Dungeons & Dragons Online, the previously failed MMORPG that turned the free to play business model into a money-printing machine, is swelling to produce a rather impressive new expansion pack. Menace of the Underdark is that pack, and it brings with it an entirely new setting, the Forgotten Realms. The details of the expansion are many and impressive, including a new class, higher level limits, a Epic Destiny system, and something about a goddess with a fondness for spiders. Ten Ton Hammer has the story.
With the release of this Menace of the Underdark expansion, it looks like the pen and paper Dungeons & Dragons will be going into its 5th edition of the rules while its flagship video game rolls with the 3rd edition ruleset. Incidentally, those 3rd edition rules have been entirely taken over by a company that competes with Dungeons & Dragons in the pen and paper world.
In other words, Dungeons & Dragons Online is actually selling a competitor’s product, while the real Dungeons & Dragons is trying to sell a new version of the game without a video game to support it.
I wonder if the D&D folks allow their marketing people near any open windows higher than the first floor.