Dungeons & Dragons Insider, the online service that will provide players of 4th Edition D&D with the ability to conduct campaigns with old friends from around the country is likely to cost $14.95 per month (or $9.95 per month for a year-long subscription).  The stand-alone monthly rate is similar to that charged by Blizzard Entertainment for its ultra-popular World of Warcraft MMO, which has over 10 million subscribers.  The online component of 4th Edition D&D (see "D&D 4th Edition Announced at GenCon") allows for long range interactions between players and will also bring players closer to Wizards' designers and the D&D community at large. 

The monthly fee for D&D Insider will provide D&D players with access to online versions of the Dragon and Dungeon magazines as well as provide online gaming tools for players and DMs including a character creator, maps and adventure-building elements plus D&D Anytime, a virtual gaming tabletop that allows far-flung gaming groups to get together and play online with voice chatting so players can vocalize for their characters.

The online character builder creates virtual miniatures that can be employed on the virtual tabletop, which includes three different types of playing surfaces including a selection of maps, a virtual dry-erase board, and dungeon tiles. Dungeon Masters can choose which surface to use and all three can be combined -- and the DMs will have access to virtual miniatures as well.