D&D (2024) How excited are you for the new 2024 edition d&d?

[Mirrorrorrim]

Even in this thread, this close to launch, people are still arguing over whether this constitutes a new edition.

WotC's clearly has a messaging problem.

I disagree. Wizards does not have a messaging problem. They are clear about their messaging. It's a Community Expectation and PR problem. The Community is fractured in differing what they want from D&D, and they are also suffering the blowbacks from their PR problems.

Most people in the world aren't tracking the playtest. They have too much more important stuff going on to read and watch what Wizards puts out. They get their news from hearsay and social media. And a lot of the vocal people, whether in-person, or on social media (of those who care strong enough to provide commentaty) are those who are angry.

Wizards has blundered enough to anger people, who now see Wizards as antagonists. These angry people are fighting any narrative that Wizards uses to try and create a positive groundswell. These people have become antagonists in their own right, even if they feel they are being legitimately reactive. Not everyone who disagrees with Wizards is this way, but just look at the social media comments. There is a lot of snide mockery exclaiming "6E!", "Pinkertons!", and "OGL!" and the like. Some call Wizards liars, purposefully spread their own narrative that does not match Wizards' narrative (calling it 6E or 5.5E, for instance) and otherwise actively try to harm Wizards efforts, sometimes to the point of spreading misinformation or spreading word that Wizards has explicit plans to harm the community in the future.

And it's not just those legitimately angry people. Some people have legit different definitions for themselves, and they vary to the extremes! Some say 5E doesn't need to be changed, and any changes are a cash grab. Some say 5E is boring, and they want something new, and rather than go somewhere else for what they want, they demand that Wizards makes D&D that way they envision. And each of those factions actively present their narrative as truth and One True Way.

When the 2024 books come out, we'll see what happens. If I don't like it, I'm going to bow out and stick to my own way of playing and not yuck everyone else's yum. I'm not going to troll and spread hate fertilizer in the D&D community because my desires were not catered to. Whatever game I play, I don't want to cause, or be subject to, rage-inducing trolling. I don't want ENWorld to turn into a cesspit. It's not fair to ENWorld, or the fans. We should find our own peace and joy and fun, even if it isn't technically core D&D anymore.

 

[Stormonu]

The clear implication was that the reason people only use official material because it's official. I simply disagree, which is an opinion just like yours. Do some people stick with official because it's official? In a sense I suppose. Why look for modifications if you're happy with what you have.

I just get tired of the implied "If the sheeple only knew better they'd agree with me" whether that was the intent of the statement or not.

I prefer official because generally it's been playtested, so I can have a bit of comfort that someone's already done the legwork to verify it won't break the game. Then, of course you get stuff like Deck of Many Things cartomancer feat, and it blows that illusion out of the water...

 

[Neonchameleon]

I prefer official because generally it's been playtested, so I can have a bit of comfort that someone's already done the legwork to verify it won't break the game. Then, of course you get stuff like Deck of Many Things cartomancer feat, and it blows that illusion out of the water...

For me it's not that I expect official to be perfectly balanced - I don't expect anything to be. It's that the community has picked it over and I don't expect to be blindsided.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

2/5 - Mostly I just want to see what they actually do. I sadly don't expect to fix any of the various easy-to-fix issues about 5E that you could trivially fix whilst retaining backwards compatibility, simply because WotC didn't even touch on most of those on the playtest, and in general, WotC seems curiously divorced from the vocalized concerns of most people playing the game. This would make sense if they were polling a much larger section of the community - but they aren't, but their own numbers. I think it's just an oddity of the current designers, and it has upsides and downsides, because it means they're not easily persuaded into doing something crazy by some vocal minority, but it also means they're missing easy wins that other designers wouldn't miss.

I mean, or does it? Because we don't actually know what is going to be in the 2024 edition.

It could be anywhere from a downgrade so dubious we stick entirely with the current 5E, to an utterly huge upgrade.

 

[Yaarel]

I think I still would not be super enthusiastic because of the 5e rules as a foundation, but if they e.g. did an official adaptation of Mass Effect or a 5e version of Gamma World, I would probably check it out.

I had an awesome 5e fan-made Mass Effect setting. I appear to have lost track of it − where I thought put it isnt. I am unsure if it is related or not, but there is a 5e Mass Effect setting.

 

[aco175]

I voted 3 thinking it was more middling to meh interest. I am interested in seeing if they fix what I am concerned about. I guess others might be more concerned about other things, so we will see.

I would be more interested in seeing a different campaign book than the Vecna book with world-spanning high-level play.

I would be more interested in seeing the new monster book when I buy the PHB and not need to wait, even if I can understand why.

I would be more interested in seeing a new starter box set to sort out the changes in play.

 

[schneeland]

I had an awesome 5e fan-made Mass Effect setting. I appear to have lost track of it − where I thought put it isnt. I am unsure if it is related or not, but there is a 5e Mass Effect setting.

Yeah, that one is the best 5e version I'm aware of. I have another one that says it's a d20 game, but I don't remember from where I got it.

 

[Gladius Legis]

Not even a little bit.

 

[Lanefan]

I can only speak for me. Official is of value only as far as wholly-owned IP is concerned for me. I've never understood people's insistence on it beyond that.

The value of "official" is that whatever it is, it'll reach a far wider audience than anything by any 3PP.

 

[grimmgoose]

I put 2.

Generally, I'm over 5E. It had a good run, but the cracks are showing, and from I've seen, 5.5 isn't going to fix the foundational issues (and to be honest - it can't, because most of my problems are structural).

I am "excited" about some balancing. To me, spells across the board need a big ole balance patch, and from I've seen so far, I'm hesitantly hopeful.

These days, 5E is not what I typically play with my two groups. We occasionally get an itch for fantasy superheroes, so a 5.5 that applies enough band-aids may get a purchase (at a deep discount).

I'm very much not going to pay WOTC $150+ for 5E, again. I will wait for a deep sale to pick up the core books.

If we were looking at an honest-to-goodness 6E, with a fresh new take and bold ideas, I would be much more interested.