Dungeons & Dragons Fights For Its Future

MSNBC has published a new article that looks at both the positive and potentially negative aspects of Wizards of the Coast’s upcoming 4th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons.

Roleplayers have always faced the difficulty of getting together regularly, especially since the games are lengthy. But they talk warmly about the camaraderie fostered by the games, since the players cooperate rather than compete. Though guided by thick rulebooks, the games have an element of theater, with players using the voices of their characters. Not surprisingly, they’re considered uncool by those who lack an appreciation of fantasy.

The new edition, the fourth since D&D was created in 1974, may do nothing for the game’s social stigma, but at least players will have the option to commune online. Each screen will show the same virtual 3-D “tabletop” with monsters and heroes, and the players will be able to talk via Internet voice chat.

…

Perhaps not coincidentally, the online features of fourth-edition D&D will carry a monthly fee of $14.95, though a one-year contract brings the cost down to $9.95 per month.

The new direction for D&D isn’t risk free. “Dungeons & Dragons Online,” an MMO game like “World of Warcraft,” hasn’t done very well. The game, run by Atari Inc. under a license from Hasbro, has less than 100,000 subscribers, according to various estimates.

The new edition of the printed game has already caused a rift in the D&D community. Paizo Publishing, an independent company that publishes popular supplementary books for the game, announced last month that it will not support the new edition. It says the previous edition of D&D is a better fit and will even create its own game based on that edition.

For the price of a rulebook each month, one would hope we’ll be seeing free adventure modules and other content being released on a regular basis.