How viable is the D&D side of the house without Magic to print money on the other side?

I’m confused, though. Are you saying that Monte Cook is just a ploy, a smokescreen of sorts, or that he is working on the next edition, an edition that will be a MMORPG? Personally, I got my perfect edition of D&D and that is core 4th. So, I’ll be interested in what happens next since I’m sticking with 4th.

I strongly agree with you that there aren’t millions of D&D players. The golden hills are potential subscribers, millions of them. We are predicting that 5th edition will consist of 3 core books and then everything else online PDF style. Are they going to throw 4th edition under the bus?

Essentials would be great and all if they would implement some polarized classes. Why the F$&% can’t I get a simple Wizard with just at-wills, and one straight-jacketed encounter power, and on the opposite spectrum- a martial with daily powers. That’s what pisses me off about essentials- I hate the cliche dumbed down Knight, Scout and Slayer. Doth same to the Wizards- please. Call it the Wizard- Spell Slinger for all I care. Essentials is hardly the ‘rules for all sorts of players’- only if you like simple Fighters and Complicated Wizards. Grrrrrrrr- I hate Essentials.

One last thing- I’m tired of all the constant updates on 4th. It is tiresome.

Oh, man. Typing that almost made me vomit a little bit.

I’ll get to more on that with the follow-up to this column.

I am glad you enjoy NeoGrognard, and I’m glad to be back up and running after a very hectic summer.

I disagree though, that L&L is just philosophical musing. Maybe I’m just jaded.

As for what it says about a future edition… who knows. Yeah, the smart bet is that it is helping prep gamers for the next edition. But, we shouldn’t be tricked into thinking that the tea leaves are so easily read. It won’t be a clear road map. The articles seem to genuinely be an exploration, while having a basis of preparation. At the high level it seems that a next edition might let each group choose their speed/complexity. Want high RP low tactical? Want high tactical low story? Want simple mechanics and few options? That’s not a bad idea, especially given Pathfinder. In a lot of ways, we see the prequel to this in Essentials. Essentials features simpler builds (but no less powerful!) and do really work well for new and casual players. That significant other at the table can now build their own PC while their more geeky partner can use a non-Essentials build and choose from many build options. Essentials has been really positive for Organized Play, particularly Encounters (and I suspect Lair Assault). Older editions did that too, to an extent. Some groups used lots of rules and measured things out with minis. Others never held a mini.

I totally dig your blog, as I hope you well know. Some days you come at it with a professor brilliance and share forgotten legends and lore (see what I did there?) in calm fashion. Sometimes you break in new innovations (more! more!). Sometimes you rail against the Internet for railing. I dig all of it. At the same time, I think anger against Legends and Lore gets in the way of enjoying what the column offers. It is supposed to be imperfect. And playtesting… it isn’t as if Paizo was the first to do that. Tons of RPGs, including WotC, have done playtesting over the years. What is most interesting about WotC playtesting to me is that there is a clear sign that they want to be more careful around how their innovations are going to fare with gamers. It isn’t so much about errata (Paizo’s Stealth can be compared to WotC’s PH warlock), but rather about how WotC turned Mordenkainen’s from yet another magic item book that was canceled for being lame into one of the most innovative magic item books in decades. Or how Gardmore Abbey could have been another tired super-adventure but instead gives you the Deck of Many Things, reactive NPCs, open play, great story, etc. Monster Vault is the most innovative monster book WotC has made since 2E. Somehow, despite the odds, D&D 4E is more innovative now than it ever has been in 4E and is giving any 3E innovation a run for its money. That’s really the stuff of Legends (and Lore).