I quick addition. I just read the blog post about the Narrative Combat module. I stole a quote from there about Mike Mearls working on the tactical module:
Does this really sound like something that's going to be included in the PHB? I don't think so. It sounds like a pretty dedicated book, filled with lots of diagrams and pictures. How many pages is this going to take to explain clearly? I think a lot of pages, and why are they going to dedicate page space to an optional system that only a fraction of their customers want.
From earlier in the blog post:
Again, it seems like these modules are being designed that only a minority of players are interested in. I just don't see them wasting page space in their "core" product for systems that they don't expect the majority of their customers to use.
It's one thing for them to include races or classes that only a minority of players use because I think the majority of players expect them to be there out of completeness and diversity. Most people I know have never played a Bard, but they'd be upset if that option wasn't included as an option. It just wouldn't be D&D!
I'm not sure that same love is going to be felt for entire rule systems. So I go back to my earlier concern that the core D&D won't feel all the complete or interesting and that only by purchasing the rules modules will we be able to "make it our own".
Another game company does this with miniature combat rules. Games Workshop and their Warhammer 40k lines. Of course there is the basic rule book, but they sell whole supplements with new rules systems to add to the core game... Apocalypse allows for bigger games, Cities of Death has rules for dense urban combat, etc. These are great supplements, but they were too complex to fit in the core book (and were written some time afterwards, too).
If you like miniatures, on the other hand, I have heard Mike Mearls talking about a tactical miniatures combat module that might make you happy. I don’t know much about what’s in it yet, but I know you’ll find rules for cover, movement into and out of enemy threat areas, and other things that most miniatures games worry about. There are even rules for facing! Our goal with the subsystem isn’t to make miniatures rules for everyone—it’s to make miniatures rules for the people who really love miniatures.
Does this really sound like something that's going to be included in the PHB? I don't think so. It sounds like a pretty dedicated book, filled with lots of diagrams and pictures. How many pages is this going to take to explain clearly? I think a lot of pages, and why are they going to dedicate page space to an optional system that only a fraction of their customers want.
From earlier in the blog post:
A rules module is an additional set of rules that can be laid on top of the core rules. Each module attempts to make the game feel different in a way that a subset of the audience would find satisfying. We expect that most players won’t use most rules modules, but groups can find the rules modules that work for them so that they can achieve the feel they want.
Again, it seems like these modules are being designed that only a minority of players are interested in. I just don't see them wasting page space in their "core" product for systems that they don't expect the majority of their customers to use.
It's one thing for them to include races or classes that only a minority of players use because I think the majority of players expect them to be there out of completeness and diversity. Most people I know have never played a Bard, but they'd be upset if that option wasn't included as an option. It just wouldn't be D&D!
I'm not sure that same love is going to be felt for entire rule systems. So I go back to my earlier concern that the core D&D won't feel all the complete or interesting and that only by purchasing the rules modules will we be able to "make it our own".
Another game company does this with miniature combat rules. Games Workshop and their Warhammer 40k lines. Of course there is the basic rule book, but they sell whole supplements with new rules systems to add to the core game... Apocalypse allows for bigger games, Cities of Death has rules for dense urban combat, etc. These are great supplements, but they were too complex to fit in the core book (and were written some time afterwards, too).