D&D Next Goes To Print

On May 24, 2012, Wizards of the Coast launched a public test of a fledgling new edition of the classic fantasy role-playing game Dungeons & Dragons.  In response to a continually shrinking market share and gamer attrition, Wizards of the Coast attempted to unify the best aspects of the previous five editions into a single modular system called D&D Next.  In celebration of the playtest's anniversary, Wizards of the Coast announced that it will release a limited edition commemorative book containing the most up to date version of of the D&D Next rules and four all-new adventures for player levels one through ten, written by Chris Perkins and the rest of the D&D design team.

Unfortunately for most of us, Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle will only be available to Gen Con 2013 attendees, which will be held in Indianapolis, IN, August 15 through 18.  It is priced at $29.99 and can be pre-ordered for pick up at Gen Con through the online hobby shop Gale Force Nine.  The book is designed to be a memento and even includes space so that you can get the designers to sign your book whenever you run into them during Gen Con.  It must be emphasized, though, that the rules set contained in Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle are not the final version of the new edition.  They merely reflect the current state of the D&D Next public playtest.  They will include the four core classes: fighter, rogue, wizard and cleric.

Wizards of the Coast will also run a special playtest of D&D Next during Gen Con.  It will be centered around Candlekeep, a fortress library in the Forgotten Realms setting and which was also featured in the classic computer game Baldur's Gate.  As explained by Mike Mearls:

"All throughout the entire weekend, we're going to have a constantly running game where you just get in line - if you want to DM, you can DM your friends or we'll have volunteer DM's on hand - and you can play through scenes of this climactic battle."

What makes the Candlekeep adventure new and exciting is that after each group finishes its adventure, the results of their actions will be tabulated and used to determine the fate of Candlekeep, which will be announced on the last day of Gen Con:

"If you're told to go behind enemy lines and trash a caravan, whether you succeed or fail will tie into the greater results of the entire weekend.  Essentially, it is one massive interactive adventure."

Although Wizards of the Coast will not say when it plans to close the public playtest and release the final version of the new rules, many fans expect the game to be released in mid 2014, to coincide with the game's 40th anniversary.