WotC WotC will do what you say for 5 years. What are your instructions?

[Shiroiken]

Decide which settings they want to keep in house (most likely Realms, Eberron, and Ravnica), then allow original designers the option to update their settings for 5E either as 3PP or on DMs Guild. In the case of Greyhawk, I'd probably ask Rob Kurtz or one of Gygax's children to take up the project. Campaigns are an iffy proposition for WotC, as they seldom sell as well as primary products.

Wizards would continue to print Adventures in settings kept in house or given generic settings. APs seem to be winners for WotC, so no reason to topple the apple cart. One new mechanics/crunch book per year tops. Keeping the bloat down has been fantastic so far, and I'd like that to continue.

 

[Xenonnonex]

Right now people from WoTC are looking at this thread and saying, "That's why none of you yahoos will ever be in charge."

A few of the members had some good ideas.

 

[Xenonnonex]

I mean they stole some ideas from the "Archetypes to add to 5e" so there's hope yet.

Yes I am sure they stole those ideas. I am positive of that fact.

 

[Sacrosanct]

A few of the members had some good ideas.

Not me. All of my ideas are garbage. Ignore them. Probably why I still have a day job and am not a designer full time...

 

[FlyingChihuahua]

I think my ideas are pretty good, which means they're probably terrible.

 

[Bawylie]

Write up some classes that don’t have spell slots.

 

[Randy_Robertson]

Why do you hate what they are currently doing?

A) WotC has a habit of "updating" their products in a way that makes previous products obsolete. This may be great for their wallets in the short-term, but it irritates the fan-base and drives many away from RPG's as a whole, damaging the wider industry.

B) They are already weaning off all their RPGs and focusing heavily on Magic. D&D is now the only RPG they still produce. Others have been discontinued over the past 5 years. If they follow their previous patterns, they will drop D&D as soon as sales begin to slip a little. Not even a lot, just a little.

C) The sort of terms they offered retailers (until just recently) have been horrific. In essence, if you want the best deals they offer, you turn your store into a WotC franchise in all but name, and the benefits of this were some of the worst in the industry. When WotC announced they are no longer doing direct-to-retail sales, FLGS owners nation-wide breathed a sigh of relief, especially those who had been economically enslaved by the CCG trade.

D) (And this one is purely personal), Hasbro bought the highly successful Heroscape game and put it under WotC control. After two months of delays, stalls, and outright lies to the bulk of the rather passionate player community, they announced the game was cancelled. Soon after, it's parts appeared as expansions in a couple of others. They thought that player interest would shift over to these poor-selling games. They were wrong. Those games died too.

Overall, WotC's business model is reminiscent of a Wall Street speculator who's going for the high-turnover fast cash regardless of how damaging that can be to the long-term health of the market. The best thing they can do for the RPG industry is finish their slow, grinding withdrawal from it and let other companies carry on in their place.

 

[Xenonnonex]

A) WotC has a habit of "updating" their products in a way that makes previous products obsolete. This may be great for their wallets in the short-term, but it irritates the fan-base and drives many away from RPG's as a whole, damaging the wider industry.

Your first point and your already wrong. Wizards have said time and again gamers can use their old products in concert with their new ones. Driving away fans could not be further from the truth. In fact more fans than ever are playing 5e. And hopefully other RPGs.

It is good to share opinions. Making stuff up just because you want to live in a fantasy is really stupid.

No profanity please. Also, calling others “stupid” isn’t exactly constructive or supporting of civil discourse.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Your first point and your already wrong. Wizards have said time and again gamers can use their old products in concert with their new ones. Driving away fans could not be further from the truth. In fact more fans than ever are playing 5e. And hopefully other RPGs.

It is good to share opinions. Making stuff up just because you want to live in a fantasy is really stupid.

Yeah, that threw me off a bit. 3.5 was an update to 3e, and I believe you could use your 3e stuff (like adventures, splat books, etc) in 3.5 And wasn't essentials an update to 4e, and you could use your 4e stuff with essentials?

I didn't really play much of either edition, but that was my impression anyway.

Please don’t quote profanity.

 

[Xenonnonex]

A) WotC has a habit of "updating" their products in a way that makes previous products obsolete. This may be great for their wallets in the short-term, but it irritates the fan-base and drives many away from RPG's as a whole, damaging the wider industry.

B) They are already weaning off all their RPGs and focusing heavily on Magic. D&D is now the only RPG they still produce. Others have been discontinued over the past 5 years. If they follow their previous patterns, they will drop D&D as soon as sales begin to slip a little. Not even a lot, just a little.

C) The sort of terms they offered retailers (until just recently) have been horrific. In essence, if you want the best deals they offer, you turn your store into a WotC franchise in all but name, and the benefits of this were some of the worst in the industry. When WotC announced they are no longer doing direct-to-retail sales, FLGS owners nation-wide breathed a sigh of relief, especially those who had been economically enslaved by the CCG trade.

D) (And this one is purely personal), Hasbro bought the highly successful Heroscape game and put it under WotC control. After two months of delays, stalls, and outright lies to the bulk of the rather passionate player community, they announced the game was cancelled. Soon after, it's parts appeared as expansions in a couple of others. They thought that player interest would shift over to these poor-selling games. They were wrong. Those games died too.

Overall, WotC's business model is reminiscent of a Wall Street speculator who's going for the high-turnover fast cash regardless of how damaging that can be to the long-term health of the market. The best thing they can do for the RPG industry is finish their slow, grinding withdrawal from it and let other companies carry on in their place.

Is Wizards policing your game? Are they kicking down your door and demanding that you only play with their most recent products?