D&D General IF D&D were for sale ...

[doctorbadwolf]

Dropout.

If you aren’t familiar, the CEO Sam Reich believes that it should be illegal for a CEO to make extraordinarily more than the median employee, the company is dedicated to inclusion and representation both on and behind camera, and the cast and crew of Dimension20, which is Dropout’s D&D actual play show featuring DM Brennan Lee Mulligan, and has had Aabria Iyengar GM 3 different campaigns, and Matt Mercer I think has done 2. They’ve had the McElroy’s, most of the common faces of Dropout have been part of at least one “season” (limited run campaign with a theme), and the company is just genuinely good people.

I would trust them to take ownership of the D&D IP very seriously, to hire diverse creators including people who haven’t had their shot yet, to value both art and ethics more than profit, and to understand the humor, heart, and humanity, of D&D.


Barring that, me.
Why? Because I have a plan.

• Every edition of D&D gets a full SRD in both the OGL and CC, and the OGL gets updated to be explicitly irrevocable in the strongest possible terms.
• A lot more of the game would be in the SRDs. Maybe everything.
• I’d create a team to put out a book of alternate takes on much of the phb, balanced to play alongside the phb.
• Another team would go through older edition stuff and make work lists for tightened up versions of those editions, similar to the 2024 phb compared to the 2014 phb to print as special editions with special covers and extra art etc.
• 2e, 3/.5, and 4e each get dedicated teams.
• 4e would reduce page-space bloat with power source and role powers, fewer powers in general, more class features that can be subbed in place of Powers, and tier upgrades for powers rather than “replace a heroic encounter power with a paragon power”, all of which would reduce number of powers dramatically.
  • Also, math fixed and numerical scaling reduced
  • aim for the main 12 or so classes and most popular races in one book
  • each class has “basic attack” that uses the main stat of the class
  • Probably fewer feats total and no filler or tax feats
  • Multiclassing streamlined.
  • More powers and features explicitly non-combat
  • Skill challenges made a bit more scaled in results, so that the outcome is different if you succeed with eg 5 successes vs with only 3.
• Turn focus much more toward serving the community, and reaching out more to FLGSs for mutually beneficial arrangements.

 

[Zardnaar]

Dropout.

If you aren’t familiar, the CEO Sam Reich believes that it should be illegal for a CEO to make extraordinarily more than the median employee, the company is dedicated to inclusion and representation both on and behind camera, and the cast and crew of Dimension20, which is Dropout’s D&D actual play show featuring DM Brennan Lee Mulligan, and has had Aabria Iyengar GM 3 different campaigns, and Matt Mercer I think has done 2. They’ve had the McElroy’s, most of the common faces of Dropout have been part of at least one “season” (limited run campaign with a theme), and the company is just genuinely good people.

I would trust them to take ownership of the D&D IP very seriously, to hire diverse creators including people who haven’t had their shot yet, to value both art and ethics more than profit, and to understand the humor, heart, and humanity, of D&D.


Barring that, me.
Why? Because I have a plan.

• Every edition of D&D gets a full SRD in both the OGL and CC, and the OGL gets updated to be explicitly irrevocable in the strongest possible terms.
• A lot more of the game would be in the SRDs. Maybe everything.
• I’d create a team to put out a book of alternate takes on much of the phb, balanced to play alongside the phb.
• Another team would go through older edition stuff and make work lists for tightened up versions of those editions, similar to the 2024 phb compared to the 2014 phb to print as special editions with special covers and extra art etc.
• 2e, 3/.5, and 4e each get dedicated teams.
• 4e would reduce page-space bloat with power source and role powers, fewer powers in general, more class features that can be subbed in place of Powers, and tier upgrades for powers rather than “replace a heroic encounter power with a paragon power”, all of which would reduce number of powers dramatically.
  • Also, math fixed and numerical scaling reduced
  • aim for the main 12 or so classes and most popular races in one book
  • each class has “basic attack” that uses the main stat of the class
  • Probably fewer feats total and no filler or tax feats
  • Multiclassing streamlined.
  • More powers and features explicitly non-combat
  • Skill challenges made a bit more scaled in results, so that the outcome is different if you succeed with eg 5 successes vs with only 3.
• Turn focus much more toward serving the community, and reaching out more to FLGSs for mutually beneficial arrangements.

Lol they're not going to do anything new with previous editions. Changing one isn't gonna happen.
. At best reprints with new covers like 10 years ago maybe add them to CC.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Joe Manganiello.

 

[TheSword]

I’d have no problem with the IP being owned by WotC directly. I think they’ve generally done a good job with the property. For the most part. I don’t really see the value Hasbro add.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

Free League, just for the quality of the art.

 

[Blue]

Forgot Green Ronin add them as my 4th.

Hmm new list.

1. Kobold Press
2. Larian
3. Paizo
4. Green Ronin
5. ENworld

Can you explain Larian? My take on them as the shepherd of D&D is pretty negative.

1. They are a video game company, which has different work cycles that a RPG company. Too small teams, putting out product before finished and then patching/issuing errata.
2. They don't get D&D. If it wasn't for lots of vocal early access people, BG3 wouldn't have been anything like it ended up.
3. Where do we see that they are good at publishing a physical TTRPG? Not just mechanics, but also all the logistics of printing and physical product.
4. All of the complaints from a sizable portion of the fanbase that 4e was too "video gamey" - could be very true of whatever comes next.
5. They have no issues just changing mechanics when they were working with a licensed IP. Can you picture knee-jerk changes to balance issues when they publish something new, then errata swinging the other way, then errata to the errata on a moderate fix, etc?
6. Already lots of worries about "will physical books disappear" and if the game will go digital only - that would be a more natural fit for them.

 

[Minigiant]

In the words of 80-90s R&B crooner Keith Sweat.

Nobody
Nobody baby

Anyone big enough to buy D&D would treat it worse, not know how to further it, and would lack the lessons learned by WOTC.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

4e would reduce page-space bloat with power source and role powers, fewer powers in general, more class features that can be subbed in place of Powers, and tier upgrades for powers rather than “replace a heroic encounter power with a paragon power”, all of which would reduce number of powers dramatically.

• Also, math fixed and numerical scaling reduced
• aim for the main 12 or so classes and most popular races in one book
• each class has “basic attack” that uses the main stat of the class
• Probably fewer feats total and no filler or tax feats
• Multiclassing streamlined.
• More powers and features explicitly non-combat
• Skill challenges made a bit more scaled in results, so that the outcome is different if you succeed with eg 5 successes vs with only 3.

Y'all got a Kickstarter for this? I joke but that is quite attractive. Hurry up and make the proper 4E SRD like you "promised" last January, WotC! I do think 4E is a game which can tolerate a lot more than 12 classes in the long run but as basis for the SRD that would make sense.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Can you explain Larian? My take on them as the shepherd of D&D is pretty negative.

1. They are a video game company, which has different work cycles that a RPG company. Too small teams, putting out product before finished and then patching/issuing errata.
2. They don't get D&D. If it wasn't for lots of vocal early access people, BG3 wouldn't have been anything like it ended up.
3. Where do we see that they are good at publishing a physical TTRPG? Not just mechanics, but also all the logistics of printing and physical product.
4. All of the complaints from a sizable portion of the fanbase that 4e was too "video gamey" - could be very true of whatever comes next.
5. They have no issues just changing mechanics when they were working with a licensed IP. Can you picture knee-jerk changes to balance issues when they publish something new, then errata swinging the other way, then errata to the errata on a moderate fix, etc?
6. Already lots of worries about "will physical books disappear" and if the game will go digital only - that would be a more natural fit for them.

I didn't say Larian but I think I can respond to a lot of these.

1) They're also very sensible, and wouldn't treat at TT RPG as a videogame. Many of them are TT RPG players, I think they even have some TT RPG designers employed there (actually very common in video game companies - Elder Scrolls Online has several ex-D&D people I think!).

2) Counter-point: Neither does WotC at this point. I'm very serious about this. Whilst Larian absolutely did have to be poked/yelled at into understanding The Forgotten Realms (rather than D&D), I would say the final product displays at least as much understanding of what people actually like in D&D as any WotC product. Also they won't see D&D as something they need to market primarily to the lowest age group which might possibly play it, i.e. children, whereas at this point, WotC seems to increasingly be acting as if they need to make every D&D product essentially "child safe". There's some hope the wild success of the raunchy, blood-soaked BG3 may change this tack but we shall see. I feel like Larian would be willing to at least make D&D more PG-13 and just generally a lot more fun.

3) This is poor objection. Larian have been around for decades and have dealt with physical products, and what's more, plenty of people who never have, manage to launch Kickstarters for physical books, deliver them to both backers and stores, and so on. This is you making up a deeply unserious objection for sake of objections. Would have been to have not done so.

4) That doesn't follow or make sense, given it's Larian, who aside from barrel-mancy which obviously doesn't apply to a TT RPG, make some of the less video-game-y videogames.

5) Nonsensical objection. They're not morons. They understand the difference between a videogame and a TT RPG. Only one company has ever behaved like you describe re: a TT RPG. Wizards of the Coast. Yet you are apparently happy for D&D to remain with a company that has actually committed the crime you envision.

6) No this is just weird and irrational stereotyping. You're acting like Larian aren't humans, but robots designed to make videogames, it's bizarre. It's certainly no more likely with Larian or the like than WotC at this point. WotC are literally pouring tens of millions into making a 3D VTT that they want mass subscriptions to, but apparently that doesn't worry you much?

 

[Micah Sweet]

With the latest hubbub of false rumors, IF someone could buy D&D, who would you like it to be? Doesn't have to be a case of they could really afford it - assume they won the lottery or somesuch and could manage to pull it off. And, once acquired, what direction would you like to see them take it in?

Spoiler

If you'd asked me a few years ago, it would have been Paizo. Though recently, I'd rather the whole of D&D went to the public domain where no one individual/company could monopolize it, you just pick and choose your favorite game maker and products.

I'd rather it all went into the public domain like you said, but otherwise I'd say EN Publishing. They already have the best version of 5e, so all I'd want is for them to have access to D&D's IP.