Why 4th Edition?
Refreshing a living game such as D&D is very important. Our understanding of what works best for today’s players is always evolving, and ignoring that would result in a stagnant game that few people play. We’ve been dreaming of and experimenting with ways to improve the game—from better rules to more exciting characters to great online tools—for years, and now we’re finally ready to show folks the best Dungeons & Dragons game we’ve ever made.

I have a two foot high stack of D&D books that says the setting is neither stagnant nor lacking for players. I see reams and reams of players coming through the stores that only know D&D as a pen & paper game. This response is a generic corporate buzzword laden way of saying, “We loved bilking you into buying all the 3rd edition book over again with 3.5 so much we want to do it again.”

BattleTech has released new core rulebooks four times without rendering the stacks of sourcebooks obsolete.

What are some of the notable changes to 4th Edition compared to 3.5?
The Design & Development column on D&D Insider is the best location to see the changes and developments that have gone into 4th Edition. This column offers a unique behind-the-scenes look at the making of the game, with members of the R&D Team sharing their insights and philosophies.

You can also pick up a copy of the two 4th Edition preview books, Wizards Presents: Races and Classes, and Wizards Presents: Worlds and Monsters.

“We’ve changed the names of the rules but not the substance of them enough that we could point it out in a FAQ without giving it away…

Are there any conversion plans in place for transitioning 3.5 to 4th Edition?
We learned with 3rd Edition that accurate conversion really doesn’t work. Thus, we’re encouraging everyone to start at 1st level in 4th Edition and learn the new system from the ground up. While you’ll certainly be able to reinvent many existing characters with the new system, there’s no conversion guide that could adequately cover the vast array of options that have been published over the lifespan of the game.

…however we did change the rules enough to force you to buy all the books over again.”

With the introduction of 4th Edition, will existing 3.5 product be obsolete?
We are moving to a new edition, and the rulebooks that we’ll release from June 2008 forward will use the 4th Edition system. However, Dungeons & Dragons has always been a game involving campaign and world-building and your books from past editions still contain thousands of pages of information that you may consult when creating your world and/or updating your campaign. While there are no official plans to convert 3rd Edition material into 4th Edition, it is always possible to convert your favorite materials on your own.

That said, we’re also making sure that many products released before 4th Edition are “edition-proof,” meaning they can be used in any edition of the game (such as the Grand History of the Realms). In addition, other 3.5 products (such as Exemplars of Evil and Elder Evils) will receive 4th Edition updates, via D&D Insider.

More pablum. This is the same crap as saying, “No combination of multi-classing is wrong, just more unique” Face it, the old books will be old and leprous bygones of 3.5.

I can at least appreciate the honesty of saying converting to a new edition never works, but the only games I’ve ever appreciated new editions of were Shadowrun, Heavy Gear and AD&D to D&D 3rd edition. Whenever I read a preview of the new rules and systems they’re implementing in 4th Ed, I get a bad taste in my mouth. All I need look at is the two shelves representing years of dedicated playing of what Mr. Stark described as their definitive edition of the game.

Definitive until the greenbacks go by, eh?

That’s it? There’s no way upgrading Wordpress was this easy…

The first was one of the most under-appreciated games I played on the X-Box. News of a sequel has made my week.

God bless credit cards.

Checking the statement on my little plastic prison I was confused to see they’d upped my credit. To enough to buy the MacBook I’m currently typing this entry on. An adorable little bugger; And something I’m going to so enjoy playing with for the next few days.

It’s nice to have a computer again…

There will be many questions of Mac users out there. Is Safari okay or should I be looking at another browser? Are there any other applications I should be looking up that will help me out? Any other tips or thoughts?

Last night I was standing up, sliding into my sandals preparing to go to my Friendly Local Game Store to acquire a Nintendo Wii when a new release caught my attention. Interested in throwing some support in Gabe and Tycho’s direction, I bought that sucker without even glancing at the demo.

Penny Arcade stopped me from buying a Wii.

Last night anyways. I’m still eyeballing the little insidious bugger to round out the collection and provide some enjoyable local mulitplayer. Rock Band showed us that the multiplayer element of a game need not be cerebral or deep to be enjoyable. That, and the fun we had at our friends’ over yonder with their Wii still stands out in our memories.

But this is about Penny Arcade’s offering to the world. Not expecting Oblivion and already a little perturbed that the Fruit Fucker was not one of the playable characters, I was nonetheless reduced to forcing myself away from the game after 4 hours and good fun. I quickly turned around on the combat system, which once figured out is enjoyably involved despite appearing juvenile and punishing. Obviously it’s funny as ichor drawn from their vile essences should be, with every enemy you want to kill there ready to be killed: Vagrants, clowns, and fucking mimes. I did not register the actual price(around $20) until later;So unless there’s additional content on the way for cheap, I am going to call it a little pricey for a brief humourous adventure. But you get to slaughter mimes with a fucking rake.

I just don’t know why Gabriel’s channelling Tifa with his character.

I was providing a break in the Command Centre today and spontaneously decided to just keep typing a note on the file. This is what Carsten came back to:

Carsten call Ralph because it’s, like, totally important that he talk to you and stuff. He was totally cool and everything but I don’t know if he was just covering up for something that was, like, giving him emotional problems. I think he just, like, wants to talk, y’know? Because he’s always about business and work and stuff, and deep down he, like, wants to just kinda hang out and stuff. And you’re a totally just kinda hang out type guy who’s cool and so on; So it’s totally expected if Ralph just wanted to hang out and chat about stuff he’d want to talk to you. I’m cool and all but I can be a little weird, ‘cause I’m, like totally in touch with the world and that scares people, y’know? Y’know what I mean, how, like, I totally get why things happen and stuff, and what people are like, so I totally just say and do these things that leave people, “Like wow, what the heck?” and they get all intimidated and jealous ‘cause, like, I’m totally there and everything. Y’know? It’s, like, the other day, right? I’m hanging out with the guys and we see this toally weird guy going by, right? He’s, like, got pants on that are totally weird, and Tyler says so, and I’m, like, “Dude, I was totally gonna mention that guy’s weird pants.” And he’s like, “Really?” and I’m like, “Yeah!” and he’s like, “Seriously?” And I’m like, “Totally, dude, they’re really weird and stuff.” And he’s like, “Really weird!” And I’m like, “Yeah!” and then Matt’s all, like, “Yeah, they’re weird.” Which was totally not cool because, like, he was just trying to get into our conversation even though it was, like, over and totally above his, like, level and stuff.

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Thanks to Tycho.

My head’s been buried reading the rulez for Scion: Hero by White Wolf. I haven’t tested anything yet since most of my PnP focus is on planning our BattleTech game after a twist it took ahead of schedule. However, the concept seems kinda cool, if a little safe. The players are the children of mortals and gods, and are therefore being used a pawns in their wars against the Titans. By “safe” I mean that the pantheons represented are all miniority or dead religions. While the concept doesn’t lend to any of the monotheistic religions popular today on the surface, a little creative interpretations of angels and demons could work. Guess White Wolf is worried someone might be offended.

Which is weird because Christians and Islamics are normally so open-minded and tolerant when they’re represented in media.

The Dental Odyssey proceeds with mostly good news. The orthodonist only had to get a panoramic x-ray of my mouth, which showed that I needed four wisdom teeth removed. I’m in the process of booking that with the dental surgeon. It was disconcerting to be on the chair and hear the good doctor exclaim, “Holy mackinaw.” upon looking at my x-ray, to be sure. While I’m not looking forward to the surgery on painful recovery, it’s entirely possible that’s all I’ll need to get things fixed and back on track.

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