News Update: I decided that keeping this blog "only" about "The core fundamentals that are broken within Forth Edition" is probably too narrow minded. Rather than start a secondary blog for discussing non-core broken elements (Broken Bits is ™ of Perico's Square Fireballs blog-CURSES!), I've decided that at least some content here will not be about "fundamentally changing the shape of Forth Edition into what constitutes a new edition of the game." That being said, there will still be a distinct focus on Core Elements and Game Theory.
First and foremost: This blog refers to Dungeons and Dragons. It is not a reference to the editions of text books, it is not a reference to the editions of any other Roleplaying Game, and it is not a reference to funny third option.
With such a bombastic title as "Fifth Edition Now" one has to wonder what the purpose of this blog is-and probably assume that it's to say "Hey, this guy probably wants Wizards of the Coast to release 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons right this very second!" That is a laughable presumption.
However, the reason that is laughable is not that I have simply become enamored with 4th Edition and am resistant to change-far from it; as a bitter old soul, I have constantly attempted to come to grips with the current game engine and time and again I find myself finding it to be utterly flawed-
-like every past edition before it. And it's certainly true that a new edition would invalidate such options as the psion and the monk, wherein, once again, only a few of the most classic archetypes would even be playable. Indeed-this is what has happened with the most recent Essentials classes, for those who play solely by Essentials Rules. So it's certainly true that it would be redundant at best to start a fifth edition now.
However, that's not the reason why it would be laughable either. The simple reason is that there simply isn't enough demand to support a new edition right now; the amount of additional writers that would have to be hired on would be staggering, not to mention the marketing. And with the latest Essentials fiasco, consumer confidence in Wizards of the Coast would plummet to the earth like a flying creature knocked prone who just couldn't pass that DC 30 Athletics check. It's just bad business.
So then, if my entire premise is Fifth Edition Now, and I concede that Fifth Edition now would be laughable then, why Fifth Edition Now? Simple: Forth Edition is fundamentally broken. Like every edition before it. But it is not Wizards of the Coast who can fix it, but rather, the player base.
By which I mean me, because I have a power trip from DMing too much and like having a soap box, but let's not get into that.
Fifth Edition Now is not about pointing out broken pieces, but about pointing out broken wholes. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that Twin Strike is overpowered. I'm going to sit here and tell you that multiple damage instances per round breaks the easily identifiable damage per round expectations that allow the game to feel balanced. I'm not going to say "This solo monster needs an extra action." I'm going to tell you the problem with solo monsters.
There are also other concerns of course. Power Sources are fairly poorly managed, in my mind, and of course there are always the occasional overpowered specific options. But these aren't what this blog is about. This blog is about the very core that is Dungeons and Dragons-the very fundamentals of the game.
The very things that, in order to change, you wait until it's 5E.
Also, make sure you comment so I know you're there.
Edit: My apologies if you got here by doing a Google search about Fifth Edition, looking for hard information. Also, this site will probably seem pretty silly once Fifth Edition actually comes out, huh?
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