I think I'd rather avoid the whole notion of splatbooks alltogether.
Setting books, fine. Adventures, great.
But when it comes to offering new options... I feel like these sorts of things should be presented in additional DMGs, right? I mean, the DMG is being pitched as the DM's modular toolbox and workshop... I feel additional class options ought to follow the same template.
It also shifts player/DM interactions. Instead of the player feeling entitled to the new hotness since he went out and gave Wizards $35 for their new book, it's now perceived as the DM's prerogative to peruse additional material and make some of it available to his players if he feels it fits the campaign.
And it changes the goal for content authors. Instead of marketing their new stuff to players, where power creep is rewarded with huge sales (and the DMs feel pressured into letting their players use it), marketing new content to DMs is more likely to incentivize writing interesting stuff that fills unexplored niches and creative approaches to mechanics.
Which seems to fit way better with the modular approach that really has me interested in 5E.
Setting books, fine. Adventures, great.
But when it comes to offering new options... I feel like these sorts of things should be presented in additional DMGs, right? I mean, the DMG is being pitched as the DM's modular toolbox and workshop... I feel additional class options ought to follow the same template.
It also shifts player/DM interactions. Instead of the player feeling entitled to the new hotness since he went out and gave Wizards $35 for their new book, it's now perceived as the DM's prerogative to peruse additional material and make some of it available to his players if he feels it fits the campaign.
And it changes the goal for content authors. Instead of marketing their new stuff to players, where power creep is rewarded with huge sales (and the DMs feel pressured into letting their players use it), marketing new content to DMs is more likely to incentivize writing interesting stuff that fills unexplored niches and creative approaches to mechanics.
Which seems to fit way better with the modular approach that really has me interested in 5E.