Quote from: Haffrung;707460And the great bulk of D&D players who don't have any strong allegiance to a particular edition will give it a try.

Most players DO have a strong affinity for a particular edition.  Doesn't bode well..

Quote from: thecasualoblivion;707453Just asking if you are a real fan, or another one of the bitter old schoolers who is happy 5E is validating their playstyle but won't actually be playing it.

I'm not sacrosanct, but I can say I'll actually buy and play Next because at this stage I need a game that has strong setting and adventure support. And since I already prefer the Next system to 3E, Pathfinder, and 4E, that's where I'm going to look for adventures.

Quote from: Arduin;707466Most players DO have a strong affinity for a particular edition.  Doesn't bode well..

Nah. Most hardcore RPGers who hang out on forums all day bullshitting about D&D and system design have a strong preference. But they're just a fraction of the people who actually play the game. And of course, the new players who WotC are hoping to attract don't have any strong preferences either.

Quote from: Haffrung;707471Nah.

Yes.

Quote from: Haffrung;707471Nah. Most hardcore RPGers who hang out on forums all day bullshitting about D&D and system design have a strong preference. But they're just a fraction of the people who actually play the game. And of course, the new players who WotC are hoping to attract don't have any strong preferences either.

Might not be a majority, but there's usually at least one at every table, and guess who tends to have the most say in what does or doesn't get played. Combine that with the lack of appeal for 3E/4E players and it doesn't look so good.

Most players I've met actually make their decision after trying the game with friends and seeing whether or not it's fun. Ideology and first principles mean nothing to them.

That's my plan.

I am in the middle with NEXT still yet, I really don't know that much about it to really like or dis-like it either way.  I am an old AD&D 1E gamer at best, I have just recently picked up the AD&D 2E reprints and am looking to run those next (ha play on word there hum?), dabbled in 3.5 for a bit, ehhh.  Played PF and have run 4E for my kids who like it, personally It doesn't really float my boat, but neither did 3.5 or PF much.  I like d100 system stuff like RQ, Legend, etc. and the old D&D originals and AD&D stuff at best, so if NEXT is close to something like AD&D, I might give it a go but not right off the cuff, I will wait and see how the waters do for maybe a year before jumping into that, by then maybe all the D&D bashing will die down by then.

Quote from: thecasualoblivion;707453If it makes you feel better to think that, more power to you.

Question: if they release a Next that bears a 90-100% resemblance to the final playtest, will you be playing Next or some other game?

Just asking if you are a real fan, or another one of the bitter old schoolers who is happy 5E is validating their playstyle but won't actually be playing it.

Maybe you missed the part where I said I'm already playing it, with people who are fans of every edition and we're having fun.

Reading comprehension is not really your strong suit, is it?

They could be waiting for a good time to introduce it. I think a big reason for 4e not being as successful as they wanted was edition fatigue.

I'll probably get it, and our group will probably play it - we're okay with pathfinder, but we've all played D&D since at least the early 80s (some of us since the early 70s) so we will give a new edition of D&D a chance.

If they can successfully accommodate all the play styles as they claim I will actually be pretty excited about it, but I'm not holding my breath.

Quote from: therealjcm;707488They could be waiting for a good time to introduce it. I think a big reason for 4e not being as successful as they wanted was edition fatigue.

Not really.  Initial sales of 4E were off the charts.  More than for any edition release prior.  It was 4E that was the problem.  Not "edition fatigue".  

5E isn't done yet.  I'm sure that they will want to do a proper mktg launch.  They have missed the best window for '13.   Earliest will probably be Q2 '14.

I would put my money on GenCon '14.

I already have a copy, and I'm willing to part with it, for a reasonable price of course. Bids by PM, please, auction closes at 15 November, 1 AM, Central European Time.

To be honest I don't see how Next isn't going to flop, especially since their lead guy was responsible for both skill challenges and Iron Heroes.

Quote from: 1989;707393This was announced back in Jan. 2012, and the internet was hoppin' with buzz.

It's soon going to be Jan. 2014. That's two years! (Good grief, it took less time to film TLotR than it did to develop a PnP RPG).

When is this train going to leave the station?

GenCon 2014 has been the best estimate from the first announcement and accords with the playtesting period for 3e and 4e. The only difference is that they announced it almost two years earlier in the name of "open playtest".

2014 is also D&D's 40th anniversary.

Quote from: gamerGoyf;707542To be honest I don't see how Next isn't going to flop, especially since their lead guy was responsible for both skill challenges and Iron Heroes.

I hate skill challenges, but what is Iron Heroes?