Not sure here. Marketing wise, there's some need to rebuild the system so they can sell all the rulebooks again (so its not back compatible), but they don't have to make it totally different (e.g. to drive out 3rd party publishers using the old Open Game Licence).

Also, if the new Gamma World is any indication, it'll be a CCG.

Quote from: steelmax73;374174about $29.95 a month

Not at this price, but within this idea:

I don't really believe that there ever will be a 5th edition.  As WoTC distribution moves towards strictly digital I can see the system getting "patched" (much in the way that MMOs regularly receive tweaks).  With your subscription the ruleset on yer Ipad/Kindle/whatever will be automatically updated with updated content.

First place I would look for, is what new things are being done in the latest video games.  Of these new things, which ones can be easily implementable in a tabletop pen-and-paper rpg format.

Quote from: Angry_Douchebag;374186Not at this price, but within this idea:

I don't really believe that there ever will be a 5th edition.  As WoTC distribution moves towards strictly digital I can see the system getting "patched" (much in the way that MMOs regularly receive tweaks).  With your subscription the ruleset on yer Ipad/Kindle/whatever will be automatically updated with updated content.

With longer and longer errata lists really irritating buyers of hardcover splatbooks, perhaps all digital with automatic updates is a better way of doing things.

Quote from: ggroy;374188With longer and longer errata lists really irritating buyers of hardcover splatbooks, perhaps all digital with automatic updates is a better way of doing things.

I think it can be a very effective strategy for WoTC;  I like having a physical book.

Quote from: ggroy;374188With longer and longer errata lists really irritating buyers of hardcover splatbooks, perhaps all digital with automatic updates is a better way of doing things.

Well that does get them around a problem I've imagined them handling really badly: transitioning DDI from 4e to 5e. Because I could easily imagine them unceremoniously kicking 4e to the curb and alienating a lot more people that way than with any rules changes.

I also suspect this

QuoteI'm guessing that mechanically it will be mainly a tweaked 4e but physically it will be a lot like WFRP 3 with a big expensive box and a lot of special components that make pirating impractical.

is a likely scenario.

Quote from: Joethelawyer;374155I'm really curious what 5e will be like.

Like this.

Quote from: Benoist;374175iPad app.

Tiny Adventures from Facebook, only slightly less tiny.

Quote from: The Shaman;374206Like this.

Actually that was 3e.  A lot more templates and broken combos.

5e will become self-aware and run itself.

Quote from: JollyRB;3742165e will become self-aware and run itself.

Wow. This totally blew my mind.

5e = Skynet

Quote from: GoOrange;374218Wow. This totally blew my mind.

5e = Skynet

Funny...I always that it would be google that sparked the techno/organic war.

Quote from: Shazbot79;374220Funny...I always that it would be google that sparked the techno/organic war.

I dunno. I think the site in question has to be the electronic equivalent of primordial goo in order for that to happen. For this reason, my vote goes to myspace.

I wonder what the overall profitability of 4e has been compared to 3e. I'd guess that book sales are down quite a bit. DDI subscriptions likely are bringing in quite a bit of revenue. How WotC approaches the publishing model will affect the game itself.

I'd wager that 5e will be focusing more on the DDI aspect an less on the printed book model. Or possibly getting away from printed books and going for something more along the lines of packs of power cards.

Keep a close eye on how well D&D Essentials works and sells. This could be a precursor of things to come. If the rules are tweaked at all, it wouldn't surprise me to see Essentials be the 4.5 edition.

I think the next edition will continue the trend of releasing the game piecemeal (like only releasing a few races and classes at a time, with others to come in later PHBs). This will riff off of the Essentials idea and the first 5e books will be limited in races, classes, powers and levels much like the old Basic Set and newer games like Dragon Age. WotC will then crank out addons at a rapid pace to quickly expand the game.

I can envision skills and feats going away and getting replaced, renamed, or transitioned to powers. Bring everything closer together in a more unified mechanical way.

Miniatures will still be the defacto standard, although things may change to bring D&DM in line with another game like Heroscape.

The overall power level of PCs will creep up, specifically with everyone doing slightly more damage to speed up combat a bit.

A working virtual tabletop that is relatively bug free and commonly used, along with widespread adoption of something like the iPad, could also greatly change WotC's marketing strategy and design for a future 5E D&D.