D&D 5E The new Dungeons & Dragons Starter Set - and online tools?
- Thread starter MerricB
- Start date
variant
Adventurer
No, no it's got to be in the box!
Do we even know if it is a pamphlet or booklet? It could just be a PDF.
Transformer
Explorer
That would be perfect for anyone buying the starter set in a FLGS, sure. In your proposal, what would be the solution for someone who doesn't live near a store and has to buy the starter set online?
And just out of curiosity, why would they give out a Player's Guide with every starter set, but not put it in the box? Is this part of the suggestion that character creation rules will be provided when you show up for the new organized play program? I'm not sure I understand the proposal.
It's a boxed set.
variant
Adventurer
That question was regarding the Player's Guide.
OK... I was trying to help, but I'll play (you quoted me specifically, and I hadn't mentioned anything other than the starter set, so I may be a bit lost if you were referring to something else). What particular item was your vague question referring to, if not the Starter Set in the thread title? The Player's Guide for the new OP stuff? I get the impression that's a PDF.
Mistwell
Crusty Old Meatwad
Then you'd have to download the free PDF
It's to encourage people to buy from retail outlets. You wouldn't have to play in organized play, in the scenario I am speculating about.
I would argue that both of those stances are very much small niches in the overall playerbase. I doubt there are very many people who would refuse to play a product if it encourages the use of some app (Assuming it's not using the "F2P" model of ripping people off). I doubt there are very many people who would refuse to play a product if it isn't fully digital. I also think the weak performance over the past year of E-books strongly indicates "Fully digital only" is a niche.
Magic the Gathering does extremely well without using any apps, and recently banned them at tourneys. Magic the Gathering Online has always muddled about with a pretty low dedicated player base. That targets a much younger demographic, and they're just fine with "Analogue" gameplay.
Iosue
Legend
I agree with all of this, in as much as just what I think a good starter set/basic game should come with. Me, myself, I've been playing D&D for ages, have playtest documents, and have already pre-ordered the PHB, MM, and DMG, so I'm soooo not the primary market for the starter set.
I think WotC's reasoning is they want to create the quickest, easiest path to get people who have never played the game into playing the game, even without anyone with RPG experience. And on that score, chargen is non-essential. Yes, chargen is an integral part of the complete D&D experience. Yes, people should have access to that without having to pay for additional material. But, if you (general you, not Transformer in specific) are introducing a new player to an existing game, and you want to get him up-to-speed as soon as possible, generally you don't hand them the rulebook and say, "read this and make a character". You give him a pre-gen, or maybe if you're playing an older edition, do a quick roll-up with minimal explanation, and say, "Don't worry about the rules; just tell me what you want to do." The joy of character generation can then come afterwards, after they've experienced actually playing the game.
So why not put some simple chargen in the box? Because it's one more thing you're expecting people (or people believed they are expected) to read before they get started. I'm not saying it's a bad idea, or that the D&D Basic Rules weren't awesome. Only that if your goal is to take someone from "Zero" to "Playing" as fast as possible, they're extraneous. And thus are the perfect kind of thing for someone to acquire when they want to, once they've found they enjoy playing the game.
Now, some people may have a different idea of the Platonic Basic Set, or think a different strategy would be more effective. That's fair. Folks may even feel it's not for them, and pass it by for more detailed rules, like in the PHB. Awesome. But, based on what we know so far, it's not crippleware. At least not any more so (and in fact much less so) than the standard PHB and DMG throughout D&D's history, requiring you to buy one and the other to run a game. Or the Basic Sets, which stop at 3rd level and require you to buy the Expert Set to get wilderness adventures and higher levels.
If the game requires you to buy character generation separately (be that the PHB or whatever), yes, that's crippleware. That does not appear to be the case here. If the game requires you to buy a PHB in order to get past 2nd level, yes, that's crippleware. That is certainly not the case here. If WotC requires you to register for organized play or give them personal information, sure, that's crippleware. Not again, does not appear to be the case here. The whole point of crippleware is that vital features of a product are unfunctioning unless you make a further purchase. Simply having to acquire a second document for free is not crippleware.
Transformer
Explorer
And by the way, do we know yet if the Starter Set comes in a real box with a lid, or a flimsy box that opens from the end? Honestly, that's a huge deal for me. I actually think it makes more of a psychological difference to me than the presence or absence of character creation. A sturdy box with a real lid feels like a complete product that the company expects you to store stuff in and come back to again and again. A thin box that opens from the end feels like a piece of junk the company expects you to use once or twice and then recycle. I play a lot of board games, so I have a lot of feelings about boxes. Here's hoping.
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