D&D 5E Light release schedule: More harm than good?

[cletusk82]

Campaign settings, background books, and adventures I'll buy every time (whether paizo or wizards). Whether I use them or not, I like to pickup adventures for stealing pieces of them. Crunch books aren't really my thing, but I do buy some occasionally (but not generally the late cycle crazier stuff that starts with "unchained", "ultimate" or ends with a number) only exception to this is Monster Manuals, of which I'll get all of them.

I appreciate the conservative approach they are taking but agree they need to push a little more official product out. As my group is finishing up ToD I'm converting paizo adventure paths to 5th edition because there isn't any other option unless I write something myself.

 

[tomservo999]

They can take their time on crunch books as far as I'm concerned. But, I too would jump on setting books. Looking forward (hopefully soon) to a 5E Forgotten Realms campaign book, as well as a few more adventures and the return of Dragon and Dungeon magazines (print or pdf).

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

I can play 5e for the rest of my life with the material that's been released thus far.

I can play RPGs for the rest of my life using nothing but a piece of paper and a coin, but buying RPG books is something I enjoy and I would like to be able to purchase new D&D sourcebooks, just for the sake of it, you know? It's not something I need, it's something I want, and really, what's wrong with that?

 

[MoonSong]

I've seen a number of people talk about six supplements a year.

Ok. Well, that would mean in 3 years, you'd have 18 supplements. That's more than 1e had in its ENTIRE run. At least hardcovers. 1e managed to go 10 years with what, a couple of dozen supplements tops? Two a year, maybe, and lots of years of only one.

I'm not going to buy more than one book a year, maybe two, and I haven't since, 3.5 hit the shelves. So, for me a 2 book a year schedule is fine.

I want a light release too, in a way... I'm fine with one Huge AP per year that I will just never buy, but What I want is something else. Things like a book with a bunch of adventures, many short modules. I just don't get the obsession with having to publish all hardcover. Support should be done with gazeteers, adventures, modules, self contained settings -like Ghostwalk-, out of session encounters. So many things that help people to play the game and not necessarily will mean bloat.

 

[Blackbrrd]

I want a light release too, in a way... I'm fine with one Huge AP per year that I will just never buy, but What I want is something else. Things like a book with a bunch of adventures, many short modules. I just don't get the obsession with having to publish all hardcover. Support should be done with gazeteers, adventures, modules, self contained settings -like Ghostwalk-, out of session encounters. So many things that help people to play the game and not necessarily will mean bloat.

Exactly this. No bloat, and material interesting for a wide audience.

 

[aramis erak]

Content restricted by Pathfinder Society is a tiny, tiny fraction of the total content. And I don't recall any restrictions for the Adventurer's League as yet.

DMG options material isn't allowed yet, except for the grid movement rules. PHB options are, except for rolling for attributes and hit points. But I suspect that's due to the timeframe.

 

[DongMaster]

I can play RPGs for the rest of my life using nothing but a piece of paper and a coin, but buying RPG books is something I enjoy and I would like to be able to purchase new D&D sourcebooks, just for the sake of it, you know? It's not something I need, it's something I want, and really, what's wrong with that?

I buy miniatures and paint them, in a 20 to 1 ratio.

My answer should be fairly obvious.

 

[Hussar]

At the end of the day, it boils down to this, at least IMO. Every edition, right from the 1st, went through a boom and bust cycle. 1e's might have lasted a bit longer, due to the fad nature of things, but, it still went bust - and we got Unearthed Arcana. Halfway through 2e, we got Skills and Power. 3e then 3.5 then 4e then Essentials. Round and round we go.

Paizo does seem to be doing something right. While WOTC is laying people off, Paizo is growing. Sheesh. Good on them.

Seems that it's not about how much you produce, but, rather, what you produce.

 

[DongMaster]

Indeed, which is why I got back to RPGing (because of 5th).

It is done right.

 

[Eric V]

I can play RPGs for the rest of my life using nothing but a piece of paper and a coin, but buying RPG books is something I enjoy and I would like to be able to purchase new D&D sourcebooks, just for the sake of it, you know? It's not something I need, it's something I want, and really, what's wrong with that?

Nothing, of course.

As for the "It's all you need!" sentiment...that's not exactly true, at least insofar as I have seen. Our group is composed of people with full-time jobs and families; it's hard enough to find time to play, let alone the time necessary to convert older material as well. Now, if WotC released some sort of conversion-scale matrix to speed that along, that'd be great...but I am not holding my breath. Point is, we pay money to 1) Not have to do this work ourselves, for legit time constraints, and 2) For the expertise the designers have that we do not.

Finally, if I was a coveted new player to the game, my options are very limited, right? I wouldn't have the experience of playing previous editions to make conversions of older stuff; so I am stuck playing in the Realms, with a save-the-world scenario.

So yeah, more adventures at least.