5E was not announced

I was reading on Critical Hits Blog , that the big announcement at GenCon was NOT 5th Edition. This is good, I think Wizards would ahve lost more fan base if they suddenly changed pace with a new edition so soon on the heels of the Essentials line, which I've heard is almost a .5 update, but I'm no expert on 4E, so I'm not the one to listen to about that.

They did however announce lots of interesting news. Here's Some that I found interesting.

Here's the link to Critical-Hits.com. Also Congrats to to Critical-Hits for their 2011 Gold ENnie for best Blog.

D&D Miniatures make a return in themed sets. This is where Wizards will have a leg up on Reaper's new PAthfinder Line. Random miniatures (especially in the $4-6 range) in this economy are going to be a hard sell. I know I for one can't afford them. The other interesting thing about this release, is that it will be coming with a new diceless skirmish game with it's own terrain.

I'm thinking this is the replacement for HeroScape which was recently cancelled. Diceless and tactics means easier for younger audiences to play. This is a good move for Wizards I think. A Huge development along these lines is this new skirmish game will have Open Playtesting!!! I think Wizards has seen the light with Paizo's lead in open playtest, followed by Green Ronin's Dragon Age beta and most recently the DCCRPG Playtest. This is all great news for gamers abroad.

A New kind of organized play is coming out for the Hack'n Slasher, Lair Assault, designed for the power gamer versus DM type of game from what Dave "The Game" Chalker describes it as. Another step toward the easy play crowd. The existing Encounters line will remain story oriented for the Role-players. I wonder if they'll be allowed to use the same characters in both games...

The Dungeons of Dread board game was cancelled due to quality issues. However next year a new "Euro Style" Board Game will be released, Called Lords of Waterdeep. I wonder how that will play, board games seem to be the big money right now. I know Epic Sean and Epic Ian enjoy playing both Castle Raventloft and Wrath of Ashardalon at school last year.

Also if you're into buying ebooks, the D&D Line of novels are becoming available as ebooks. I always prefer dead tree press, I have hundreds of novels, I don't have a reader, though the Epic Twins each have a Nook. I like the e-ink technology, but I love a real book. The ability to not need an electronic device...

The Tome Show has the seminar in its entirety HERE