D&D 5E I think WotC has it backwards (re: story arcs)

[Parmandur]

Excellent post, Jester. I'm going to go back and give it XP in a moment.





Clue did get a major overhaul in 2008, which seems to have been poorly received. In addition, the Limited Gift Edition does add another weapon. The Harry Potter Edition "is a major departure from traditional gameplay and constitutes a spin-off in its own right" and includes a variable game board. There's also a Dungeons & Dragons Edition from 2001. There's a whole host of branded editions. It's a bit of a fuzz whether those are accessories or variants or spinoffs or something else, but D&D could easily be reissued in multiple brands that reskin the same rules over and over.



I think you're right about Hungry Hungry Hippos, though.

That kinda plays into the point, though: that's the sort of release expectation Mearls has cited for D&D moving forwards.

 

[HobbitFan]

Mike Mearls has made the board game analogy before....I'm just not sure how that works with UA and with game expansions like the Elemental evil one.
So is it the difference being that splatbook type material is ok as long as its free?
I'm not sure I quite follow the reasoning there...

 

[Jester David]

So is it the difference being that splatbook type material is ok as long as its free?
I'm not sure I quite follow the reasoning there...

It's not as bad. It can get bloaty if they start just churning out the content, but a year of Unearthed Arcana articles is less content then you'd see in a single 160-page splatbook. And the articles are pretty optional.

 

[Nellisir]

That kinda plays into the point, though: that's the sort of release expectation Mearls has cited for D&D moving forwards.

Dude. I know. That's why I brought it up.

 

[HobbitFan]

I'm all for WOTC giving their 5E plan a go provided they clearly communicate what that plan is....especially in reagrds to these two areas:

1. game support.
2. setting support.

After the game being out this long, I don't understand why we're still having to guess about this stuff.
Does WOTC or Hasbro have the team on such a short leash that they can't talk about their own game?

Sorry, venting.
Ok, back to Jester's point. Yes I can see where online freebies might be considered low-stress, super-optional, optional....but here's the rub. The Elemental evil stuff goes beyond that and they hint that the UA stuff may see mroe permanent form.

It almost seems schizophrenic, with them seeming wanting to have an expansion-free game but also wanting fan feedback on developing expansions.
Again, there's a disconnect there I don't get.

 

[Hussar]

I'm all for WOTC giving their 5E plan a go provided they clearly communicate what that plan is....especially in reagrds to these two areas:

1. game support.
2. setting support.

After the game being out this long, I don't understand why we're still having to guess about this stuff.
Does WOTC or Hasbro have the team on such a short leash that they can't talk about their own game?

Sorry, venting.
Ok, back to Jester's point. Yes I can see where online freebies might be considered low-stress, super-optional, optional....but here's the rub. The Elemental evil stuff goes beyond that and they hint that the UA stuff may see mroe permanent form.

It almost seems schizophrenic, with them seeming wanting to have an expansion-free game but also wanting fan feedback on developing expansions.
Again, there's a disconnect there I don't get.

Why do you need to know?

 

[Parmandur]

I'm all for WOTC giving their 5E plan a go provided they clearly communicate what that plan is....especially in reagrds to these two areas:



1. game support.

2. setting support.



After the game being out this long, I don't understand why we're still having to guess about this stuff.

Does WOTC or Hasbro have the team on such a short leash that they can't talk about their own game?



Sorry, venting.

Ok, back to Jester's point. Yes I can see where online freebies might be considered low-stress, super-optional, optional....but here's the rub. The Elemental evil stuff goes beyond that and they hint that the UA stuff may see mroe permanent form.



It almost seems schizophrenic, with them seeming wanting to have an expansion-free game but also wanting fan feedback on developing expansions.

Again, there's a disconnect there I don't get.

Because they are not monetizing the ruled: they are giving those away. They are monetizing fluff, stories and art objects. They will give rules, but they are chasers to the fluff.

 

[Corpsetaker]

Why do you need to know?

Because if he doesn't like what's coming out then he could go ahead and move on instead of sitting around waiting for something that isn't coming?

 

[Bluenose]

Mike Mearls has made the board game analogy before....I'm just not sure how that works with UA and with game expansions like the Elemental evil one.
So is it the difference being that splatbook type material is ok as long as its free?
I'm not sure I quite follow the reasoning there...

Different "board" games have different ways of releasing material. Sentinels of the Multiverse (which is a card rather than board game, technically) mixes up major releases and small packs with new characters/environments. Advanced Squad Leader has a wide range of material, different Starter Packs, Expansions, Modules, Scenario PAcks and so on including a journal. Settlers of Catan has multiple expansion packs and several different base games. Without any indication of which Board Game publishing model is being followed, it's hard to say exactly what D&D product is intended.

 

[Hussar]

Because if he doesn't like what's coming out then he could go ahead and move on instead of sitting around waiting for something that isn't coming?

But, what does "move on" mean in this context? Stop playing 5e because of a lack of support? Continue playing but stop checking what's coming out? What? I mean, they've been pretty forthcoming about the releases at least for books - you get two AP's a year. That's it. It's been a year, and yup, that's what we got.

There won't be anything else. Why would you think there would be?