The Actual Table of Contents for Xanathar's Guide to Everything

A lot of good stuff there.

Of course, on the DM side, a lot of stuff is not there, but I like what I see.

Actually, one of the most useful things will be the appendix of sample names.

 

[Parmandur]

At $50 MSRP for a 192 page book, I'm going to begrudge them font size, let alone 17 pages of formatted Google results.

It's only $50 if you support your FLGS: because I'm awful, I'm getting it under $30. It's reasonable.

 

[Prakriti]

try again:

dropbear was being sarcastic.

I find it ironic that some people find paying $50 once a year for mechanical options is a hardship when 10 years ago they would be paying $35 every month for mechanical options...

Unlikely. Bloat was one of the reasons why I didn't play 3E. Never bought a single book, never played a single game, and got right out of the hobby after 2E. 5E's lack of bloat is one of the reasons why I came back. Now bloat is slowly pushing me away again, and I can guarantee you that it's pushing others away as well. With each new release of player options, the game's barrier to entry becomes more and more expensive.

That isn't to say that releasing Xanathar's Guide is necessarily a bad business move. Wizards has enough market data to make a well-informed decision. And they've obviously determined that this book will bring in more players than it will turn away. That's fine. But to pretend that it won't turn players away doesn't help anything. Nor does telling people "It's just one book! That's not bloat!", so please, spare me. The EEPC was "just one book," Volo's Guide was "just one book," the SCAG was "just one book," and now Xanathar's Guide is "just one book." Eventually the camel's back will break, and people will be begging for a 6th Edition just to clear the slate.

Also, no one has really mentioned it yet, but this isn't the mechanical expansion we were promised. Almost nothing here expands the mechanical structure of the game. It's just new player options and refinement to old systems (downtime and crafting). A real mechanical expansion would add new systems to the game: psionics, strongholds, kingdom management, plane-hopping, epic levels, epic destinies, followers, henchmen, etc. In short, Xanathar's Guide could have been much, much cooler than it appears to be.

 

[Gladius Legis]

And if I found the list of names in a book, then the Google search is factually useless.

You already have a computer or smartphone (hence you being able to post that), so you'd rather pay $50 dollars for a book of names instead of conducting a Google search for no extra cost?

OK, whatever.

 

[EthanSental]

Was there this loud of a public outcry (maybe just a vocal minority) when Troll Lord Games published their 200+ book of names - Gygax' extraordinary book of names in 2004? Or since Gary was involved it got a pass?

and Xanathars is more than a book of names for $50...jeez

 

[Yaarel]

I just saw this now in the Xanthars Guide table of contents.

"Sidebar: Serving a Pantheon, Philosophy, or Force ..."



I am grateful for this. The need for religious choice in the default setting and in player options, is an important issue for me and other D&D gamers. I am glad to see this book spell out the other religious possibilities explicitly. For me, it is strongly motivated by the ability to pick choices that I find interesting and can identify with. At the same time, I appreciate the diversity that arises as different players explore different options. I am glad to see D&D 5e officially support religious diversity − and different kinds of religiosity.

I hope to see, the 5e SRD Cleric update to include this sidebar. And the 5e Players Handbook too as part of the next errata update.

This here expansion of religiosity, in Xanthars Guide, means alot to me. I am breathing a sigh of relief. − Heh, relief from a breath that I have been holding for years now, since 5e first appeared.

To the 5e designers. Thank you for this.

 

[Parmandur]

You already have a computer or smartphone (hence you being able to post that), so you'd rather pay $50 dollars for a book of names instead of conducting a Google search for no extra cost?

OK, whatever.

Nah, but I'd pay >$30 for a book of tested class options, random monster tables, spells and odds and ends that happen to include some nice random name tables certainly.

 

[Gladius Legis]

Feats aren't useful for me and my table, but that doesn't make them useless in general.

Feats are a direct mechanical benefit to your character. They are useful by definition.

Names are ... of no benefit whatsoever. Hence, useless.

 

[Gladius Legis]

and Xanathars is more than a book of names for $50...jeez

Not much more.

 

[Parmandur]

dropbear was being sarcastic.


Unlikely. Bloat was one of the reasons why I didn't play 3E. Never bought a single book, never played a single game, and got right out of the hobby after 2E. 5E's lack of bloat is one of the reasons why I came back. Now bloat is slowly pushing me away again, and I can guarantee you that it's pushing others away as well. With each new release of player options, the game's barrier to entry becomes more and more expensive.

That isn't to say that releasing Xanathar's Guide is necessarily a bad business move. Wizards has enough market data to make a well-informed decision. And they've obviously determined that this book will bring in more players than it will turn away. That's fine. But to pretend that it won't turn players away doesn't help anything. Nor does telling people "It's just one book! That's not bloat!", so please, spare me. The EEPC was "just one book," Volo's Guide was "just one book," the SCAG was "just one book," and now Xanathar's Guide is "just one book." Eventually the camel's back will break, and people will be begging for a 6th Edition just to clear the slate.

Also, no one has really mentioned it yet, but this isn't the mechanical expansion we were promised. Almost nothing here expands the mechanical structure of the game. It's just new player options and refinement to old systems (downtime and crafting). A real mechanical expansion would add new systems to the game: psionics, strongholds, kingdom management, plane-hopping, epic levels, epic destinies, followers, henchmen, etc. In short, Xanathar's Guide could have been much, much cooler than it appears to be.

This is the mechanical expansion they have been testing, though: most of this material got floated about in the past year, though I want the things you mentioned as well, though I appreciate that they are taking a slow burn with Psionics in particular.

I never bought anything past the PHB for 3E, myself, but the material they are releasing really isn't bloat: they released more material, without extensive testing, in the first year of 3E than in all of 5E so far.

 

[Remathilis]

Not much more.

Just the other 175 pages of rules.