D&D 4th edition??

[Eagle Prince]

If you go to the dnd website, there is a 17-hour countdown for "4Dventure".  An anouncement for 4th edition DnD maybe?  Guess we'll find out soon...

[Spriggan]

wow.

After talking with SE I don't think it's 4ed, I think it's either a 4th setting or announcing their online magaizine features.

[Spriggan]

Looks like it's official http://www.icv2.com/articles/home/11123.html

[Eagle Prince]

I thought it would be longer until the 4e PHB came out, but its only like 9 months.

[Fellfrosch]

That article does make it sound like the game will be moving in the same direction as the Star Wars Saga Edition, much like we've suspected. Unless we get a lot of review products, though, I can't see my gaming group making the switch from 3.5--we already have a zillion books for 3.5, and I can't think of any compelling reason (short of a new setting that's totally awesome) to rebuy a bunch of books we already own.

[Spriggan]

I suspect the following changes will be adopted from saga:

1) Class ability tress-- they're allready popular from D20 modern and are much needed in D&D
2) Changes in skills -- while I like the saga skill system I still prefer the normal D20 method but I think they'll go with this new method
3) AC removed -- I think they'll go for how Saga does AC via saving throws instead

What I'm not sure about, but they might do is make some spells return after an encounter like force powers and possibly give other classes this feature, so the fighter can get a really powerfull attack but it's once per enounter and not day.

The other concern I have is I don't like high level D&D, it's not balenced well and it requires you to be very narrowly focused to be of any use in a game and with extending the "level cap" to 30 I hope this issue gets resolved because I just don't enjoy 3.x after level around level 12 because the system changes to a completly different balance level that negates a lot of class builds.  An example is how usless my bard is now at level 17 compaired to 7 levels ago when I could actually do things outside of holdmonster and bardic music, every time I've gotten to the teens in level I've noticed my caracters can do less and less effectivly and that sucks.

[42]

I guess I've got 9 months left to play 3.5

I'm assuming that RPGA won't switch to 4th until 2009 at the earliest.

[Eagle Prince]

Well you could always just wait for 4.5, that will give you a few extra years of 3.5

I think you are pretty close Spriggan.  I'm not sure if everything is going to per encounter; I think there will be a lot of per encounter stuff, but will still need to rest up to compeletely regain all spells and abilities.

I have no idea about RPGA, but a little after the DnD page changed for the anouncement (which is only about 10 minutes away now), they accidently had the messageboards for 4e opened.  There was a bunch of pre-started threads to post in, and I think there was one about living campaigns.  So I guess we will have at least an idea of what is going on with RPGA.

[Eagle Prince]

lol... when the countdown hit zero, there was a link, which then reloaded the counter with 11 more minutes, then the new webpage came up for a second, then crashed.  But here is a link to the 4e boards, they are lagging but work.

http://forums.gleemax.com/forumdisplay.php?f=686

[Spriggan]

The next big question I have is will 4.0 have an OGL?  I wouldn't be surprised if it didn't and instead wizard's licnesed the right to publish for it.

[Fellfrosch]

Man, their website is in trouble. You'd think they'd buff up their servers a little before an announcement like this.

[stacer]

Can I just say how glad I am that this has finally been announced? Talking with you guys and not being able to ever say anything has just been excruciating.

Not that I know anything. Our group was going to playtest some 4e stuff, but we went on summer hiatus before we could. We might do some come fall when we start playing again, but for the most part I don't really pay attention to the game side of things.

So I can't answer any of the questions on this board so far, but I do know that they were intending to have a FAQ somewhere to answer any questions people might have. I have no idea where that would be, but there are people on the Wizards boards who would, I imagine.

[Fellfrosch]

I was going to ask you if you knew anything about it; I guess you don't know any more than we do, you just knew it earlier.

[stacer]

Yeah, well, you know how attuned I am to the game world. I've been in meetings where this stuff was discussed ad nauseum, but most of it went over my head, and the rest I tuned out because I had my own deadlines to meet. Besides, they'll have designated "question-answerers" on the Wizards boards once GenCon is over, I think.

[Spriggan]

That makes sense.  I know all our answers won't be on the FAQ but I'm sure it will cover a lot.