D&D 5E Light release schedule: More harm than good?

[Moorcrys]

I could be totally shooting in the dark but I have a feeling they're going to release a couple of set pieces per year and focus on their digital initiative and the upcoming digital magazines for new player and rules content. No warehousing, cheaper to produce, and there will a lot demand for content, therefore a large subscription base.

AND if they want they can gather the 'best of' content every couple of years and release a nice shiny compilation book with just enough new stuff in it to give 'we who will complain about said compilation' just the incentive to buy that too.

 

[Mistwell]

Here is my theory for how non-core books work:

You can get 10 units of people to buy 3 books a year at $50 a book.

Or you can get 3 units of people to buy 15 books a year at $35 a book.

The three books/year makes roughly the same money for the company, but is probably better for the longer term prospects of the game, and the quality of the books they produce.

 

[Barantor]

They will sustain with the items that don't cost them money. Mearls already said they are behind on putting the Warforged Rules out on the main site because of some Jury Duty in Seattle. They are trying to make D&D accessible and not look like it takes a library shelves worth of books to run effectively.

For those of us beginning to become grognards we have tons of material on the net already, including D&D Classics. They have given us a ruleset that almost screams "backwards compatible" with little effort on a DMs part.

They have released 3 core books, 2 adventure books and a DM screen so far. We have the Necromancer/Frog God PDFs coming out now with some old school flair and we have Elemental Evil coming in the not too distant future. We have adventure league adventures plus the entire internet full of ideas.

The basic rules are free, the tyranny of dragons free update is there, we get warforged and kinder soon as well as whatever they give out with Elemental Evil.

I understand the desire for new things, but I think they are doing fine.

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

1. Gluteus Maximus Hurt because "WAH I want more things faster!!!"

Well, I just enjoy buying sourcebooks and I'm disappointed, you know. I think it's something anyone can understand.

Too many for me. Every other month sure feels like bloat to me. It's possible your tastes are common, but have you considered the possibility your tastes are the exception and people really do want 2-3 a year?

I'm not buying modules so it looks like 0 books a year to me, which is, um, not what I would consider optimal.

 

[Sailor Moon]

Even taking your proposition at face value, that doesn't mean that Some Rando On The Internet knows better than they.



Pretty fair points. My only real counterpoint would be to point out that D&D is not used or consumed the same way folks consume software, so expectations for one probably shouldn't hold true for the other anymore than expectations for Catan should hold true for D&D.

What makes them more right than I? You don't know who I am or what I do for a living. I've been a long time customer who has probably lasted longer than any employee currently with the company. WoTc don't know everything I'm afraid. There is still a human being, or beings, behind it all.

I've been around this stuff in all shapes and sizes to have learned a thing or two, and I have a bit of common sense and good observation skills. I've always had a knack for "calling it" on many topics.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

Well, I just enjoy buying sourcebooks and I'm disappointed, you know. I think it's something anyone can understand.


I'm not buying modules so it looks like 0 books a year to me, which is, um, not what I would consider optimal.

Your getting the material for free now which is still great.

 

[Nergal Pendragon]

What makes them more right than I? You don't know who I am or what I do for a living. I've been a long time customer who has probably lasted longer than any employee currently with the company. WoTc don't know everything I'm afraid. There is still a human being, or beings, behind it all.

I've been around this stuff in all shapes and sizes to have learned a thing or two, and I have a bit of common sense and good observation skills. I've always had a knack for "calling it" on many topics.

They own the game. You don't. That's what makes them more right than you when it comes to how they should handle it.

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

You're getting the material for free now which is still great.

Now that's just like telling your wife that she doesn't need new shoes because she can look at pictures of shoes online.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

Now that's just like telling your wife that she doesn't need new shoes because she can look at pictures of shoes online.

No in this case. You are getting what you were going to play for free. You just won't have a book unless you buy the adventure as well.

 

[The Mirrorball Man]

No in this case. You are getting what you were going to play for free. You just won't have a book unless you buy the adventure as well.

I get what you mean, and I agree to some extant. But what I want is a splatbook. If I get the choice between some kind of free web content and an adventure that I won't use bundled with the same content, I will not get what I want. Which is alright, I guess, but it probably means that 5e D&D is not for me.