WotC's Nathan Stewart: "Story, Story, Story"; and IS D&D a Tabletop Game?

Forbes spoke to WotC's Brand Director & Executive Producer for Dungeons & Dragons, who talked about the 5th Edition launch and his vision for D&D's future. The interview is fairly interesting - it confirms or repeats some information we already know, and also delves a little into the topic of D&D as a wider brand, rather than as a tabletop roleplaying game.

In the interview, he reiterates previous statements that this is the biggest D&D launch ever, in terms of both money and units sold.

[lq]We are story, story, story. The story drives everything.[/lq]

He repeats WoTC's emphasis on storylines, confirming the 1-2 stories per year philosphy. "We are story, story, story. The story drives everything. The need for new rules, the new races, new classes is just based on what’s going to really make this adventure, this story, this kind kind of theme happen." He goes on to say that "We’re not interested in putting out more books for books’ sake... there’s zero plans for a Player’s Handbook 2 any time on the horizon."

As for settings, he confirms that "we’re going to stay in the Forgotten Realms for the foreseeable future." That'll disappoint some folks, I'm sure, but it is their biggest setting, commercially.

Stewart is not "a hundred percent comfortable" with the status of digital tools because he felt like "we took a great step backwards."

[lq]Dungeons and Dragons stopped being a tabletop game years or decades ago. [/lq]

His thoughts on D&D's identity are interesting, too. He mentions that "Dungeons and Dragons stopped being a tabletop game years or decades ago". I'm not sure what that means. His view for the future of the brand includes video games, movies, action figures, and more: "This is no secret for anyone here, but the big thing I want to see is just a triple-A RPG video game. I want to see Baldur’s Gate 3, I want to see a huge open-world RPG. I would love movies about Dungeons and Dragons, or better yet, serialized entertainment where we’re doing seasons of D&D stories and things like Forgotten Realms action figures… of course I’d love that, I’m the biggest geek there is. But at the end of the day, the game’s what we’re missing in the portfolio."

You can read the full interview here.

 

[Trickster Spirit]

Of course D&D is a tabletop game, but it hasn't been just a tabletop game in a very long time. Which is as it should be - tabletop games have a limited reach, but every time a video game or a movie or a Saturday morning cartoon "clicks" with a fan, that's one more person the brand has resonated with and one more person ripe for recruiting into a Saturday night gaming session.

The most interesting line was already pounced on by Mistwell, though - the fact that they're considering inter-AP releases based on fan feedback. After the Chris Perkins settings thread, I don't think those'll be settings books. Actually I'd wager they're like to be smaller adventures rather than "character options" books, which I expect we'll rather see in the form of AP player's companions.

As for not wanting to play 5E without ongoing, non-AP support - I can understand the feeling, but I think the majority of players view support more like "Oh cool, characters can read people's minds now? Maybe I'll pick up the book that lets me do that", rather than "If Wizards of the Coast doesn't announce a Psionics Handbook within the first 12 months of 5E's release I will not have any fun playing it, so I am done with this edition."

Wizards certainly doesn't seem to be worried about the dearth of splatbooks.

 

[Kramodlog]

It is not because the core books sold well at launch, and there are reasons* why they sold well, that the rest will sell well. See 4e for that.

5e, as a RPG, looks like a stillbirth. A shame. D&D has a special place in my heart. Right new to beer and scotch.


*Two years without anything being published, a long playtest that made people curious, a promise to return to pre-4e paradigms...

 

[Random Catchphrase]

I'm guessing he left out a word. At least I'm hoping that's the case. I'm guessing he meant to say, "Dungeons and Dragons stopped being only a tabletop game years or decades ago."

Because that I'd agree with. But it very much is a tabletop RPG. If you base your focus on digital only and don't care about the TT part of it? You shouldn't be working on D&D, in my opinion.

Yep, he is saying that franchise is no longer table top only after Baldur's Gate release.

 

[Halivar]

5e, as a RPG, looks like a stillbirth.

If the baby's still screamin' 6 months after popping out, it ain't a stillbirth.

 

[Kramodlog]

As for not wanting to play 5E without ongoing, non-AP support - I can understand the feeling, but I think the majority of players view support more like "Oh cool, characters can read people's minds now? Maybe I'll pick up the book that lets me do that", rather than "If Wizards of the Coast doesn't announce a Psionics Handbook within the first 12 months of 5E's release I will not have any fun playing it, so I am done with this edition."

Wizards certainly doesn't seem to be worried about the dearth of splatbooks.

To me people sound more like "WotC will not support the edition to a level that captures my interest, so I'll just move on to other games that are supported."

 

[ZeshinX]

Psst... just run Pathfinder modules in 5E. Even with the work of converting its simpler than dealing with the bloat and slog of the rules.

Easy enough, yep, but I don't run modules/APs, I always create my own adventures and stories.

I'll just stick to Pathfinder. I enjoy the rules and can easily ignore or house rule the bloat away. I might play in someone's homebrew 5e game, but at this point, I won't run one.

 

[TerraDave]

I don't understand why this is making everyone cheer. They basically said that we aren't getting anything to use in MY stories. Just stuff I have to steal from theirs. I don't want their stories. I want tools for making my own.

It's great that they want to give us video games but it doesn't do anything for my home game.

I am glad the splat factory is closed. And you have the core books. They have a lot for the home game.

He does say:

If we need to deliver rules to the player audience there is a number of ways for us to do that...

I wouldn’t be surprised if we do some books here and there that pick up things that the fanbase wants in between stories, because of the feedback we’re hearing.

But ya, its a lot of story.

 

[Bedrockgames]

If he meant to add 'only' that makes way more sense. I was sitting there scratching my head thinking he must have some bigger point I was missing.

 

[Mirtek]

I don't understand why this is making everyone cheer. They basically said that we aren't getting anything to use in MY stories. Just stuff I have to steal from theirs. I don't want their stories. I want tools for making my own.

It's great that they want to give us video games but it doesn't do anything for my home game.

I fully agree. It's all about THEIR story, but they're not giving us the tools for OUR stories.

 

[Trickster Spirit]

To me people sound more like "WotC will not support the edition to a level that captures my interest, so I'll just move on to other games that are supported."

That is exactly what they're saying. What I'm saying is that most players, if they buy supplements at all, buy them because they exist and are interesting to them - but the lack of said supplements doesn't negatively impact their experience in the slightest.

It's unfortunate for those players for whom that is a dealbreaker, of course - but it's not going to kill the edition, and there are other games out there that do have higher levels of support.