D&D 5E Initial D&D Next Releases Showing Up on Barnes & Noble Website

[Agamon]

Art is fine but if it causes the books price to increase because they decided to increase the art budget then no thanks. I play the game using rules, not colourful art.

While I appreciate practicality, there's something to be said for aesthetics. While going out to eat is fundamentally only about nourishment, I prefer the restaurant to not be a cardboard box. Same with my RPGs. And artists deserve to get paid for their hard work, too.

 

[PinkRose]

I find a few things interesting here in this thread.

1. The B&N announcement only spoiled it for those that frequent the news sites like EN World. Shockingly, us geeks here are not the only target audience for D&D.
So there is a huge HUGE section of people that have not been spoiled and will be surprised and excited when the official announcement is made. And there is probably a HUGE group that will just as surprised when they walk in to their FLGS and find a new version of D&D in July.

2. I find the argument interesting that the PHB costs too much and the Starter set doesn't cost enough. What if the Starter set contained half the info from the PHB? And you save more than half the money. Now people are buying both because one they can show their friends and relatives and the other is for all the details we crave. Now WotC is getting $70 bucks from us.

4. If the playtest and the L&L are any indication, aren't we getting more classes and races in the PHB than any other version of D&D PHB ever? More than 8 classes and more than 8 races. So that adds additional value.

3. COnsidering the very few products I have purchased in the last 2 years from WotC, and the massive amount of fun I already had with the FREE playtest, I feel like my $50 (or $70) is more of a back tax for this whole period of time, 2012-2014, that I will happily pay. Kind of a Reverse Kickstarter, if you will.

 

[Shadowsoul]

While I appreciate practicality, there's something to be said for aesthetics. While going out to eat is fundamentally only about nourishment, I prefer the restaurant to not be a cardboard box. Same with my RPGs. And artists deserve to get paid for their hard work, too.

Yes, but if you have a restaurant that increases their prices because they serve all food on a golden plate then I would choose to eat someplace else. I never remembered there being a survey question about increasing the quality of the art. Good art is no substition for good rules either.

Pathfinder has great art and great content while keeping their books reasonably priced. I don't need the top artist out there to draw for an RPG I plan to buy.

 

[dracomilan]

What if the 50$ price point includes a 1-month DDI trial?

That would be quite logical (just like Tomb Raider included 14 days of Xbox Live Gold): perceived price-reduction and subscription tease all in one step.

 

[amerigoV]

To summarize Basic D&D on this article;

[h=3]The Basic Rules[/h]The basic rules represent the starting point for the game.

Skills aren't part of the game

Each class has a default specialty

deity for a cleric, tradition for wizard, and so on—won't appear.

race and class as choices, though without multiclassing

Quick to start play, whether creating characters, reading an adventure, or rolling up a dungeon.

covers levels 1 to 10 and includes an adventure.

(note: I ignored about 20 pages of ramblings):

I presume the links were pulled down as I cannot find this, but this part actually intrigues me. Point blank, I am not that interested in another D&D version so I am not really a buyer beyond some odds and ends. I certainly did not have a warm and fuzzy feeling about supporting that brand at that price. I can buy some cool Savage Worlds stuff and maybe get to run it in the future. But there is no value for me as my group is not going to play 5e on an steady basis.

But that said and the passage of a few days I do have a positive warm and fuzzy towards this now. If the above in the quote holds, I would be interested in that at that price point. Something that satisfies the old D&D itch, is a complete game, and is not loaded down with bloat is a nice change of pace that can be worked into my group for a few sessions. In the end, its probably better if they make a Super PHB for those that are going hard core and a nice, light, and cheap entry point for those of us that still want to support the brand without having to pay $150 or so for the Game (the classic 3 books). Fingers crossed that this beginners game is a something viable and not a 1 or 2 level game.

 

[Agamon]

Yes, but if you have a restaurant that increases their prices because they serve all food on a golden plate then I would choose to eat someplace else. I never remembered there being a survey question about increasing the quality of the art. Good art is no substition for good rules either.

Pathfinder has great art and great content while keeping their books reasonably priced. I don't need the top artist out there to draw for an RPG I plan to buy.

Ah, I see, I thought were looking for no art in order to drop the price. I doubt any price hikes are due to extravagant art spending, though. And as other have said, the book is priced like the PF book and could very well be laid out the same, we don't know yet.

 

[Mistwell]

(note: I ignored about 20 pages of ramblings):

I presume the links were pulled down as I cannot find this, but this part actually intrigues me. Point blank, I am not that interested in another D&D version so I am not really a buyer beyond some odds and ends. I certainly did not have a warm and fuzzy feeling about supporting that brand at that price. I can buy some cool Savage Worlds stuff and maybe get to run it in the future. But there is no value for me as my group is not going to play 5e on an steady basis.

But that said and the passage of a few days I do have a positive warm and fuzzy towards this now. If the above in the quote holds, I would be interested in that at that price point. Something that satisfies the old D&D itch, is a complete game, and is not loaded down with bloat is a nice change of pace that can be worked into my group for a few sessions. In the end, its probably better if they make a Super PHB for those that are going hard core and a nice, light, and cheap entry point for those of us that still want to support the brand without having to pay $150 or so for the Game (the classic 3 books). Fingers crossed that this beginners game is a something viable and not a 1 or 2 level game.

As far as I know, that was him purely guessing about what could be in it - not an actual declaration of what was known to be in it. Certainly the now-dead links to Barnes and Noble did not have of those things mentioned (it was just a name and a date and a price).

 

[Mistwell]

For what it is worth, I will gladly pay and extra $10 for a product with excellent art.

 

[Mistwell]

That would be more disappointing, honestly. Starter Set implies something more than a book, though.

Star Wars is called a "Beginner Game" and doesn't say box set either. So I don't think it's too much of a stretch.

Maybe they can put something decent out for $20, but I doubt it, unless it's being sold at a loss.

Why, because some guy from Paizo once said boxed sets, for them, are expensive to do? Even though we're talking about Hasbro, which has dozens of boxed games, a much more regular order and supply line with their vendor for such products, and has far more power for bulk price negotiation over boxed games?

For Paizo, it's a one-off order to make a boxed game. For Hasbro, it's just another day of standard business. This is the same company ordering scrabble, sorry, battleship, catchphrase, monopoly, trouble, jenga, and I could go on and one with the number of board games they're making every year. I assure you, their production pricing for a boxed game is different from Paizo's.

 

[delericho]

Why, because some guy from Paizo once said boxed sets, for them, are expensive to do? Even though we're talking about Hasbro, which has dozens of boxed games, a much more regular order and supply line with their vendor for such products, and has far more power for bulk price negotiation over boxed games?

For Paizo, it's a one-off order to make a boxed game. For Hasbro, it's just another day of standard business. This is the same company ordering scrabble, sorry, battleship, catchphrase, monopoly, trouble, jenga, and I could go on and one with the number of board games they're making every year. I assure you, their production pricing for a boxed game is different from Paizo's.

The 4e Red Box had an RRP of $20. I think it's reasonably safe to assume they didn't rip us off with that product (actually, given the price-point, it's pretty generous, IMO), so that suggests that's what $20 buys you. I'd expect the 5e box to be much the same in terms of the amount of content, though I'm sure it will be arranged at least somewhat differently.