Wizards of the Coast announced today that the first major revision of the 4th edition rules will hit the shelves in May of 2011. D&D 4.5 continues the trend introduced in 4th edition, emphasizing faster game play, offering more new character options, and reducing prep time to play. Intwischa.com will keep you informed throughout the day with exclusive udpates!
In addition to updates for the core books, the Power series, and the Essentials line, Wizards of the Coast is expanding its lineup of support software for 4.5. “We dropped the ball with backwards compatibility on 3.5,” reflects Mike Merals, D&D Lead Designer. “Character Converter will show that we’re not repeating that mistake.” The Character Converter will open files created in the second version of the fourth edition Character Creator, and flag sections of the character sheet that are no longer legal under the 4.5 rules, and provide links to the correct updated books on the Wizards store.
The D&D Compendium is being updated and migrated to a Wiki platform. “WiziWiki,” as the developers are fond of calling it, is a community-supported repository of magic items, powers, feats, backgrounds, and other game material, all sourced by subscribers to D&D Insider. The underlying technology allows purchased Compendium entries to be imported to character sheets, conferring bonuses where appropriate. Most feats and backgrounds cost only 99 cents!
Rounding up the line of new tools is the Side Quest Manager. “When designing 4th edition, our mantra was ‘Never split the party,’” says Merals. “We’ve learned that gamers represent the largest obstacle to party cohesion. 4.5 addresses these issues.” The Side Quest manager allows the DM to virtually manage a side quest for one player while continuing the adventure for the whole party. Side quests are earned when players activate a power purchased through the Compendium.
Stay tuned to Intwischa.com all day for exclusive D&D 4.5 coverage!
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