D&D 5E How Many 5Es Can There Be?

[overgeeked]

Just how many 5E RPGs can there be? How many will the market and community support? So, how many different versions of 5E can the community support? Will the presence of unofficial 5E games cause disruptions for WotC with the 2024 roll out? Are any non 2024 5E games even viable once it rolls out? Will people continue to play 2014 5E? What do you think?

How many can there be? An infinite number, honestly. 5E is in the Creative Commons. Anyone can use it for anything. We're likely to see that rules set (somehow) even more locked in going forward. The community will support most of them. Just like with the current 3PP. Instead of just putting out monsters, modules, subclasses, etc, most 3PP will pivot to their own core game as well. Various factions will push for this or that specific flavor of 5E, but they're ultimately competing against each other. I don't think it will matter one bit to the roll out of WotC's 2024 5E. All the clones will be viable. That's how big 5E is. Instead of one Pathfinder there will be dozens. Most will be close enough that you can cross pollinate. It will be like the early days of AD&D and Basic D&D. Close enough that no one really cares which is which and everyone will use whatever suits them in the moment.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

"Support" is a pretty nebulous term here. I don't think anyone other than WotC is expecting their 5E ruleset is going to keep the lights on all by itself.

For Kobold Press, ToV is an adjunct to their settings, adventures and splatbooks, allowing them to create for it even if WotC goes crazy and announces a 6E for 2025 that's completely incompatible with what's come before. But barring that, they don't need it to have a higher profit margin than any of their other books.

Similarly, Cubicle 7 appears to be treating their 5E books as supplements that will be used by DMs using any 5E system.

This is just a different flavor of third party companies creating supplements for the game. It's just that these products, in particular, can potentially be used to replace WotC's system, if one so chooses.

 

[Scribe]

"Support" is a pretty nebulous term here. I don't think anyone other than WotC is expecting their 5E ruleset is going to keep the lights on all by itself.

For Kobold Press, ToV is an adjunct to their settings, adventures and splatbooks, allowing them to create for it even if WotC goes crazy and announces a 6E for 2025 that's completely incompatible with what's come before. But barring that, they don't need it to have a higher profit margin than any of their other books.

Similarly, Cubicle 7 appears to be treating their 5E books as supplements that will be used by DMs using any 5E system.

This is just a different flavor of third party companies creating supplements for the game. It's just that these products, in particular, can potentially be used to replace WotC's system, if one so chooses.

Yep exactly. Its a platform, to build upon.

In my fever dream, I take the SRD and write up my own 5e system and commission a few of my favourite artists to put out a unified take on 5e in MY vision. If it even broke even, I would be satisfied.

I just need to win the lotto first...

 

[Reynard]

Yep exactly. Its a platform, to build upon.

In my fever dream, I take the SRD and write up my own 5e system and commission a few of my favourite artists to put out a unified take on 5e in MY vision. If it even broke even, I would be satisfied.

I just need to win the lotto first...

Nah, just build a YouTube audience talking about D&D without actually showing you can design for it, then crowd fund!

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Nah, just build a YouTube audience talking about D&D without actually showing you can design for it, then crowd fund!

Most of these folks have the intermediary step of getting a Patreon going first, where they do show whether or not they can design.

 

[Stormonu]

Might as well ask how many car models can be supported.

It won't hurt WotC, as those who choose to play non-WotC versions probably weren't going to be customers playing the official version in the first place. WotC might still make money off those folks with other licensed products - T-shirts, mugs, minis, etc. that folks would tangentially buy (for example, my B/X cover t-shirt for the days I play using OSR)

 

[el-remmen]

I'm guessing that the 5e 2014 will fade away

But very very slowly. With the number of 2014 PHBs we have reason to believe have been printed there are going to still be countless copies in discount bins, used bookstores, or that some retailers won’t bother to remainder.

 

[DarkCrisis]

ONE! ONE 5E AH AH AH!
TWO! TWO 5E AH AH AH!
THREE! THREE 5E AH AH AH!

 

[overgeeked]

Most of these folks have the intermediary step of getting a Patreon going first, where they do show whether or not they can design.

Exactly.

 

[Parmandur]

But very very slowly. With the number of 2014 PHBs we have reason to believe have been printed there are going to still be countless copies in discount bins, used bookstores, or that some retailers won’t bother to remainder.

Which works for WotC: the rules remain compatible, and their main interest is getting people to play.