Its time to exempt (sub)race from the PHB +1 rule!

[Jester David]

For the 99.98% of D&D gamers that don't use AL I don't see this being a problem.

 

[Yunru]

I agree with the problem. I, however, disagree with the solution.

Rather I'd prefer PHB + 2.
With 3 sources, you're pretty much covered.
Your race, class and background in three different sources? Sure.
Your class, background and spells in three different sources? Okay.
Etc.

 

[happyhermit]

For the 9.98% of D&D gamers that don't use AL I don't see this being a problem.

10%? Where does this come from?

 

[Jester David]

I agree with the problem. I, however, disagree with the solution.

Rather I'd prefer PHB + 2.
With 3 sources, you're pretty much covered.
Your race, class and background in three different sources? Sure.
Your class, background and spells in three different sources? Okay.
Etc.

But the point of the PHB+1 is you get one special thing. You can be a cool, strange race but you have to be a common subclass. Or you have a cool uncommon subclass, but you have to be a standard race.
Adding a second book negates that and means both aspects of your character become unfamiliar.

10%? Where does this come from?

Typo. I missed a 9. The people playing AL is a ridiculously small percentage.

 

[Volund]

These rules for AL are written for new player and new DM's. Not for the folks that have been playing for years. Perhaps the biggest driver of the success of 5E (and the continues sales of new PHBs) is accessibility to new people. And a big part of that is keep organized play accessible to those same potential new customers.

There are a lot of options for AL in central Ohio, and AL was my gateway back into D&D after many years. I didn't need to know players, I jut needed to know where to play. Even though I now play in 2 different homebrew groups I like playing in AL regularly, too. We continue to see new players show up at AL all the time. Keep AL simple and if you want to build a character using 4 source books find a gaming group that let's you do that. I think it's a good thing that you can't play a hobgoblin EK/war mage with green flame blade in AL games. You don't want new players walking in and thinking WTF this is nothing like the basic rules I downloaded.

Having said that, I wonder if the PHB + 1 rule for AL negatively affects sales of VGTM. I started 5e when VGTM was brand new and every game I played in had some mix of kobold, goblin, bugbear, triton, tabaxi, firbolg, and lizardfolk, but I don't see much of Volo's in AL now.

 

[Prakriti]

5E thrives on simplicity, and PHB+1 is the embodiment of simplicity.

If they ever change PHB+1, that's when we'll know 5E is dead and 6E is on the way.

 

[happyhermit]

...
Typo. I missed a 9. The people playing AL is a ridiculously small percentage.

Ah, I've actually seen it argued elsewhere that AL makes up the majority of 5e play (I don't think it does), so I was curious.

 

[ccs]

I'm all for AL placing restrictions on what it's players can use. In fact? I want to vote for more restrictions.

Why? Because I want you to be dissatisfied with you AL experience. Not dissatisfied enough to quit D&D, but enough to make you realize that you should be forming your own games instead. To realize that each group should be deciding for themselves what to allow/disallow/change/alter/mutilate/spindle. To create.
You don't get to enjoy the full scope of D&D if you're sitting at an AL table.

 

[Li Shenron]

I don't play AL games so perhaps my opinion doesn't matter much...

But I think that for organized play this is a good rule which should stay.

 

[Yunru]

But the point of the PHB+1 is you get one special thing. You can be a cool, strange race but you have to be a common subclass. Or you have a cool uncommon subclass, but you have to be a standard race.
Adding a second book negates that and means both aspects of your character become unfamiliar.

You're right. Maybe a new "core" book at some point (PHB, XGE + 1, for example)?