Fourth Edition

Wizards of the Coast made their official revised 4th Edition D&D Game System License announcement today.

The $5K buy-in for advanced publishing is now gone, and the Phase One (August 1st) and Phase Two (January 2009) go-live dates have now been eliminated, in favor of a single new date: October 1st.

The license and the System Reference Document will be available when the 4th Edition D&D rules are officially released in early June.

As it says in the announcement:

A small group of publishers received advanced notice and will receive these documents prior to June 6, at no cost, in order to prepare for publication of compatible materials by the effective start date.

I will confirm here that Adamant Entertainment is one of those publishers who have received advanced notice.

I will not be making any announcements regarding our plans for 4th Edition until such time as I have actually seen the Game System License, and can thereby determine if the terms of the license are acceptable, and the sort of products we wish to produce are allowed.

Class and Style

Obama answers the ridiculousness of last night:

The sound you’re hearing is that of a nation waking up. At one point in the debate last night, the audience started booing the moderators. Today, Obama’s most direct criticisms of the debate are being met with standing ovations.

(Thanks to patricks for the link)

Stark

If you watched the debate last night (or, like me, read transcripts, watched internet video and related articles about it today), the choice in this election has become pretty stark:

ABC News had a conservative (Gibson) and a former Clinton employee (Stephanopolis) “moderate” a debate –which they filled with questions about Rev. Wright, the flag pin, patriotism, “bitter-gate”…even Obama’s connection to William Ayers, a member of the 1970s Weather Underground (in a question, unbelievably, given to Stephanopolis by FOX news’ Sean Hannity during an interview earlier in the day). Barely any substantive issues questions at all. It was a pure hatchet-job of “gotcha” politics — exactly the sort of thing that Obama has been saying, time and time again, that we need to move past.

Obama represents a new kind of politics — issues rather than bread-and-circuses distraction. It terrifies Clinton (because that’s not a field she can compete in, being a politician of the old school, tempered in the culture wars), and it confounds the mainstream media (who have made their money by sensationalism and distraction).

Last night was a stark example of what we’re all fighting against. Hopefully, it was SO disgusting and blatant that people will respond.

(EDIT: Just saw Andrew Sullivan’s thoughts on the same topic, posted ten minutes after I posted this. Worth a read.)