D&D 5E fifth edition release schedule ... cart before the horse?

Rodrigo Istalindir · Oct 6, 2014

I think the OP has unrealistic expectations as to how quickly quality material can be written and published. Even a big RPG has a small team, and there's little point in spending time and money on modules before the core game is done. And even after that game is done and you're waiting for it to hit retail, you don't want to dump a ton of stuff on the market from day 1. If you put out three modules one day one, you either have to space them so they're for progressively higher levels, in which case most of the copies will sit on the shelves for a couple months (and the game stores *love* that), or they're all for newbies in which case most people will only buy one (and then gripe 2 months later if there aren't three more choices).

Selkirk · Oct 6, 2014

this really isn't a knock on homebrew campaigns thread (i'll let others do that...just kidding

). more frustration than anything else here. and again i speak as a new player not as someone familiar with wotc product (i know what forgotten realms is only in the vaguest ways...and i like it-what little i have seen). but the question posed at thread title does beg itself-did they release phb too soon? i mean a phb and a monster manual are parts of a toolset...the dmg is a part (arguably mm is useless without dmg)...now with dmg delayed until december 7th the question becomes-where is the content for the game itself?

if they don't have the modules ready(which we all agree they do not) then official conversions of published modules would be a welcome stopgap and a functioning wotc website would prove helpful

. the website could be filled with sample encounters or even an ongoing online module (with pieces on a weekly release schedule or something close). instead off the website we got zip...nada...just some fancy graphics and links to outdated articles.

TerraDave · Oct 6, 2014

Rodrigo Istalindir said:
I didn't say 'doesn't use' I said 'sticks to'. There's tons of good stuff in the published modules that can be adapted and used to fill out a home campaign. But slavishly adhering to someone else's story to the point of eschewing homebrew material seems unfun and ignoring the best part of RPGs -- having a GM who can create and modify on the fly in response to your actions. Otherwise, it's little better than a CRPG.

Sure, who wants to be slavish, and, for example, be forced to fight the horrible straw-man when that encounter should just be dropped.

But a DM could primarily rely on published adventures and also create and modify on the fly. By freeing up time and giving ideas and options, the published adventures could even facilitate this.

Yes, they can also be straight jackets. "Old school" adventures, which tend to be collections of maps, monster listings, some traps and tricks, room details, and some minimal back story, can be easier to add story to and improvise with then something that seems to give the DM a lot more narrative and dynamic events. This could be an issue with, say, Horde of the Dragon Queen, which seems to be pretty ambitious in its scope and could take a more seasoned DM to adopt and adjudicate in the face of PCs who don't follow its implied script. But with the right group it could be quite epic.

Hannerdyn · Oct 6, 2014

Selkirk said:
this really isn't a knock on homebrew campaigns thread (i'll let others do that...just kidding ). more frustration than anything else here. and again i speak as a new player not as someone familiar with wotc product (i know what forgotten realms is only in the vaguest ways...and i like it-what little i have seen). but the question posed at thread title does beg itself-did they release phb too soon? i mean a phb and a monster manual are parts of a toolset...the dmg is a part (arguably mm is useless without dmg)...now with dmg delayed until december 7th the question becomes-where is the content for the game itself?

Yeah, I'd love it if they had everything released at once, but they did that with 4E and had what they thought were too many mistakes and rules clarifications. This time, they wanted a staggered release to finish one book at a time. For a game with 8-10 years ahead of it, they can justify several months of waiting.

As to the 'We all agree they don't have modules ready', I'm not sure I agree. they have Hoard and the starter set officially, and that's plenty of official product (maybe more then there's ever been for a newly released D&D ruleset, come to think of it) for any group until the full game is out. Further, you can run a game sans the DMG, the rules there are more optional than required. Therefore, the game in playable form is available now.

So, I guess I don't understand your frustration... You want adventures produced by WOTC for 5E, and enough exist to keep you busy until more are released. I really think you would be happier with HotDQ than you think, despite the reviews.

Wrathamon · Oct 6, 2014

They have The Starter Set adventure, Hoard and the 3 D&D Exhibition adventures already out with 3 more coming soon. But, I think they have already established that converting older AD&D stuff is something players can do and is very much encouraged.

Shroomy · Oct 6, 2014

Personally, I find the ideas/attitudes regarding homebrew materials expressed by the OP insulting, but in addition to the Starter Set adventure, HotDQ, and the Rise of Tiamat adventure coming out this month (see there's an entire AP between the two!), plenty of 3PP publishers are already releasing adventures for 5e. Of course, with the PHB, MM, and DMG (or just the Basic Rules PDFs at this point) you could sully yourself and create adventures of your own.

Fion · Oct 7, 2014

I'm personally prepping to run the Sundering series (Murder, Legacy, Sword Coast, Dead in Thay), updated with final rules & monsters. Just waiting on the DMG at this point.

SigmaOne · Oct 7, 2014

I think anyone who expresses a disdainful opinion in either direction is insulting. We can all have our prefer play type. But to denounce a type we don't prefer as "not fun", "slavish", "fan-fic", etc... is narrow-minded. People need to learn how discuss the game without insulting the way others like to play it. Oh, wait. This is the internet. :-/ That would be a bridge too far.

Wrathamon · Oct 7, 2014

Dead in Thay I think could use some work imo. But, I am not big on Giant dungeon crawls. It's brutal. But, some players eat that stuff up.

Selkirk · Oct 7, 2014

i'm not really arguing against homebrew and it really doesn't matter if i was (i can't imagine all the worldbuilders are going to stop due to a comment in a thread :blush:

). onwards !

i don't think anyone believes there is too much product for 5e

. so we are left with most people saying there is plenty (hey noob ever heard of conversions ^^; ) but the amount of official product for 5e is way too limited for my tastes-this 2 months after phb was released. take away hoard and you have a phb and mm. take away phb and you have hoard and mm...well you get my point. so at present...and following the logical assumption that if i bought phb i wouldn't then turn around and pay 20 bucks for lost mines...i just have hoard.

now if i had been playtesting for the past year i would also know of the existence of the playtest modules...but also i would probably already have played them

. now if i haven't played them and search them down from messageboards i'm still left with playtest documents (no matter how good the scenarios are inside) and without dmg to help build encounters designing my own dungeon (and as a new player ^^; ) would prove problematic...i know wotc stressed they were giving dm's freedom but this borders on laziness

. i really don't want to playtest a dungeon in 5e-i actually want to play 5e modules (updated for ruleset). anyways, things will improve at some point i guess.

and as additional food for thought ... dungeonscape still in very early beta stages...no ogl for third party...feels like a rushed release to me.