Only the Lonely: Why We Demand Official Product

[Todd Roybark]

I wonder now if the answer hasn't been looking at us since the beginning of the game: different XP tables for different classes. Require more XP to level up more powerful classes instead of trying to make all characters fit a power level

This is the answer only to the Jeopardy question of ” What prior D&D rules do you not want to see implemented again”

It also would not help that much. Take the Arcane Trickster subclass for the Rogue. Upon initial release many considered the subclass to be weak. Add in Booming Blade, the ‘Killer App’ of 5e, and sprinkle in a pinch of Warcaster Feat and Elven Accuracy Feat, and suddenly the Invisible Arcane Trickster is the 5e equivalent of a tactical nuke in Minesweeper.

Also 2e Bards were often better casters than M/Us due to being 1-2 levels higher than a M/U because of the decreased XP requirements to level.

 

[pemerton]

Suppose it's true that people want "official" products. A further question is why do they want them to be continually reprinted?

I just checked DM's Guild and the GH boxed set is on sale there for US $9.99. I've used (bits of) that boxed set for games using AD&D, Rolemaster and Burning Wheel. About the only mechanical information in it is stats for gods (which I've never used), variant abilities for clerics (which I've found are easily adapted to other systems) and class and levels for ruling NPCs. A 5e GM could use those classes and levels basically as written, given that all the AD&D classes are found in 5e. And the 5e cleric subclasses + backgrounds could easily sub for the variant cleric abilities.

So why do people keep asking for GH to be "redone" for 5e? What are they actually asking for? Why do they need to pay again to read the same stories they've already read?

 

[Hussar]

It's an interesting question. I mean, sure, there are crap products on DM's Guild. Sturgeon's Law applies. But, there's some fantastic stuff there too. The really niche stuff is probably better served honestly. You could use the naval rules from Ghosts of Saltmarsh, but, those are VERY basic and quick and dirty. Or, you could saunter over to DM's Guild, find someone's labour of love product (there are several on the topic) and find one that is perfect for you.

Is it likely to have the level of art in it as a WotC book? Probably not. But, with a tiny bit of effort, you can find a book that will dovetail what you want pretty much perfectly.

At least in the current era, WotC is going out of its way to promote 3pp through Dragon+. That's gotta be hugely helpful. And it's good to see. The Guild Adepts program seems to be working quite well.

 

[Giltonio_Santos]

Yeah but the AL modules kinda stink

I found the first module of the Avernus season a much more entertaining way to start my BG: DiA campaign then the “do what I want or die” approach found in the hardcover. They do need some curation, though.

 

[Anoth]

"That's not irony, Alanis," he said sardonically.



Sometimes. I used an example (Advil, generic ibuprofen) where it's easy to see the differentiation. But there are other, just as easy, examples where that isn't the case.




Woah, it's almost like I used two examples of Big Macs, both from America, to try and avoid this. Of course there will be some variability in some products for reasons (including, but not limited to geography, inputs, years, and quality control) but the point is that brands try to achieve consistency; kind of the point.



Is there a reason you are nitpicking the part where I am discussing brands in general, and completely ignore the application to TTRPGs?

But you know that using off-brand parts doesn't necessarily damage your vehicle, right?




Yes, you've asserted that (brands have no value). Good for you, what with your assertions!



Um ... wow. Okay. Whatever, dude.

arguments become difficult when you make even good analogies and people attack the analogy and Not the argument.

 

[Anoth]

3 factors for me:

1.) D&D Beyond - I like the materials to be in this handy reference and character management tool. I can hunt and peck to add a lot of other content, but man does that get annoying.
2.) History - I want official D&D content - because it updates material I've been using for decades. This is true for settings, classes, adventures, spells, etc... I have NPCs that have existed since 1981 that use psionic rules... and I want to be able to update them into a new edition with the official rules so that when new players meet them, they have an idea what they can do.
3.) Balance - WotC tries to consider their prior game contributions to the edition when considering balance. If they introduce a feat, they'll be on the lookout to make sure a class feature does not form a 'power combo' with that feat that is abusive. If the feat is 3rd party, WotC doesn't consider it when making new elements for the game.

If they don’t update it they can’t mess it up. Think about that for a bit.

 

[Maxperson]

Go to a store for RPG stuff? This is 2020! We have DriveThruRPG.com! It's all right there, man!

My biggest issue with 3rd party stuff is that I can't browse the entire product like I can a WotC release. A lot of 3rd party stuff isn't good, so if I can't look at the whole thing, I'm not about to spend money on it and hope I get one of the good ones. My second biggest issue is that even on the off chance that I can browse the whole 3rd party product, it's often PDF only which I don't use for running games. I like a nicely bound physical product to carry with and open when I need it.

 

[Jd Smith1]

I rely upon 3rd party material because WOTC is slow to put out pdfs, which is all I use.

And WOTC seems focused upon trendy junk lately.

 

[ChaosOS]

I think this is a really interesting question, because from my POV I feel like this is a high water mark for 3PP - not only is the hobby bigger than ever, but dmsguild makes everything super accessible. Is the definition of "real" 3PP just what goes into print? Which is still more accessible due to POD. But I'm involved in the dmsguild community, so maybe I'm biased and part of what's actually a small group of people jerking each other off.

 

[billd91]

So why do people keep asking for GH to be "redone" for 5e? What are they actually asking for? Why do they need to pay again to read the same stories they've already read?

They're asking for their favorite setting to be kept alive. It's a lot easier to recruit new players if there's a widespread product that revitalizes the existing community or brings in a new one. There's always places like Canonfire and a zillion other places on the internet, but that's very different from having a glitzy, new product from the publisher. The reach on the internet may, theoretically, be farther, but the prominence is really much lower.