Dungeons & Dragons is once again receiving the “new edition” treatment. By now most gamers have heard the news whether it be from the official announcement on the Wizards of the Coast, the various articles from major news sources (New York Times, Forbes, etc.) or even just word of mouth. Needless to say responses to the announcement run the gamut from sheer excitement to utter disgust. Almost immediately speculation began running rampant over what this announcement meant for Dungeons & Dragons.

There are no doubts this new edition may partially be a response to the success of Paizo’s Pathfinder Roleplaying Game which surpassed Dungeons & Dragons in sales sometime in 2011. However, if we assume a release date sometime in 2013 (based on the announcement and past product release history) then Dungeons & Dragons Fourth Edition will have enjoyed a five year life span being supported as the most current edition of the game. Looking at previous iterations of the popular fantasy roleplaying game five years seems to be pretty close to par for the course.

The question remains, “What is Wizards of the Coast planning for Dungeons & Dragons?” Despite the surge in “retroclones” of earlier editions of the game most fans fall pretty squarely within the camp that supported the Fourth Edition of the game or those who preferred the Pathfinder Roleplaying Game which is a revised version of the Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 Edition (or Dungeons & Dragons 3.75 as some like to call it). To put it nicely the “edition wars” between these two camps have been pretty heated over the last few years. Many fans worry what will happen when Wizards of the Coast introduces a new edition to the mix.

Some believed the game designers working on Fifth Edition would be rolling back the clock to work on their own revision of 3.5. This would definitely make many fans of the older edition happy but many worried that Paizo already dominated too much of that design space for Wizards of the Coast to hope to reclaim it. Others believed they would be taking the game in a whole new direction to create a new core system which would draw fans back into the fold. However, Fourth Edition took that kind of approach which led to the current controversies and drop in sales making such a venture a very risky one.

For some fans the announcement only added to the frustration felt with Wizards of the Coast. Cisco Saavedra, lifelong gamer and fan of Dungeons & Dragons, commented, “Is it terrible of me that I just want to go back to red box rules?” He is not alone in that sentiment. Monte Cook, lead game designer for Fifth Edition, addressed these concerns in his most recent Legends and Lore article titled, “Looking at the Past and the Future.”

“This isn’t an attempt to get you to play Dungeons & Dragons in a new way. This is the game you’ve already been playing, no matter what edition or version you prefer. The goal here is to embrace all forms of the D&D experience and to not exclude anyone. Imagine a game where the core essence of D&D has been distilled down to a very simple but entirely playable-in-its-right game. Now imagine that the game offered you modular, optional add-ons that allow you to create the character you want to play while letting the Dungeon Master create the game he or she wants to run. Like simple rules for your story-driven game? You’re good to go. Like tactical combats and complex encounters? You can have that too. Like ultra-customized character creation? It’s all there.”

In short, everyone was thinking in the right direction. It seems Wizards of the Coast is going to work very hard to quite literally give everyone what they want in one package deal. The logistics of accomplishing such a task are daunting but Monte Cook is not alone in this endeavor. Bruce Cordell and Rob Schwalb, two names which are well known within the gaming community, have joined him as part of the core game design team. Combining these designers with the rest of the talent at Wizards of the Coast along with the community open playtesting ensures Fifth Edition will have all the tools it needs to succeed in meeting its design goals, if not meeting the goal of pleasing most of the fans of the game.

There is a lot of work to be done before Fifth Edition hits the shelves. Gamers interested in participating in the playtesting portion can still sign up for future announcements which will provide information about how to get involved. And for those heading to the Dungeons & Dragons Experience in Fort Wayne, Indiana there will be an opportunity for a first look at the new system.

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