Edition Angst – D&D & 40K

There have been a lot rumors flying around the internet about a 5th edition for Warhammer 40k. At the same time, Wizards of the Coast is preparing to release the 4th edition of Dungeons & Dragons. Both developments are creating a lot of buzz, anxiety and angst among fans of both games.

What strikes me is WOTC and Games Workshop are taking two diametrically opposed approaches to these new editions. GW has not even confirmed that a new edition of 40k is in the works. As the saying goes, in the absence of information there is only speculation. There are huge threads on message boards rambling on and on about what’s going to happen to the game, how will this impact my army, does this mean all  the miniatures I’ve collected are now going to be under-powered under the new rules.

WOTC on the other hand had a big announcement at last year’s GenCon, has designers and developers posting regular updates on their forums, is talking about the new edition in its podcasts and has even put two compilations of design notes out on the market for sale. 

I’ve seen WOTC take a lot of criticism for this approach, but I personally think it’s brilliant. They must be actively seeking the criticism to put these design concepts out there. They receive nearly instantaneous feedback from their fans about the new rules. Add this to their playtests and it seems WOTC is going to have a pretty good idea how 4th edition will be received by fans of the game.

The other night I was in my local Barnes & Noble looking at D&D books when a couple of guys came in, picked up one of the 4th edition preview books and immediately started chatting about the game. We struck up a conversation. They told me about their campaigns and their favorite characters (One had a stormlord with some gauntlet that created a never-ending supply of javelins. If you know the prestige class, you know that makes him uber-powerful. Not sure I would allow that if I were DM.)

They were young guys and had never played 1st or 2nd edition D&D, so they never had to go through this kind of change before. But they were looking forward to it. They liked the idea of 30 level classes, new core races, new spellcasting systems, the works.

The conversation made me feel good about the future of D&D and re-affirmed my commitment to dive in to the new rules. These were young players, focused on building up their characters and having fun. They want new ways to do that.

GW, on the other hand, is playing its cards very close to the vest. Maybe it’s because they’re in a different market position that WOTC. GW has competition from a lot of different miniatures games and more are popping up all the time. WOTC has the corporate backing of Hasbro, so it can take some chances.

 Whatever the case, GW’s strategy is creating a lot of angst and rabid speculation among gamers. One could argue that any publicity is good publicity, but GW’s way of thinking is resulting in a sort of random buzz that doesn’t really help the company refine its thinking about 5th edition 40k, if indeed it does exist.

By contract, WOTC is receiving a lot of feedback on its new rules, which will hopefully help them create a better game.

I love both games and hope that they turn out well. At this point, however, I have a little more faith in WOTC’s ability to deliver than GW.