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Dungeons & Dragons 4

	Author: Brant Guillory Article Type: Convention Coverage Publication Date: 12/19/2007 Developer: Wizards of the Coast Publisher: Wizards of the Coast Related Categories: Turn-based, Fantasy, Role-Playing, Convention Coverage

An Overview of D&D v4

The grand-daddy of all role-playing games is getting its latest overhaul in 2008. As rumored, Wizards of the Coast announced at GenCon that a 4th edition of the venerable RPG would be released in 2008. I was fortunate enough to score a one hour sit-down with Chris Perkins (Story Manager on Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition) and Scott Rouse (Brand Manager for Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition). Over the course of that hour, the conversation swerved from favorite out-of-print game worlds to fantasy books for pre-teen kids. In the end, what I really took away from it all was the passion shown by these guys for quality game products and really involving the fans in the ongoing game worlds.

There are many media outlets that have covered the mechanical changes anticipated in Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition. However, to me, analyzing the statistical impact of changes in percentages on specific die rolls smacks of overheated rules-lawyering. What I enjoyed was Rouse and Perkins’ explanations of the thematic changes expected in Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition.

As explained by Rouse, the rules changes are all designed to make the game “faster to play and easier to run.” The goal of removing roadblocks to fun was taken very seriously, and while no single large rules change meets that criteria by itself, the changes were, in some cases, sparked by interactions of rules from varying sourcebooks that cold combine into unbalanced situations.

Perkins noted that some of the party roles were “redefined back to what they should’ve been all along.” The idea, he explains, is to think of the party as a sports team, with different roles. Fighters, obviously, fight. Clerics direct and protect with some fighting capability; they should not just be a walking first aid kit. Wizards direct and command, with strikes from afar. Rogues are the stealthy slashers at the flanks, and as described by Perkins seem almost cavalry-like.

Contributing to these refined roles within the party are some updates to class and racial abilities. Wizards, for instance, are pretty useless under the old 1st edition rules, in which they had their one spell each day. The new class rules will include abilities that can be used at any time, some which can be used once per encounter, and still others that are once each day. As Perkins explained, a wizard shouldn’t be reduced to flinging knives at orcs because she’s burned her one Magic Missile spell.

The core game books will also support characters from levels 1-30, so there’s no need for an extra set of rules for ‘epic’ level characters. What do seem to be ironed out are the ‘transition’ levels in the low-to-mid teens. Characters from levels 1-10 should be the local heroes, guarding their hometowns and local lands. From levels 11-20, the party should be adventuring across the kingdom and undertaking quests that can affect the future of the entire nation. Above level 20, characters are saving the world, and adventuring off the plane into other realms.

The settings will still revolve largely around the traditional medieval fantasy settings. Eberron and Forgotten Realms will be the primary settings, and Wizards of the Coast are bringing Dragonlance back into active circulation (the novels have continued for the last 20 years, but the game material hasn’t been updated from almost a decade). Dark Sun, Mystara, Greyhawk and the other settings are still out there, supported by myriad fan sites, but not planned to return to active circulation.

Of course, one question on everyone’s mind is the future of the Open Gaming License (OGL) and d20 license. According to Perkins and Rouse, the OGL is not going away. It’s going to be updated for 4th edition, but will continue. The d20 label and logo for supporting products, however, is likely to see some changes. Rouse noted that while the d20 logo on the product can establish compatibility with the game system, it cannot describe the quality of the product to the customer.

Ideally, Wizards of the Coast would like some way to establish some quality controls for d20 products. Along these lines, the guys mentioned that Wizards of the Coast might explore creating some sort of advisory panel of publishers and creators to assist in coordinating the direction of the OGL. That advisory panel might also help with some product release issues. Rouse jokingly recalled a short stretch of time last year when “four or five different publishers all released products about dwarves within six weeks of each other.” And while the publishers were all trying to maintain momentum for their respective product lines, customers were left staring at store shelves in complete confusion, not knowing how to distinguish between a myriad number of books, all of which seemed to cover the same topic.

There will also be a significant online component to the support for Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition. Look for official rules, settings, errata, and company interactions to migrate to online forums (fora?). Some of this has already started to roll out with the free beta of Gleemax and D&D Insider (which has since been merged into Gleemax) . Longtime industry-flagbearing magazines Dragon and Dungeon are headed online, too, and by the time this article is published, the last issues of each should be fading from newsstands.

Perkins and Rouse were vague about the full implications of the strategy of migrating so much content online (more on that in a minute) but both agreed that the audience is moving online, and Wizards of the Coast would be negligent if they weren’t rolling out more online content. Again, the mechanics of these changes have been extensively chronicled elsewhere, and my focus was on the feel of the game, and the thematic changes on the horizon.

Both gentlemen were emphatic that Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition needed to recapture the original sense of wonder that many gamers had when they first started exploring their first fantasy world on gaming tabletop. There’s something new and different over the next hill, and there’s no reason not to go find it. That sense of mystery at that character level is something both Rouse and Perkins wanted to bring back to the game.