Dungeons & Dragons Gets a Makeover with its 4th Edition

Since the 1970's Dungeons & Dragons has been the leader in RPG's. Through the decades the face of Dungeons & Dragons has changed several times. With each new edition comes new artwork for us to admire, as well as new guide lines and cool things to import into our game play.

Once again the masters of role playing have deemed it time for a new face and improved modernized tool system. Introducing Dungeons & Dragons 4th Edition. Yes, you heard me. The 4^th edition to the Dungeons & Dragons world comes into existence in 2008.

Starting in May 2008 the first core rule being the player's handbook will be released and available for purchase. Then for the next two months another rule book will be published with the monster manual being second and then Dungeon Masters Guide being the last core rule book to be released. With the time frame that the core rule books will be released, they will be ready in time for Gen Con 2008, which is a major gaming and comic convention.

With this new D&D edition role playing will take grasp of modern technology never before done with any other edition. The design for 4^th edition will make game play better, faster, and stronger. Also the overall character advancement is made meaningful in all levels of play. Meaning, that high level game play will be just as meaningful and fun as low level game play.

Wizards of the Coast stream lined mechanics by improving the overall presentation and book layout which will allow for a better Dm/player experience.

Some of the changes that have been made include such things as ability stat blocks are made simpler. In the good old days a player character could only go to 20 levels of game play under core rules. Anything higher and you needed high level supplement books. With 4^th edition, core game play allows for as many as 30 levels. The adventures using the new 4^th edition will be easier to DM. This will take a lot of frustration away from whoever is DMing.

More defined character classes allow for a player to know exactly what a character can do in a certain situation. New power sources will give a character more of a choice of what they can do. Just when you think you have run out of options there are now more of a resource management.

Another factor of the game is also redefined. Just as characters classes are redefined, so too, are the monsters. The monsters were redefined to allow the DM to choose the right monster to encounter the party at the right situation.

The new Dungeons & Dragons 4^th Edition is thought of in four parts. The first part being the physical product. The physical product is the books, adventures and anything else that is published or created for the product.

Organized play is the second part of the 4^th edition. Old and new elements are used with the organized game play and allows for better DM/player relations.

The third part of 4^th edition is Community. The new 4^th edition will take advantage of online tools put out by Gleemax. This will allow for chat sessions with other players and contacts to wizards of the coast.

The final part of the new 4^th edition is D&D insider. The new D&D insider will include such things as DM tools, a new special character creation program, expanded content, designer documentaries, E-version, and added functionality.

With all of these new features it is hard to wait until next year but it will be worth seeing the new look of RPG's.

For more information on Dungeons & Dragons or Wizards of the Coast visit www.wizardsofthecoast.com