D&D 5E Reasons Why My Interest in 5e is Waning

[BryonD]

My enthusiasm has only increased, so much so that I'm buying older 3.5 books to convert to 5e.

Crossing threads here a bit, but doesn't this make you the 12-year old Mearls who was willing to tinker with Car Wars all day? And 2014 Mearls said that now he would rather buy a new APP to actually play, and the game has not kept up with the world on that front.

I'm not being critical. I love to world build as well. (And recall that Mearls proudly said that if you liked world building, then you might not like 4E, just for a little historic context)
I'm just questioning if your position is actually supporting the long term health of the game. Not that I'm suggesting you have the slightest obligation to CARE. You should play what you like.

And I'm also questioning if WotC sees you are a relevant part of the modern market. I'm putting to much on one Mearls statement here. But it does fit with what we have seen and the OP of this thread.

 

[Queer Venger]

wow, I think this is the first time on these boards that Ive felt.... a bit inadequate and irrelevant.

Im a professional with 2 master's degrees, hold a government job in health and your post compares me to a "12 year old" and "questioning if [I am] relevant part of the modern market."

sharp and insightful wit you have there.

 

[Sailor Moon]

I would say if you like an extremely light release schedule then you probably weren't going to spend much money on D&D anyway.

 

[Mercule]

5) Serious Lack of Digital Tools.

This doesn't really bother me. Sure, I'd take a character creation tool, but 5E is simple enough that I really don't care much. I have no use for a digital table top (but understand distributed groups do). Combat utilities are nice, but, again, not a big deal.

4) No PDFs (except for the basic game).

I've come to realize that I only care about PDFs for infrequently referenced books and/or "secondary" rule sets that I don't expect to play much. Basically, stuff I don't want to be completely without access to, but don't actually see an opportunity to use. PDFs just suck for random-access rules reference at the table because I'm very context sensitive, visually, so just fanning through a book triggers memories of where specific rules are; I get that's not necessarily normal, though. Similar statement goes for game prep, plus flipping between multiple pages at once -- I haven't found a digital equivalent to a couple scraps of paper. Clearly, YMMV, but I see this as "nice" not "must".

3) Nothing Much to Look Forward To/Lack of Product Diversity.

2) The Waiting.

These are related, IMO. I really think the 1E rate of product (one hardcover per year, give or take) is appropriate. I strongly feel that having something like Dragon and Dungeon are needed to make up the gap, though. Maybe the times have changed and print periodicals aren't feasible. Here's where I'm okay with PDFs, but I definitely want something more than what's basically a blog. I feel the hurt of no Eberron and no psionics, though I'm more annoyed than frustrated. I am frustrated by Mearls statement that WotC is going to focus creatively on the Realms. That decision is the one that is probably going to kill my interest in 5E -- given the money, I'd like to buy the rights to the Realms, just to take it out of publication. Geez, I hate that setting.

1) No OGL (or some kind of compatible license).

This one doesn't move me an iota. I think I bought all of two or three d20 SRD products, and didn't feel like I got my money out of them (to be fair, I didn't get my money out of a number of core WotC books, either). I'm not unsympathetic to getting third-party stuff. It just doesn't factor into my, personal, equation. Beating the drum about it gets a raised eyebrow, from me.

 

[delericho]

Im a professional with 2 master's degrees, hold a government job in health and your post compares me to a "12 year old" and "questioning if [I am] relevant part of the modern market."

There's an important distinction you may have missed - he didn't compare you to "a 12 year-old", he compared you to "the 12-year old Mearls", which is somewhat different. Though it depends on knowing the context - you should probably see the video in this post for the details.

As for not being a "relevant part of the modern market" - welcome. I've been there for nearly a decade now. It's fun out here.

 

[Werebat]

If you don't like 5E anymore, will you go back to Pathfinder, or are there problems with that system?

I once suggested that PF had gotten a bit too "bloaty" on the PF forum. Shrieking harpies descended to slash my flesh.

 

[Trickster Spirit]

I would say if you like an extremely light release schedule then you probably weren't going to spend much money on D&D anyway.

Right, but if most folks spent much money on D&D we wouldn't be having this conversation at all, we'd be discussing the next six months of monthly hardcovers!

Very few players buy everything Wizards put out; some buy maybe a fee splatbooks a year if they're particularly interested in the contents; and most only ever buy the PHB.

If they even buy the PHB. Plenty of groups are made up of casual players who make do with a single shared PHB between them.

So if monthly non-core book sales aren't bringing in enough to continually justify putting out the next one, they're just not going to bother putting them out. If diminishing returns means fewer people will buy February's release than January's, and fewer sales of March's hardcover than February's, why wouldn't you look at alternatives to avoid a costly investment in another edition turnover that may itself not prove very popular?

So yeah, I'm not going to buy more than a few hardcovers a year. I will buy D&D video games and a ticket to a movie if they look good, though, and Hasbro is banking that enough non-gamers will along with me that they'll make far more than they would if they catered to the release schedule you're asking for.

 

[BryonD]

wow, I think this is the first time on these boards that Ive felt.... a bit inadequate and irrelevant.

Im a professional with 2 master's degrees, hold a government job in health and your post compares me to a "12 year old" and "questioning if [I am] relevant part of the modern market."

sharp and insightful wit you have there.

sorry, you obviously missed the context.

In the other thread Mearls was specifically talking about how he played the game when he was 12 and what he does now. And he presents it not as a difference between being 12 and an adult, but as a difference between the options available to him then and now. It has nothing to do with implications of maturity.

Edit: And I've also made several comments suggesting that *I* am skeptical that world builders/people who like to tinker are irrelevant to the market. But WotC (at least Mearls specifically, and WotC actions seem to fit) have indicated that THEY think this is not where the market lives anymore.

 

[Werebat]

I will buy D&D video games and a ticket to a movie if they look good, though, and Hasbro is banking that enough non-gamers will along with me that they'll make far more than they would if they catered to the release schedule you're asking for.

More D&D video games would be great, especially if done in the "updated isometric" style we see in the new Wasteland 2. I'm afraid Wizards might try to go for the FPS look of Skyrim/Fallout3, which IMO is great but not conducive to a recreation of the D&D experience (or the old classic games like the BG and IWD series).

D&D movies will never be anything other than a boondoggle. They might make nice Rifftrax fodder, but not much else.

 

[Iosue]

I would say if you like an extremely light release schedule then you probably weren't going to spend much money on D&D anyway.

I like a heavy release schedule in an ideal world, even though I'm not likely to spend much more money than I already have.*

Unfortunately, we don't live in an ideal world.

*I will note that I have, to date, bought everything WotC's released for 5e: Starter Set, PHB, MM, DMG, HotDQ, RoT, and the DM screen. That's more game than I'll need for quite some time.