D&D 5E Anyone else feeling "meh" about recent 5e releases?

[Vael]

Edit: Mostly I find with the APs that mashing them up and using them as sources of ideas & NPCs works best. Paizo APs have tons of incredibly detailed NPCs with multi-paragraph backstories who sit in a room and "attack immediately... fights to the death". I like to get them out of those rooms doing stuff! The biggest issue with Paizo APs is that they are written primarily for non-playing readers. Adapting them to something good usually takes a fair bit of work, but is doable. The WoTC hardbacks seem written much more with the GM in mind, although they also tend to suffer from poor presentation and excess complexity in places.

Lol. My take on Paizo APs is that they always read better than they play. They're great evocative fiction, but not exactly the easiest things to run. It was a scarring experience, my first time ever as a DM was a failed attempt to run Age of Worms.

Mind you, I haven't read one since Kingmaker, so I cannot and will not comment on the quality of later APs.

I do like Savage Tide though. It's one I've wanted to run for awhile, I was trying to convert it to 4e, I've thought of running it in 5e. So clearly Paizo does something right to make their APs compelling.

 

[Xenonnonex]

Lol. My take on Paizo APs is that they always read better than they play. They're great evocative fiction, but not exactly the easiest things to run. It was a scarring experience, my first time ever as a DM was a failed attempt to run Age of Worms.

Yes, exactly this. Paizo's pieces are great to mine ideas from, but that's about it. Most of their encounters are written as just descending into combat, it's asinine.

 

[Ilbranteloth]

It's been nearly two years since I've been excited about an official 5e release (Xanathar's in Nov 2017). The next big release, Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes, was okay. Didn't set the world on fire for me and has gotten little use, but it was alright.

Since then we got Dragon Heist (no interest in that); Ravnica (the MtG setting - blah); Dungeon of the Mad Mage (ho-hum); Stranger Things Starter (no interest); Saltmarsh (reprint - only mildly interested in that); Acquisitions Inc (a parody setting book); and another Starter Set. Other announced books include Rick & Morty (another comedy book), Avernus (edge lord stuff I can't get excited about), and Eberron (blah).

Am I wrong? This just seems blah. If you don't want to use a bizarre setting (Ravnica, Eberron), play levels 1-5 (Dragon Heist, Stranger Things Starter Set, New Starter Set), play comedy (Acquisitions or Rick & Morty) - there's just not much there: a fairly mundane dungeon hack (Mad Mage), a reprint adventure (Saltmarsh).

I just don't know if I can get into Avernus. I don't know a lot about it. I tend to shy away from urban adventures (hence I'm not into Dragon Heist) - and this being set in Baldur's Gate is something I'm not digging, coupled with the trip to hell.

Anyone else experiencing this drought in interest? I'd be happy to purchase stuff that interests me, but I'm just not seeing it. I own most of the other adventures Wizards has put out, and have run them (some of them more than once).

I wouldn't say "blah" but I would say that I'm not terribly interested either.

5e (and this forum) started a bit of a renaissance in my game, and the direction it has taken is more towards AD&D. We use the 5e mechanics, but lots of house rules at this point. Many might consider it a different game, although the people who have played in the campaign (and a couple that have taken our rules to run their own games) would agree with me that it's very much D&D.

Anyway, what it comes down to, is we have little interest in new races, classes, and such, and most of the lore is not really useable in our campaign either. I still enjoy mining them for ideas, maintain most of the activity in the Realms as "canon" with some modifications, etc.

I think the releases themselves are very strong, and really well designed for what has become (and should be) their target market. The huge number of more casual gamers. The sheer number of people playing today is amazing, and that's a fantastic thing. And a fair number of them find their way to our game, and find that it's a little different but they really enjoy it.

I think what happens is that new players grab the PHB and run thorugh a few APs, Then they either move on with life, or they start doing their own thing, and "grow out" of the core releases. But that's OK, because their best customers are new customers. Those that need to buy a PHB, MM and maybe a DMG. And D&D has suddenly become the next video game - a huge number of young people will play the game, with each year a new group growing into it.

So I still pick up almost everything eventually, but it's no longer a must have during release week. I'm excited about them, because I can see the appeal for a huge number of gamers, but they aren't must-have books for me like a new sourcebook for the Realms written by Ed Greenwood would be.

 

[dave2008]

Oooh, I know, better yet, let's publish yet another Forgotten Realms adventure. Everyone loves more Realms. Let's stay in that box. After all, Baldur's Gate is practically a whole different setting from Waterdeep. After we printed an Adventure called with the word "heist" in it, but that is not an actual heist.

Nevermind that there are all these other campaign settings that haven't seen any support, heck, they're finally going to print an Eberron book, only because Keith Baker noticed the demand and made his own.

Given that my play group has mentioned that they are quote "Bored with 5e", and are debating switching to Pathfinder 2e, there is a danger in being overly conservative.

I'd rather give my money to get a 5e product that I'd actually use.

What would you actually use?

 

[dave2008]

Yay? I'm sorry, but I really dislike that adventure. It's poorly conceived, didn't read well, it was a frustrating PITA to run and I abandoned it less than halfway through.

That is basically every adventure ever written by any publisher for any game IMO. I just don’t why people buy adventures. I find them so frustrating unhelpful and uninteresting. They only reason I’ve bought so many for 5e is they keep putting cool monsters in them.

 

[pming]

Hiya!

Well, I got called out about not reading any 5e "adventures" all the way through. This is true. So I put my money where my mouth is and just bought every 5e adventure book for Fantasy Grounds II (total of about $330). I can't help but think I wasted my money...but here's hoping I'm just outright wrong. My bro, his wife, and two or three friends all use FGII every now and then. I've never had the opportunity to actually USE FGII for a full game...so now I have my chance.

That said, after about two hours of looking through the "Tomb of Annihilation"...well...it reads like a story. This is a bad sign. But, maybe it plays differently. I'm going to peruse the other dozen or so things that came in 'the bundle' to see which one I am going to offer to run on FGII.

So, yeah. Money spent, now I just have to spend time.

I guess my biggest concern is that these "AP" type books are trying to tell a story. I don't want to tell a story and I'm pretty sure my players don't want me to tell them a story. This is an RPG where the Players and DM get to collectively tell a story that they imagine "on the fly". Tomb of Annihilation story should be "A lich has a magic item that stops folks from being able to be raised from the dead. Why, who knows? Where? Somewhere in the dense jungle. So, PC's, whatcha gonna do 'bout it?". That's it. Period. No need for anything more...we can come up with the actual story as we play the game. How? You know, by using our imaginations, as it should be.

 

[Xenonnonex]

That is basically every adventure ever written by any publisher for any game IMO. I just don’t why people buy adventures. I find them so frustrating unhelpful and uninteresting. They only reason I’ve bought so many for 5e is they keep putting cool monsters in them.

Adventures are good to mine ideas from. Using the entire thing is not necessary.

 

[Xenonnonex]

Hiya!

Well, I got called out about not reading any 5e "adventures" all the way through. This is true. So I put my money where my mouth is and just bought every 5e adventure book for Fantasy Grounds II (total of about $330). I can't help but think I wasted my money...but here's hoping I'm just outright wrong. My bro, his wife, and two or three friends all use FGII every now and then. I've never had the opportunity to actually USE FGII for a full game...so now I have my chance.

That said, after about two hours of looking through the "Tomb of Annihilation"...well...it reads like a story. This is a bad sign. But, maybe it plays differently. I'm going to peruse the other dozen or so things that came in 'the bundle' to see which one I am going to offer to run on FGII.

So, yeah. Money spent, now I just have to spend time.

I guess my biggest concern is that these "AP" type books are trying to tell a story. I don't want to tell a story and I'm pretty sure my players don't want me to tell them a story. This is an RPG where the Players and DM get to collectively tell a story that they imagine "on the fly". Tomb of Annihilation story should be "A lich has a magic item that stops folks from being able to be raised from the dead. Why, who knows? Where? Somewhere in the dense jungle. So, PC's, whatcha gonna do 'bout it?". That's it. Period. No need for anything more...we can come up with the actual story as we play the game. How? You know, by using our imaginations, as it should be.

Then don't use it too tell a story, more correctly use it too tell your story. Use it a backdrop to tell your own story with your players.

 

[Parmandur]

Hiya!

Well, I got called out about not reading any 5e "adventures" all the way through. This is true. So I put my money where my mouth is and just bought every 5e adventure book for Fantasy Grounds II (total of about $330). I can't help but think I wasted my money...but here's hoping I'm just outright wrong. My bro, his wife, and two or three friends all use FGII every now and then. I've never had the opportunity to actually USE FGII for a full game...so now I have my chance.

That said, after about two hours of looking through the "Tomb of Annihilation"...well...it reads like a story. This is a bad sign. But, maybe it plays differently. I'm going to peruse the other dozen or so things that came in 'the bundle' to see which one I am going to offer to run on FGII.

So, yeah. Money spent, now I just have to spend time.

I guess my biggest concern is that these "AP" type books are trying to tell a story. I don't want to tell a story and I'm pretty sure my players don't want me to tell them a story. This is an RPG where the Players and DM get to collectively tell a story that they imagine "on the fly". Tomb of Annihilation story should be "A lich has a magic item that stops folks from being able to be raised from the dead. Why, who knows? Where? Somewhere in the dense jungle. So, PC's, whatcha gonna do 'bout it?". That's it. Period. No need for anything more...we can come up with the actual story as we play the game. How? You know, by using our imaginations, as it should be.

Just cut the death curse entirely, and nothing major changes. Just make it "you disembark in port looking for adventure," and the book provides plenty of hooks and fodder.

 

[ccs]

I guess my biggest concern is that these "AP" type books are trying to tell a story. I don't want to tell a story and I'm pretty sure my players don't want me to tell them a story. This is an RPG where the Players and DM get to collectively tell a story that they imagine "on the fly". Tomb of Annihilation story should be "A lich has a magic item that stops folks from being able to be raised from the dead. Why, who knows? Where? Somewhere in the dense jungle. So, PC's, whatcha gonna do 'bout it?". That's it. Period. No need for anything more...we can come up with the actual story as we play the game. How? You know, by using our imaginations, as it should be.

Um, have you ever read any module/AP?
Because any that I can think of, whatever the edition/Co., all have some degree of story built in. Complete the adventure, learn the story. Granted, a few like Keep on the Borderlands, In Search of Adventure, & Isle of Doom are pretty sparse. Everything else though....

But yes. ToA can absolutely be run like that.
In fact? Were I to run this again? I wouldn't tell the party anything about the death curse or a lich etc at first. I'd let them stumble upon it through play once in Chult. Why? Because them knowing something big & foul was going on put them on a clock & served to discourage any exploration/side-treks that didn't seem to be leading to Omu.