D&D 5E Comment on the negative article by John Dodd

[the Jester]

This review is a lot like a review comparing a Sherlock Holmes movie to a tv version without ever mentioning that one is a movie and the other is an episode of a tv show.

 

[Semah G Noj]

Small selection bias. You can't get any meaningful information from that small and that non random of a sample. The author seems to have made his conclusions ahead of time and then performed something that has the basic appearance of an experiment which backed up what he had already concluded. All we can probably conclude is that the author doesn't like 5E.

 

[Agamon]

Maybe you should read the review - all the way through. It's a lot more even-handed than a lot of people are posting here.

I was being a tad facetious. I scanned the rest and noted the other points of eye-rolling goodness. Like I say, people can have whatever opinion they want, but they shouldn't hide behind them by saying, "This is what newbs thought." I could do the same thing, I guess. I just have this thing called a conscience.

I have nothing at all against either product, I think they're both great for what they are. It's just this so-called review I'm not pleased with.

 

[Boarstorm]

Maybe you should read the review - all the way through. It's a lot more even-handed than a lot of people are posting here. And nowhere does he say that the D&D Starter Set has no color - rather that all of the monsters get full color illustrations in the PF BB and that the rulebooks in the PF BB are full color all the way through - and they are a lot more colorful. You can't really deny that.

Now, are there any monsters in the Starter Set that AREN'T illustrated somewhere in the adventure? I can't think of one off hand, but I don't have my booklet handy to double check either.

 

[Mistwell]

This thread inspired me to take the small amount of time to go give it a positive review at Amazon.

 

[delericho]

Yeah, he nowhere mentioned that the D&D Starter set can be ordered* for 13$, while the Pathfinder starter set costs 29$, more than twice the price. So, mentioning that the D&D set feels cheap, without mentioning that it IS cheap sounds pretty biased...

*Both prices from amazon.com

Actually, because he doesn't say where he bought the sets, his "small price difference" could actually be accurate - on Amazon UK, for example, the Pathfinder set is only £1.70 more expensive (about $3).

That's why the RRP is generally a better measure when comparing prices - although it's likely that most people don't pay that RRP, it does at least give a fixed point for comparison, rather than depending on whatever random discount you happen to get.

 

[Agamon]

This thread inspired me to take the small amount of time to go give it a positive review at Amazon.

Great idea! If I owned the PFBB, I'd do the same with it, but I've only really briefly seen the contents, so I can't give it more than a, "Yay, BB!"

 

[doctorhook]

Maybe you should read the review - all the way through. It's a lot more even-handed than a lot of people are posting here. And nowhere does he say that the D&D Starter Set has no color - rather that all of the monsters get full color illustrations in the PF BB and that the rulebooks in the PF BB are full color all the way through - and they are a lot more colorful. You can't really deny that.

I'm genuinely curious what makes you feel his review was even-handed, because his whole basis of comparison was flawed...

 

[Agamon]

Now, are there any monsters in the Starter Set that AREN'T illustrated somewhere in the adventure? I can't think of one off hand, but I don't have my booklet handy to double check either.

Yeah man, no kidding.

"Here are two trucks. I like this one, it has 4-wheel drive and great towing capacity!"

"Oh, so that other one doesn't?"

"...did I show you the cool looking mirrors on this cool one? Cool, hey?"

 

[jodyjohnson]

Now, are there any monsters in the Starter Set that AREN'T illustrated somewhere in the adventure? I can't think of one off hand, but I don't have my booklet handy to double check either.

In most cases the monster is illustrated when it appears in the adventure (You walk into a woods, there is a owlbear - shows picture).

Missing illustrations are: commoner, evil mage, wraith, ochre jelly, orc, redbrand ruffian, skeleton, twig blight, wolf, and zombie.

Twig blight and ochre jelly I could see wanting an illustration for as a newcomer. What color is Ochre? Twig Blight - like a tumbleweed or like a really small Treant?


Similarly, on the dice complaint I don't recall needing the percentile dice for much other than Teleport - at level 13. Or with the full rules and the Sorceror Wild surge table.