D&D 5E Reasons Why My Interest in 5e is Waning

Sailor Moon said:

Why did you keep buying the books then?

That's like walking into a room full of food, eating until you get sick, and then blame the people who gave you the food.

It's your fault for eating so much.

Why didn't you pick and choose what you wanted to buy and what you wanted to allow in your games?

4th edition was the only edition that considered everything to be core, and yet you could still say no.

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I'm not blaming anyone. And I did quit buying the books once I thought about how little use they were and what a dog that system still was despite it. I didn't like that I'd run adventures that referenced feats and stuff form non core books and later adventures, seemed to be assuming people were on with the power creep.

Flexor the Mighty! said:

I'm not blaming anyone. And I did quit buying the books once I thought about how little use they were and what a dog that system still was despite it. I didn't like that I'd run adventures that referenced feats and stuff form non core books and later adventures, seemed to be assuming people were on with the power creep.

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Which adventures if I might ask?

The game's what I and my friends make of it. The published products are tools to facilitate that. Nothing more, nothing less. Right now my interest in 5e is ramping up because I'm preparing to run it for the 1st time, picking up where we left off our 4e campaign.

So things like OGL and digital tools are completely irrelevant -- making 5e characters by hand takes me far less time than using the WotC 4e builder, or whatever monstrously huge Excel app I used for 3.5e & Pathfinder.

I'm sure additional PC materials & adventures would be nice eventually. I'm also sure they'll eventually arrive. But I'm too busy making sh... stuff up to concern myself overly much at this stage, though.

Sailor Moon said:

Which adventures if I might ask?

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I may be mixing stuff up since its been several years now but I remember Savage Tide had issues in that regard. And later WoTC books would have monsters using feats from other non core books as well I believe. It didn't make things unusable just a bit more work, but I did noticed that all core PC were falling behind the ones made by players who were using the latest and greatest stuff from the splats and other bonus books.

Mistwell said:

But if you can't wait, there's always 3e, 4e, or Pathfinder, each of which already has a flood of stuff for it. And then you can come back to 5e if you feel like it after they've released more stuff you like.

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That's the thing ... If I leave, I won't come back. Take Star Wars for example. I was all excited when Edge of the Empire came out. I wanted to play a Jedi on the run from the Empire and the start of the Rebellion. Then I saw that Fantasy Flight wasn't releasing the rules for playing a Jedi for several years. They're coming out soon and ... I don't care. I've moved on. I love the TV show on Disney and I can't wait for the movie but my enthusiasm has waned for the game and I moved on. And I know the same will be true with 5e.

And it is not just me. Ryan Dancey cited this very thing at the outset of the OGL. Its called Network Externalities. Basically, if nothing that interests me is offered (as I cited in my reasons), I'm more likely to go elsewhere and not return. But I am more likely to stay close if something else for the same system is offered that I does interest me. For example, I own all of the Pathfinder Campaign setting material up to a certain point (when I stopped playing in their setting). However, I was still their customer because I was buying their hardcovers as well as Adventure A Week's adventures and Dreamscarred's psionics rules and so on. So even though, I was not playing in Paizo's world, I was still their customer. But when I finally stopped playing Pathfinder, I stopped buying their hard covers. I left. Had those pathfinder compatible publishers (aka network externalities) not been there, I would have left some time before. But it was Pathfinder Compatible publishers that kept me playing when my interest would have otherwise waned. Maybe if I had gotten into a campaign that was focused in Pathfinder's campaign setting, I would have gone back to buying their material. But now that I have stopped playing, it is less likely that I will pick up the game again.

Mallus said:

The game's what I and my friends make of it. The published products are tools to facilitate that. Nothing more, nothing less. Right now my interest in 5e is ramping up because I'm preparing to run it for the 1st time, picking up where we left off our 4e campaign.

So things like OGL and digital tools are completely irrelevant -- making 5e characters by hand takes me far less time than using the WotC 4e builder, or whatever monstrously huge Excel app I used for 3.5e & Pathfinder.

I'm sure additional PC materials & adventures would be nice eventually. I'm also sure they'll eventually arrive. But I'm too busy making sh... stuff up to concern myself overly much at this stage, though.

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Well said.

There is a happy medium between a bloated game system and what we have now. People need to stop being so extreme. Just because the OP is asking for more product doesn't mean they want hundreds of books. There is nothing wrong with wanting updated setting material. There is nothing wrong with wanting more adventures. I'm so happy for all of you that don't need any of that.

I think the issue is that WotC just doesn't have the resources to provide the products that a handful of us want. The reason why they aren't announcing anything is because they don't want to announce something and then have to say "sorry we have to cancel it". We've already seen this with Dungeonscape. We've seen it with the Adventurer's Handbook as well (and this wasn't even officially announced). They are focusing on what makes them money and it's not the RPG. It's a sad thing. It's not HASBRO overlording on WotC either. WotC is it's own entity and any losses on the RPG side are easily compensated for the massive CCG market that it has. Don't expect anything from them and maybe we will be surprised when they finally come up with something awesome.

Until then I guess we have to use material from editions that were better supported.

Paraxis said:

If a 3rd party published is chomping at the bit to publish material, I would direct you towards 13th Age a great OGL system that could use more support and product with an active fan base.

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May I direct your attention to this adventure right here.

Zaran said:

There is a happy medium between a bloated game system and what we have now. People need to stop being so extreme. Just because the OP is asking for more product doesn't mean they want hundreds of books. There is nothing wrong with wanting updated setting material. There is nothing wrong with wanting more adventures. I'm so happy for all of you that don't need any of that.

I think the issue is that WotC just doesn't have the resources to provide the products that a handful of us want. The reason why they aren't announcing anything is because they don't want to announce something and then have to say "sorry we have to cancel it". We've already seen this with Dungeonscape. We've seen it with the Adventurer's Handbook as well (and this wasn't even officially announced). They are focusing on what makes them money and it's not the RPG. It's a sad thing. It's not HASBRO overlording on WotC either. WotC is it's own entity and any losses on the RPG side are easily compensated for the massive CCG market that it has. Don't expect anything from them and maybe we will be surprised when they finally come up with something awesome.

Until then I guess we have to use material from editions that were better supported.

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I just think its kind of silly to get worked up over supplements for a game that just came out unless you think its incomplete. This would make more sense to me to discuss in a year or two. I know we are in the age of wanting instant and full information for the next year out but just a bit too soon to get too concerned. Obviously others mileage varies.

dmccoy1693 said:

How is your interest in D&D 5e? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.[/B]

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My interest in 5E is great and I have no loss of enthusiasm. I've barely scratched the surface of what is available to play. Sorry you're unhappy.