Would you rather we get more setting neutral content than adventures?

SkidAce · Apr 19, 2019

77IM said:
I DM at my FLGS so I have to lug all the books I need to the store myself.

So the thought of MM2, DMG2, etc. horrifies me. To be fair, it's no worse than Volo's, Xanathar's, etc. What all of these books have in common is that they are "more of the same" -- incremental changes to the game that increase its mass. They increase the number of rules without substantially changing anything. Plus, they increase the physical mass of my bag of books.

I only want supplements that change the game in some way. I don't want to leave a book at home because "I can't carry any more," I want to leave it at home because it contains material that isn't appropriate to my campaign. Examples of game-changers from previous editions might be Manual of the Planes, Heroes of Horror, and the unfortunately-named Oriental Adventures. Those would allow groups to take the game in totally new directions, and would be worth their cost, in dollars, rules comprehension, and weight.

I feel this falls under fair use, but hey?

If I find I only need one or two creatures from a "MM2" for example, I use my tablet to snap a picture of that monster or few, and leave that book at home.

Of course, if you are building on the fly that makes things harder.

Totally agree with second paragraph.

Eltab · Apr 19, 2019

TheSword said:
Why on earth would they do that when that would preclude them from reading more similar content in the future. If they released a book with all the spells it would be obsolete the next time they released a spell. Unless you stop releasing spells.

Release The Compleat Spell Compendium for 5e's 10th birthday. Include all the spells to that date, with a (new) index so users can easily pick out spells by school, level, components, &c. - all the things that a student at Magic University would need to make intelligent or optimized choices among all the options. As part of the marketing and publicity, explain that this is intended to be a once-every-10-years project, not updated frequently. (But design the indexing so 3PP could "write another chapter" on an as-needed basis.)
For '5e Turns 20', repeat.

MNblockhead · Apr 19, 2019

With an increasing number of digital options, I'm not sure that the market for compilation books is that high. If I have D&D Beyond, I don't have to worry about material being spread around multiple books. Also, it would be a difficult sell to digital consumers. Almost nobody would by a spell compilation on D&D Beyond. All the spells from the books they already bought are available in one easy-to-search location and if their is a spell from a book they didn't buy, they can pay for just that one spell.

If I were WotC I would stay the course with two exceptions:

1. Open up more settings to DMs Guild authors. If they want more quality control over conversions only let people in the Adepts program do the conversions, but let anyone write adventures and new character options, etc., for other settings.

2. Continue to allow licensing deals for other publishers to publish WotC content. I'm thinking of the Goodman Games reprints and conversions of classic OD&D/AD&D adventures, but perhaps this could also be a way to publish smaller print runs of "compendiums".

Parmandur · Apr 19, 2019

eyeheartawk said:
My only problem with the "a bit for everyone" model (besides nakedly being a cynical business consideration) is that it makes the books worse to use at the table.

If I'm the DM and I want to look at a table for magic items by rarity to hand out some goodies, is it in the DMG? Nope, in Xanathar's. For some characters I've played I've had to use four different books just for a tiny little section in each. For actual use separating the contents into more tightly themed "player options" and "DM additions" would make the game easier to play and prepare for.

D&D Beyond is already better than any print option, if that sort of simplicity is desired. Apparently, people who buy the books don't mind: I haven't found this to be an issue in practice.

eyeheartawk · Apr 19, 2019

Parmandur said:
D&D Beyond is already better than any print option, if that sort of simplicity is desired. Apparently, people who buy the books don't mind: I haven't found this to be an issue in practice.

If I didn't have to buy books that I already own over again on that platform I would agree, though with the caveat that some people don't want to use a computer/tablet at the table.

And of course people buy the books. If you want more player options, are you not going to buy Xanathar's because it's not as a conveniently organized option as it could have been? Of course not.

None of these things change the fact that the game would be better if you had to lug less books around.

Whizbang Dustyboots · Apr 20, 2019

Third-party is the answer here. Green Ronin, for instance, did a system-neutral version of Freeport before the current Pathfinder version. You can find that version floating around a lot of places. It's extremely solid.

Lots of other great third-party settings out there. I'd look into those rather than waiting for WotC to go faster, especially since third party publishers have a much wider range of tones and styles than WotC house style.

Parmandur · Apr 20, 2019

eyeheartawk said:
If I didn't have to buy books that I already own over again on that platform I would agree, though with the caveat that some people don't want to use a computer/tablet at the table.

And of course people buy the books. If you want more player options, are you not going to buy Xanathar's because it's not as a conveniently organized option as it could have been? Of course not.

None of these things change the fact that the game would be better if you had to lug less books around.

"Fact" and "better" are strong words: again, I haven't seen any issue in play at all.

Hussar · Apr 21, 2019

Parmandur said:
D&D Beyond is already better than any print option, if that sort of simplicity is desired. Apparently, people who buy the books don't mind: I haven't found this to be an issue in practice.

How things have changed. A few years ago WotC was pilloried for offering a dnd Beyond sort of subscription service. Now the exact same thing is touted as the better option.

Irony tastes great.

Rhianni32 · Apr 22, 2019

Hussar said:
[MENTION=6796661]MNblockhead[/MENTION] - That's a very good point. DM's Guild is absolutely chock a block with more material, and material from well respected content produces also, than anyone could ever possibly use. I get the idea that people want to revisit older TSR or WotC settings, sure, and that's fair, but, the notion that there isn't enough material out there really is indefensible. There's a TON of 5e material out there.

There is a crazy amount of good quality material out there.

I think what people mean by "I want more setting material" they mean "I want more setting material from the old settings that I played in 2nd edition when I was a kid so I can get my nostalgia fix by reading new material and not just update my own old books to 5ed."

MNblockhead · Apr 22, 2019

Rhianni32 said:
There is a crazy amount of good quality material out there.

I think what people mean by "I want more setting material" they mean "I want more setting material from the old settings that I played in 2nd edition when I was a kid so I can get my nostalgia fix by reading new material and not just update my own old books to 5ed."

I get that, which is why I wish they'd open more settings to DMs Guild. I understand their reasoning for not doing so (if they open it and later release an official 5e version, it may break all the third-party conversions, or folks won't bother with the official if they've been happily using third-party conversions), but I think their should be some middle ground that would allow more use of older settings.

Would you rather we get more setting neutral content than adventures?

SkidAce

Legend

Eltab

Lord of the Hidden Layer

MNblockhead

A Title Much Cooler Than Anything on the Old Site

Parmandur

Book-Friend

eyeheartawk

#1 Enworld Jerk™

Whizbang Dustyboots

Gnometown Hero

Parmandur

Book-Friend

Hussar

Legend

Rhianni32

Adventurer

MNblockhead

A Title Much Cooler Than Anything on the Old Site

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