takes you through famous dungeons in D&D including the Tomb of Horrors and the original Castle Ravenloft. Innfighting was announced - it is a non collectabale dice game designed by Rob Heisno. It is to dice what Three Dragon Ante was to cards. In the Forgotten Realms A Grand History of the Realms will be released as a book. This is an adaptation of the web release of the same name with new art and additional entries from authors including Ed Greenwood and Eric Boyd. Wizards Presents series will lead into 4e. To products where discussed - classes and races; and worlds and monsters. April will have an introductory adventure with quick start materials for 4e. The cover of the Player's Handbook cover is finalized. DMG and MM are close to final. Here are some highlights among the quesitons asked. How many core classes - this question was repeatedly avoided until it was admitted there would be fewer than the current number (11). How fewer and who was cut wasn't discussed. Character classes which haven't been classes before now have resources to manage similar to spells. Character Powers are to be sorted into at will, per encounter and per day. Vancian 'spell slots' will be reduced in how much they control a caster's total ability. Encounters are going to be wholly redesigned Monsters will have roles outlined in the MM. Monster design will be more open ended. Not all monsters will have information necessary to make them playable characters. Monster Manual is 288 pages and the DMG 256 pages Assumed world that will be "points of light in a dark world." Question of whether Greyhawk will be the the default world was avoided, however Greyhawk proper names will remain. To the question of whether XP will be required to make magic items Andy Collins replied, "No, Hell No." How magic items will be made in character wasn't discussed beyond a vague statement that you wouldn't be burning a feat on it, and out of character the structure of magic item creation will become more loosened.

If you want to return to the 2nd Edition:

1. Go to: http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=dnd/downloads

2. Scroll down the page and pick the option "Old Edition Downloads."

3. There - for free - you can download enough premium TSR and WotC FR material to fill out most campaigns for a lifetime.

If the still doesn't satisy your needs:

4. Go to: http://www.rpgnow.com

5. In the menu on the left side, under "Top Publishers," pick "Wizards of the Coast."

6. Under "Wizards of the Coast" pick "AD&D 2nd Ed."

7. Under "AD&D 2nd Ed." pick "Forgotten Realms."

8. There, at a price of USD 4.95 each, you can download 118 official 2E FR products.

Between the WotC free downloads and the RPG Now pay downloads - all in the universal PDF format - you can have just about every official 2E FR product ever released.

Not even Elminster himself could use all of these products in his especially long lifetime.

Remember: The one and only reason for going to 4E is because you want to do it. If you do it for any other reason, you're foolish.

I think this will make them money but is foolish for long term marketing. If you think about it nearly every single D&D product can be gotten online these days, for free, and quite easily. The only thing stopping people from getting 4.0 the same way they got 3.5, is the price of a printer cartirdige.

The fact is as long as they charge 30 dollars(per book) they will only market to new comers. Anyone with internet know, how knows how to get around the pricetag and get it online.

I skipped 3.5, I will probably skip 4.0 as it sounds a bit to radical for my particular gaming group.

I really saw nothing wrong with 3.5

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sbbqMoEwDqc

There retarded video that disses there product says the issue is grapple!

If you ask me Grapple makes complete Sense its a fun and great system! THe guy in the movie quits the grapple because attack of oprutinity!

Heres the thing its just hard to grapple. But if you sucseed YOU HAVE YOUR OPONENT Literally did

Think of it like this in the middle of a fight someone lounges at you YOUD SWING YOUR SWORD. if you scored your attack of oprutunity the grapple fails. if you miss the attack of oprutuinity You make a grapple check. if they sucseed they pin you down and basically can punch you or use weapons in close range with a attack penalty. It would take some time though. to kill view grappling but they had a ac penalty and couldnt attack you.

its good in a one on one combat. but against multiple oponents even if you sucsessfully grapple your kinda screwed the the oponents friends try to get you and get a ac penalty. THE POINT IS 3.5 was a pretty great system.

Hmm. What? :?

CountCristo I think this will make them money but is foolish for long term marketing. If you think about it nearly every single D&D product can be gotten online these days, for free, and quite easily. The only thing stopping people from getting 4.0 the same way they got 3.5, is the price of a printer cartirdige.

The fact is as long as they charge 30 dollars(per book) they will only market to new comers. Anyone with internet know, how knows how to get around the pricetag and get it online.

I skipped 3.5, I will probably skip 4.0 as it sounds a bit to radical for my particular gaming group.

Dr Dragon I really saw nothing wrong with 3.5

Dr Dragon There retarded video that disses there product says the issue is grapple!

If you ask me Grapple makes complete Sense its a fun and great system! THe guy in the movie quits the grapple because attack of oprutinity!

Dr Dragon Heres the thing its just hard to grapple.

I personally think 4.0 came too early, but am curious to learn more about the changes they've made. I don't think I'll make the jump myself, though.

Snoteye has many, many hours of solitude studying these new sourcebooks alone in his basement fortress ahead of him.

Let's hope they re-release the Book of E.F. for 4th Edition. Without it, we'll all be lost.

-SaRF

The cycle will perpetuate eternally. People like to profit as much as they like to have new things and new ideas. Doesn't matter if the new things and new ideas are an improvement, or just simply "new".

Personally, I dislike D&D altogether, and wish Iron Crown's Rolemaster system had become more infectious to the RP world. I believe all classes should have the ability to cross-class any skill (albeit at penalties), D100 beats D20 all to hell, and weapon tables are awesome: having unique responsiveness of armor to different type of weapon attacks made combat considerably more realistic. (For instance, it pains me to watch arrows blow up a locked chest, hit bats easier than orcs at long range, or used as a tool to mine rock.)

Iron Crown's system was simple-to-use, with the only disadvantage being the amount of data tables that needed to be developed (specifically, the weapon tables.) However, I believe today's "open-source" models of information systems proves that collaborative compilations are effective enough. That is, someone somewhere is likely to produce a respectable product of just the information you desire -- there simply needs to be a forum/vehicle to catalogue, disseminate and peer-review the information.

The Rules One goal was to avoid having a single “sweet spot” — a specific range in levels where everyone wants to play. In D&D 3.5, this tends to be levels 7-13.

Isn't that ironic given that the two most prominent PW servers in neverwinter nights happen to cap out at those levels?

exactly what i was thinking NC..

The two most prominent playerworlds in NWN... don't cap out at those levels. Unless you're simply referring to the playerworlds under the PW Story Tab.

-SaRF

Nuclear Catastrophe

The Rules One goal was to avoid having a single “sweet spot” — a specific range in levels where everyone wants to play. In D&D 3.5, this tends to be levels 7-13.

Isn't that ironic given that the two most prominent PW servers in neverwinter nights happen to cap out at those levels?

well it is possible to get above lvl 7 you know. One char I had got to lvl 8 its also posssible to get to lvl 20! OK!

Stop it, Illuminaughty. You're not fooling anyone anymore.

True20. That's all you need.