Any predictions ?

- more integrated with online play ?
- more 'story' elements - oracles, arenas, keys ?
- who does it cater for - the experienced gamer ?
- is the artwork still crap ?
- when does it come out ?
- who's your ideal design team ?
- will there be an accompanying CGI-overload movie ?
- who should write the new 5th ed FR novels ?

most important - key and urgent - will it answer my kid's question:

"Can I play the Mighty Boosh using D&D ?"

Quote from: SeanAny predictions ?

-It's not going to be d20. Not in spirit (license) and not in flesh (engine)
-Nobody will be able to clone it (through the OGL)
-Will demand a lower buy-in (bye bye three core books) but will cost more in the long run
-People will bitch about it and it will sell

Quote from: Sean- more integrated with online play ?

If all goes right, more integrated with online play and  computers. It should have been happening at 3e's launch. Hopefully it happens soon.

Quote from: Sean- more 'story' elements - oracles, arenas, keys ?

More story elements in certain respects, less in others.

Quote from: Sean- who does it cater for - the experienced gamer ?

A larger bracket of people. Lower income can buy-in easily. Collectors with cash to spend get their fix.

Quote from: Sean- is the artwork still crap ?
- when does it come out ?

The artwork is not crap. Next artwork will be current.

The next edition comes out between 2012 and 2014. I'm betting on 2013.

Quote from: Sean- who's your ideal design team ?

Jonathan Tweet, Reiner Knizia, Greg Stolze, Robin D. Laws and a hot and competent novelist in the field of fantasy and/or horror.

And me, of course

It will be much better, not at all like the boring, outdated and bug-ridden 4e, mark my words.

I think computers will still be optional. What I do think is that the game will end up having more boardgamey, tactile elements. As well as buying up dungeon tiles and customisable wilderness maps and miniatures, Wizards will sell decks of cards for various classes with their different power names on them, so that people can yell "Magic Missile" and throw down their Magic Missile card, which explains precisely what MM does. Character sheets will have a little space in them to put little counters to track various effects your character is under like Blessings, poisonings, and so forth. The grumblers and nay-sayers would draw comparisons to boardgames like HeroQuest and Descent.

(TBH, that's kind of what my feeling is about 4E: the MMO thing is a red herring, this resembles Descent more than it does World of Warcraft. This is not necessarily a bad thing.)

One or both of these will be true:

*It will not be called 5th Edition;

*It will not be produced by WOTC.

5E will be made of string.

It will be the source code of a computer MMORPG printed out on paper interspersed with screen captures from random anime TV series.

It will change everything by being the same game it's always been...

I know not what weapons 4e will be fought with, but 5e will be fought with sticks and rocks?

It will be called "Instances and Mobs".

It will be totally irrelevant since it won't ever beat World of Warcraft at the latter's game, which is what both 4.0 and 5.0 will attempt to do- and fail.

The difference between 4e and 5e will be that I don't play 5e twice as hard as I don't play 4e.

Maybe the French guy will be singing a new tune by then...

"Ceci n'est pas un D&D."

:keke:

As soon as 5th Edition is announced, there will be flames, vitriol, wailing, and the gnashing of teeth, before any details are released.  In other words, just like AD&D 2nd Edition, D&D 3rd Edition, D&D 3.5, and D&D 4th Edition.