Unearthed Arcana Unearthed Arcana probably coming to D&D website (Reddit AMA)

[Sword of Spirit]

He seems to be implying that the "sourcebook" is linked to the adventure, but not the adventure.

Yes, but it sounded to me like a player sourcebook, not the sort of DM material that I need.

OR...

You introduce a Campaign Setting in three stages: a GM world guide, a sourcebook/adventure guide for the world, and then an AP/module line. You could do this for Eberron, Dragonlance, Ravenloft, etc. One book gives you the world-down info, one book gives you the PC options and the "what the world is like" info, and the modules give you an ongoing storyline.

I don't expect ALL APs to be like this, but I can wager a few of them will be.

That would be perfect, but I don't think that's what he was hinting at.

I'm reading it as the psionic "sourcebook" is the player's companion book (with an accompanying chunk of dedicated material) and the adventure is the "DM's sourcebook", with monsters, treasure, DM options, and etc.

If the adventure is intended to be the same as the DM's sourcebook (and honestly, I got the same impression as you did from what was said) I'm very doubtful it would contain sufficient material. If they make a Planescape adventure path, are they really going to have dozens of pages at the end giving us MM style presentation of 7 archons, 7 guardinals, 7 eladrin, the additional 4 or 5 yugoloths needed to fill out the basics, gehreleths, hordelings, heirarch modrons, plus creatures to populate the other planes? And I'm not expecting every little odd and end ever to grace a book here--just the majority population of the various planes so we don't have to rely on fan conversions to play the setting. I just don't see them trying to squeeze a monster manual (which is what something like Planescape or Dark Sun would need) into an appendix at the end of an adventure.

What I glean from Mearls' statements about future supplements is that they'll thematically fit with the "Adventure Path" being published in the same quarter, (e.g. the "Elemental Evil" adventure path will be published close to the supplement with Genasi Races, Elemental-powered Classes, and so on) but other than that the books can just be used as stand-alone character options and fluff books, with no connection to the story arc at all.

I agree. Now, if he can figure out how to do that while presenting the DM material, I won't complain about the adventures.

 

[Zaran]

The thing is I don't want adventure paths. I want individual adventures. My players are already complaining that they are being held hostage because "they either fight the Cult of the Dragon or the world dies."

I don't want books on how Mind Flayers are going to attack every game world, video game and bumper sticker that has "D&D" on it. I want Campaign settings. And I feel like campaign settings need more than one book. The 4e campaign settings were drek. Too much information crammed into a single book about worlds that had books and books in previous editions. If you are going to cram it into a single book don't even bother.

I don't want player books. My players don't buy these. Give us books for GMs to use. If you give us a Dragonlance campaign setting, then post the player stuff for free. It shouldn't be THAT different from the core game.

 

[TerraDave]

Online magazines, maybe, print, probably no:

We're exploring options for the magazines right now. Nothing to announce yet, but we know they're an important part of D&D's history.
That said, the magazine business is in rough shape. Subscriptions to them were dropping heavily in their last years in print, and that was six years ago. You can expect anything we do will be delivered digitally.

 

[Psikerlord#]

The thing is I don't want adventure paths. I want individual adventures. My players are already complaining that they are being held hostage because "they either fight the Cult of the Dragon or the world dies."

I don't want books on how Mind Flayers are going to attack every game world, video game and bumper sticker that has "D&D" on it. I want Campaign settings. And I feel like campaign settings need more than one book. The 4e campaign settings were drek. Too much information crammed into a single book about worlds that had books and books in previous editions. If you are going to cram it into a single book don't even bother.

I don't want player books. My players don't buy these. Give us books for GMs to use. If you give us a Dragonlance campaign setting, then post the player stuff for free. It shouldn't be THAT different from the core game.

i agree - I dont like big adventures, the old boxed set adventures/monster dungeons, that sort of thing. I want lots of little adventures to pick and choose from mostly. Happily Goodman Games seem to be releasing some cool, short stand alone adventures. As long as someone is making them, I'll be happy.

 

[Greg K]

In my opinion that would be a step back. 5e multiclassing is akin to 3.0 & 3.5, and the #1 problem with those was cherry-picking a level here and a level there from different classes for a load of good stuff. Having defining abilities starting at 2nd or 3rd means that not everyone steals the same cool abilities. Rules for not getting all proficiencies and skills for additional classes also helps.
Please browse the character builds board here and look for people talking about taking a level of cleric to get heavy armor proficiency, since that comes from a domain you get at 1st.

Well, personally, I think the multiclass rules for 3e and 5e are not very good. In 3e, my own house rule is that multiclassing does not grant the armor and weapon proficiencies. After first level you had to take the appropriate feat either through level acquisition or an appropriate class bonus feat.
As for the cleric itself, I already stated I think the class design is poor- the class armor proficiencies is among the many elements for which I don't care.

 

[Trickster Spirit]

If the adventure is intended to be the same as the DM's sourcebook (and honestly, I got the same impression as you did from what was said) I'm very doubtful it would contain sufficient material. If they make a Planescape adventure path, are they really going to have dozens of pages at the end giving us MM style presentation of 7 archons, 7 guardinals, 7 eladrin, the additional 4 or 5 yugoloths needed to fill out the basics, gehreleths, hordelings, heirarch modrons, plus creatures to populate the other planes? And I'm not expecting every little odd and end ever to grace a book here--just the majority population of the various planes so we don't have to rely on fan conversions to play the setting. I just don't see them trying to squeeze a monster manual (which is what something like Planescape or Dark Sun would need) into an appendix at the end of an adventure.

Well, they wouldn't - which is why I suspect we won't see a Planescape adventure path (or any such product requiring dozens of new monsters) until the release of the MM2. That would contain the majority of the Outsiders missing from the first MM, and stragglers could then be included in the appendix of the adventure path. Perhaps made available as a PDF for Basic the way they did with the HotDQ supplement.

 

[Sword of Spirit]

Well, they wouldn't - which is why I suspect we won't see a Planescape adventure path (or any such product requiring dozens of new monsters) until the release of the MM2. That would contain the majority of the Outsiders missing from the first MM, and stragglers could then be included in the appendix of the adventure path. Perhaps made available as a PDF for Basic the way they did with the HotDQ supplement.

I think the assumption that we will ever get a MM2 is a longshot. That sort of product appears to be exactly the sort of thing they have been trying to hint at (without directly saying) "we aren't going to make that sort of thing."

 

[Nebulous]

I think the assumption that we will ever get a MM2 is a longshot. That sort of product appears to be exactly the sort of thing they have been trying to hint at (without directly saying) "we aren't going to make that sort of thing."

Really? I never got that impression at all. If there was ANY book i wanted from 5e more than any other, it would be a Monster Manual 2. Now, we don't need freaking SIX of them like in 3rd edition, but a second one....Yes please.

 

[Trickster Spirit]

I think the assumption that we will ever get a MM2 is a longshot. That sort of product appears to be exactly the sort of thing they have been trying to hint at (without directly saying) "we aren't going to make that sort of thing."

Heh, I think we're looking at the same statements and coming to opposite conclusions. Future Monster Manuals (or maybe they'll avoid calling it the MM2; "Fiend Folio" seems likely) are just about the only non-adventure-path related splatbooks I do see them putting out. There's simply too much material out there - there's been general agreement that the choices for the Monster Manual were pretty much spot on, barring a few people's pet monsters, but there's still a huge amount of classic monsters that didn't make the cut. We will be seeing official versions of those monsters down the line; it's possible Wizards will opt to share them through website columns, the digital magazines, or Basic PDFs, but I'm betting they'll get their own hardcover. Even before their SPM (splats per month) really skyrocketed, Paizo published follow-up Bestiaries.

Mind you I'm not expecting to see a monster book from WotC in 2015. Probably 2016, though we'll have a better sense of it once they announce what they're working on after Elemental Evil. The license announcement also impacts this in a big way - hell, they might even license out monster books out to other companies.

 

[Umbran]

Mind you I'm not expecting to see a monster book from WotC in 2015. Probably 2016, though we'll have a better sense of it once they announce what they're working on after Elemental Evil. The license announcement also impacts this in a big way - hell, they might even license out monster books out to other companies.

I will not be surprised if they continue to update Basic with monsters, some time after whatever supplement comes out with them. So, monsters, for free!