For those here that still play, I'd like to know what you think.
I've gathered the following information from various forum trolling and videos. Some of it may be accurate, some of it may not. Either way, it looks to be an exciting time for the game.
Personally, I am excited, especially about the digital tools to make running the game much easier. I think the only thing I cannot agree with at this point is that FR will be the first setting to be updated. Personally, I view FR as old and busted, and Eberron as the new hotness. I think Eberron should have been the first updated, so that new material will continue to be released for it more frequently. FR can survive a bit longer without new material since it has so much material to fall back on, but Eberron is only a few years old. I'm worried that this might kill Eberron.
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the beans of Java the thoughts aquire speed, the teeth acquire stains, the stains become a warning. It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.
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Verily, Densetsu doth proclaim:The core game will officially support levels 1-30. That means that epic rules will be a part of the core system.
Actually, base level is being raised to 30.
sigpic courtesy of This Guy, original modified by me
That being said, I have invest far too much into 3.5 thus far. I have over 70, possibly close to 80 books on 3.5, and no desire to start another collection. I am seeing the prices of V4 books increasing too. Just a hunch.
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Tribute? You steal men's Azakiass, and make them your slaves!
I like the changes and so on that this has in store.That being said, I have invest far too much into 3.5 thus far. I have over 70, possibly close to 80 books on 3.5, and no desire to start another collection. I am seeing the prices of V4 books increasing too. Just a hunch.
A lot of people seem to be saying this. "I spent too much money on 3.5 to spend any on 4.0!" Honestly, I don't understand it. If you're the type of person that spent all that money on ANY edition, you will still spend the money regardless. It's not like a new edition renders all previous material useless. I currently play in a 3.5 Spelljammer game, for example.
If you've got the disposable income to spend, you will. Magic: The Gathering has shown us that.
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Densetsu stopped staring at Deedlit long enough to write:
A lot of people seem to be saying this. "I spent too much money on 3.5 to spend any on 4.0!" Honestly, I don't understand it. If you're the type of person that spent all that money on ANY edition, you will still spend the money regardless. It's not like a new edition renders all previous material useless. I currently play in a 3.5 Spelljammer game, for example.If you've got the disposable income to spend, you will. Magic: The Gathering has shown us that.
People say that with every edition of the game.
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x--DensetsuO-('-'Q) :
A lot of people seem to be saying this. "I spent too much money on 3.5 to spend any on 4.0!" Honestly, I don't understand it. If you're the type of person that spent all that money on ANY edition, you will still spend the money regardless. It's not like a new edition renders all previous material useless. I currently play in a 3.5 Spelljammer game, for example.If you've got the disposable income to spend, you will. Magic: The Gathering has shown us that.
yeah, a lot of the people saying they won't upgrade from 3.5 to 4.0 are the same people who said they wouldn't upgrade from 2.0 to 3.0 or even 3.0 to 3.5 
(For the record, I never played anything prior to V3 on tabletop.)
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Azakias's account was hax0red to write:
Is V4 compatible with 3.5? Because I do like a lot of the changes that are taking place.(For the record, I never played anything prior to V3 on tabletop.)
No D&D edition is ever compatible with previous versions. There are often unofficial conversion methods though, so there's ways to update things from version to version, but it's usually annoying and difficult to do.
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When the babel fish was in place, it was apparent Batty said:
No D&D edition is ever compatible with previous versions. There are often unofficial conversion methods though, so there's ways to update things from version to version, but it's usually annoying and difficult to do.
Ad hoc conversion usually works ok on a case by case basis. Then there are wondrous items, especially those listed in the Epic Level Handbook...those just don't work...
Edit: Wizards also likes to put out things like these. Damnati fucked around with this message on 08-19-2007 at 11:13 AM.
It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion. It is by the beans of Java the thoughts aquire speed, the teeth acquire stains, the stains become a warning. It is by caffeine alone I set my mind in motion.
Going with Forgotten Realms is a smart move. It's a classic setting and will have a bigger draw than Ebberon. It allows for sales of 3.5 Ebberon books to continue for awhile until the setting is updated as well. Personally, I want to see Planescape though.
They also announced their intention to simplify the rules. While I'm not sure what this means, it's possible that they plan to make 4th edition function like D&D minis. It would explain why they brought up grappling as being too complicated; if an action can't be visually demonstrated with miniatures, it would go away. The inclusion of a custom miniature creator also lends support to this theory.
It will be nice seeing all the races gain abilities as they gain levels/hitdice. Raptoran and a number of other races and templates have shown the appeal of evolving racial abilities. It also looks like a decent way to get rid of level adjustments, provided they offer progressions for intelligent monsters rather than just the standard playable races. (I could have easily seen the Medusa as a sixth-level ranger, for example.)
I would have liked to see a system where players could buy individual abilities (starting with an initial allotment, then spending XP as they gain it). Such a system would allow much more versatility than using fixed races and classes. (Races & classes could be included in the core rules as sample builds.) However, I won't hold my breath for this drastic a change. `Doc fucked around with this message on 08-19-2007 at 10:57 PM.
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`Doc thought this was the Ricky Martin Fan Club Forum and wrote:
While I'm not sure what this means, it's possible that they plan to make 4th edition function like D&D minis.
Probably because D&D Minis is a fucking awesome as all hell game.
Warpriest of Vandria, Gnomish Trickster, Bat Familiar, Wild Elf Warsinger, Xen'Drik Champion x5.
Rock.
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It was not by my hand that I am once again given flesh! I was called here by `Doc who wishes to pay me tribute!
They also announced their intention to simplify the rules. While I'm not sure what this means, it's possible that they plan to make 4th edition function like D&D minis. It would explain why they brought up grappling as being too complicated; if an action can't be visually demonstrated with miniatures, it would go away. The inclusion of a custom miniature creator also lends support to this theory.
They actually said in a video interview on their site under the gencon coverage, that they specifically aren't turning D&D into D&D Minis. They said that if you don't currently use minis in your games right now, you won't be suddenly required to do so. They've stated specifically that there would be no point to turning D&D into Minis, because they're two different games. Densetsu fucked around with this message on 08-20-2007 at 01:47 AM.
quote:I watched the videos and didn't notice that, though it's possible I just couldn't hear them when they said it. With every volume control on my system maxed (which is usually far too loud to tolerate), the guy with no mic was still very hard to hear.
Densetsu is attacking the darkness!
They actually said in a video interview on their site under the gencon coverage, that they specifically aren't turning D&D into D&D Minis. They said that if you don't currently use minis in your games right now, you won't be suddenly required to do so. They've stated specifically that there would be no point to turning D&D into Minis, because they're two different games.
And they wouldn't need to turn it completely into D&D minis. The XPH (miniatures handbook) contains a significant amount of material completely unrelated to actual D&D minis gameplay. However, they could draw pretty heavily on the D&D minis rules for motion, actions, etc. We won't know for sure until they release some sort of combat rules preview.
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`Doc Model 2000 was programmed to say:
And they wouldn't need to turn it completely into D&D minis. The XPH (miniatures handbook) contains a significant amount of material completely unrelated to actual D&D minis gameplay. However, they could draw pretty heavily on the D&D minis rules for motion, actions, etc. We won't know for sure until they release some sort of combat rules preview.
The minis handbook is damn near worthless to actual D&D minis play now. With the set from around a year ago, War Drums, the rules were revised and such. So that handbook is only really of any use for any value it would bring to a regular campaign now.
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`Doc had this to say about Pirotess:
I would have liked to see a system where players could buy individual abilities (starting with an initial allotment, then spending XP as they gain it). Such a system would allow much more versatility than using fixed races and classes. (Races & classes could be included in the core rules as sample builds.) However, I won't hold my breath for this drastic a change.
Um, isn't that basically what White Wolf gaming is based around? I mean, you gain XP, use it to buy new Spheres or other abilities...
Admittedly, White Wolf is a little more free-form than AD&D, but that's why they tend to market to veteran RP'ers. I don't think you would see such an open framework come out of WotC. If you want flexibility and class-free play, go check out Mage, Vampire, or Werewolf.
And how can you simplify 3e?! It's not like you're asking them to do advanced calculus, like you had to do with 2e's THAC0. (Calculate for their AC subtracted from ten (How is -9 better?!), figure in for windage, range, angle and power of the ambient light... *roll, followed by ten minutes of math* did I hit him?) Sorry, I'm a little bitter; I was the only math person in the group, so I wound up correcting the DM's math mistakes.
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Big Easy was listening to Cher while typing:
If you want flexibility and class-free play, go check out Mage, Vampire, or Werewolf.
No.
You check out GURPS.
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Big Easy had this to say about pies:
Um, isn't that basically what White Wolf gaming is based around? I mean, you gain XP, use it to buy new Spheres or other abilities...Admittedly, White Wolf is a little more free-form than AD&D, but that's why they tend to market to veteran RP'ers. I don't think you would see such an open framework come out of WotC. If you want flexibility and class-free play, go check out Mage, Vampire, or Werewolf.
And how can you simplify 3e?! It's not like you're asking them to do advanced calculus, like you had to do with 2e's THAC0. (Calculate for their AC subtracted from ten (How is -9 better?!), figure in for windage, range, angle and power of the ambient light... *roll, followed by ten minutes of math* did I hit him?) Sorry, I'm a little bitter; I was the only math person in the group, so I wound up correcting the DM's math mistakes.
Takes about 2 minutes to do a THAC0 table on your character sheet, even if you are fucking with large negative THAC0s.
quote:I picked up one of the core books about a year ago, but have only looked through it briefly. GURPS doesn't seem to cover progressive abilities very well. It's a good concept, and the versatility is nice, but most of the abilities seem to be all-or-nothing choices.
Greenlit is attacking the darkness!
No.You check out GURPS.
That and nobody I know actually plays it. I've only ever played it once, at a gaming convention.
quote:See my response about GURPS. I picked up a Mage book years ago, and learned rather quickly that nobody actually played Mage. I know someone now who runs Vampire on occasion, but that's about it.
Big Easy really knows where their towel is...
Um, isn't that basically what White Wolf gaming is based around? I mean, you gain XP, use it to buy new Spheres or other abilities...Admittedly, White Wolf is a little more free-form than AD&D, but that's why they tend to market to veteran RP'ers. I don't think you would see such an open framework come out of WotC. If you want flexibility and class-free play, go check out Mage, Vampire, or Werewolf.
My interest in a more versatile, less level-based D&D system comes from time spent on the D&D message boards. Discussions crop up frequently about race & class imbalances, the inadequacies of level adjustment, the major difficulties in multiclassing, etc. All this could be solved by ditching the concept of, "he's level 6," and replacing it with, "he's spent 150 talent points." The amount of design work needed to bring about this change would roughly equate to the release of a new edition.
quote:One possibility is that they've stripped out complex combat options. Remember the example they made of grappling? They could have reduced it to a single step, or just killed it altogether. An example of a one-step grapple could be as follows:
And how can you simplify 3e?! It's not like you're asking them to do advanced calculus, like you had to do with 2e's THAC0. (Calculate for their AC subtracted from ten (How is -9 better?!), figure in for windage, range, angle and power of the ambient light... *roll, followed by ten minutes of math* did I hit him?) Sorry, I'm a little bitter; I was the only math person in the group, so I wound up correcting the DM's math mistakes.
They might also have chosen to simplify the game by making rules easier to find. This is where all the computerization comes into play. Instead of flipping through the book and reading, you choose the attack option in the gameplay system, and it steps you through the rest of the process.
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Die, Delphi Aegis! You don't belong in this world!
Takes about 2 minutes to do a THAC0 table on your character sheet, even if you are fucking with large negative THAC0s.
110 seconds too long. And you need a TABLE?! Come on!
not some arbitrary rulesets and 5% chances 
