D&D 5E My thoughts on the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide on Game Master's Journey

[LexStarwalker]

I just released a new episode of my podcast, Game Master's Journey, in which I give a detailed discussion and review of the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide for D&D. This book is made for a very specific player, and if that player is you, then I think you'll be very happy with it. However, if you're not the target for this book, then you may be quite disappointed, especially if you don't know what to expect.

 

[Marandahir]

You might consider posting this in the WotC Reviews subforum.

 

[gyor]

Good review, but I'll disagree with one thing, 3e FRCG won't be enough, there is too much 4e hold overs, and few 5e unique twists or even throw backs to 1e/2e.

Of course SCAG helps but its not enough, what's needed is a FRCG for 5e, but they continue to refuse.

 

[LexStarwalker]

Well, that's assuming you're concerned about keeping the Realms "current". Personally, with the mess they made of it in 3e and 4e (and now in 5e trying to "fix" it), if I were running in the Realms, I'd roll back the the 1e Realms.

 

[Nawara]

Yeah, I don't really understand why people are in such a hurry to get a new FRCS. The Forgotten Realms setting is so big and fleshed-out that once you're at the point where you need info on [insert random country here], you're probably a sophisticated enough DM that you can just pull out some 2e or 3e supplements and go to town. If you're thinking about doing a campaign in a place that's completely changed, like Calimshan, you're going to end up homebrewing so much either way that there's not a lot to be gained from a new page or two consolidating what you can put together from the Forgotten Realms wikia and some novel summaries on the discussion boards.

And let's also remember that the Sword Coast, geographically speaking, is bigger than the Western United States. So it's not like you're limited for options. The point of this book should be to create a real, viable setting for new groups that don't have three or five editions worth of experience in the Realms.

I think the big error with the SCAG isn't in focusing on the Sword Coast, but is rather in trying to do even the Sword Coast alone in so few pages. It should have been at least 256 pages, like all the adventure paths... I was really disappointed when it showed up in the mail and was so thin compared to Princes of the Apocalypse or Out of the Abyss.