D&D 5E Which kind of D&D content, created and published on Patreon, are you most likely to support?

ParanoydStyle · Jun 27, 2019

Thread Body = Thread Title = Poll Question. I think I set it up so you can choose up to three: in any case I intended to. If you do make multiple choices and you would want one more than the others, please let me know which choice(s) is/are the priority.

ccs · Jun 27, 2019

Compilations of monsters & short, TSR era style adventures. Same thing I'd give WoTC $ for if they'd make 'em.

LordEntrails · Jun 27, 2019

I said Other, and only Other. Here's why I didn't/wouldn't pick the others.

- Monsters, their are so many out there that are good quality and free, why pay for more? i.e. 1d6 Adventures/Monster a Day has something like 400+ already that I've never had time to go through.
- Magic Items, maybe. Because I haven't yet come across any strong collections. But I'd be looking for a large set, not a handful.
- Spells, I'm a little leary of new spells. Most that I've seen are so poorly balanced that I'm generally not looking for spells to add to my campaigns.
- Subclasses, yea, make me think of 3.x/PF bloat. I've yet to see a character a player wanted to make that didn't fit in with existing stereotypes/classes. But then again, I'm kind of boring. Maybe players would be more interested in this?
- NPCs, random NPC? Yea, no thanks. Maybe, just maybe if their were collections of themed NPCs' (shopkeepers, bandits, mercenaries, guards, tavern patrons). But again I don't often seem to be searching for these. But,maybe.
- Adventures, (see below, but...) I don't need another campaign, and when I'm looking for a one-shot the odds of anything from one person fitting my need at the moment seem pretty slim.

Other, the only Patreon I have ever supported is Justin Alexander. And that's after years of reading his blogs and finding a great deal of value in them. I finally supported him when I came across his Dragon Heist Remix, and that his patreons have access to additional material.

A remix of a campaign/AP that I'm running is of great value to me. But then again, how many of those do I need since a campaign runs for months or years for me?

TwoSix · Jun 27, 2019

I support several 5e patreons, but they're all oriented around providing hard mechanical crunch. New classes, new subclasses, new races, new feats, new spells.

jayoungr · Jun 27, 2019

The only 5e patreon I support is en5ider. But I have considered supporting some creators of digital maps and similar assets, as I use Roll20 a lot.

Blue · Jun 27, 2019

What would help for me would be things to help when players go off the beaten path and I need to improv. So the type of thing I'd be looking for would be:

Collection of *interesting* encounters by terrain (including urban, sewer, ruins, crypt) and by level that I can toss in when I need a fight that I haven't prepped. By interesting, I don't mean "I picked some monsters and plopped them down on appropriate terrain", rather interesting terrain and hazards, outside factors, 3rd parties, other win conditions that predate Pokemon: "Gotta slaughter them all". Even interesting mixes of foes with quick tactics, things you wouldn't see. Preferable all of it done efficiently - encounters good for several terrain types with some reskinning or minor changes, notes for adjusting the difficulty, etc.

I'd want them packaged by Tier or something similar, so I can pick up a product for my campaign, picking up more as needed.

Another product would be a book of sidequests. Sidequest skeletons with hooks and stuff, maybe a page each. Things I can optionally fit in during other adventures. Perferably with several hooks so I can sprinkle them in multiple sessions.

Ristamar · Jun 27, 2019

I voted "Other":

I currently do not donate to anyone via Patreon for any of the other options listed. That's not to say there aren't people putting out quality content. I simply don't have enough time to use the material I already own, and I have no need for digital content focused toward online play.

I have supported some RPG content on Kickstarter. I will occasionally purchase 3rd party books in print.

I'm more inclined to pay for entertainment or for tools I can use to create material or manage my own games. I've considered supporting The Glass Cannon Network to get access to their Patreon exclusive podcasts. I have an interest in using audio at the table, and I'm strongly considering subscribing to Syrinscape if/when I get a regular game up and running again. I'm also intrigued by some of the map making tools currently available (particularly WonderDraft).

Jer · Jun 27, 2019

Blue said:
Collection of *interesting* encounters by terrain (including urban, sewer, ruins, crypt) and by level that I can toss in when I need a fight that I haven't prepped. By interesting, I don't mean "I picked some monsters and plopped them down on appropriate terrain", rather interesting terrain and hazards, outside factors, 3rd parties, other win conditions that predate Pokemon: "Gotta slaughter them all". Even interesting mixes of foes with quick tactics, things you wouldn't see. Preferable all of it done efficiently - encounters good for several terrain types with some reskinning or minor changes, notes for adjusting the difficulty, etc.

I'd want them packaged by Tier or something similar, so I can pick up a product for my campaign, picking up more as needed.

There's a set of products for 13th Age called "Battle Scenes" which are basically something like this - 3-4 combat encounters that have been given a rough narrative to link them together if you want, but can also be broken apart and just used as single encounters. These include interesting terrain on the map, suggestions for win conditions that aren't just "kill them all", and narrative hooks that you can use as a springboard to link to other battle scenes in the book. There are options there for how you would change the encounter for different numbers of PCs in your party and/or a selection of levels within a tier (since 13A is more sensitive to character levels than 5e is). It's probably the single most useful set of game supplements that I've ever owned - I think I've gotten more use out of those 3 books in the past few years than I've gotten from any other supplement, mostly just filling in where I need encounters but occasionally spinning one of their narratives into a full adventure when I needed something to fill in (in fact, one of the bad guys who got away from one of those fill-in adventures has turned into a major thorn in their side as the campaign has gone on).

I would definitely be interested in a similar kind of idea designed for 5e.

vpuigdoller · Jun 27, 2019

I only support adventures /settings and or maps. Have no need for monsters, magic items or spell I think the ones already in the official products are enough. To each their own i guess. =)

Blue · Jun 27, 2019

Jer said:
There's a set of products for 13th Age called "Battle Scenes" which are basically something like this - 3-4 combat encounters that have been given a rough narrative to link them together if you want, but can also be broken apart and just used as single encounters. These include interesting terrain on the map, suggestions for win conditions that aren't just "kill them all", and narrative hooks that you can use as a springboard to link to other battle scenes in the book. There are options there for how you would change the encounter for different numbers of PCs in your party and/or a selection of levels within a tier (since 13A is more sensitive to character levels than 5e is). It's probably the single most useful set of game supplements that I've ever owned - I think I've gotten more use out of those 3 books in the past few years than I've gotten from any other supplement, mostly just filling in where I need encounters but occasionally spinning one of their narratives into a full adventure when I needed something to fill in (in fact, one of the bad guys who got away from one of those fill-in adventures has turned into a major thorn in their side as the campaign has gone on).

I would definitely be interested in a similar kind of idea designed for 5e.

XP to anyone who brings out good examples from 13th Age, what a great system!

I wasn't thinking about Battle Scenes, but I should have been. Why haven't I bought these yet?

Yeah, 13th Age with only 10 levels is a bit more level sensitive, but on the flip side the monster charts by level make it simplicity to scale the numbers part of a foe up or down - I do it all the time when designing encounters.