D&D 5E 5e most conservative edition yet? (In terms of new settings)

[Jd Smith1]

I don't see it as conservative, I believe it is simply good business. 5e has focused on what will sell in sufficient numbers, and so far it is working.

 

[Hussar]

Again, though, when you talk about 5e being "conservative" for settings, that's only really true if we focus on WotC. Outside of WotC though, 5e is rapidly approaching 2e for number of settings and is quite possibly second only to 3e if we include 3rd party products.

There are a crapton of settings for 5e. It's just that they aren't being published by WotC. So, really, why should WotC start banging out settings? It's not like there isn't already a shopping cart full of settings right there for folks to use.

 

[eyeheartawk]

Again, though, when you talk about 5e being "conservative" for settings, that's only really true if we focus on WotC. Outside of WotC though, 5e is rapidly approaching 2e for number of settings and is quite possibly second only to 3e if we include 3rd party products.

There are a crapton of settings for 5e. It's just that they aren't being published by WotC. So, really, why should WotC start banging out settings? It's not like there isn't already a shopping cart full of settings right there for folks to use.

That's also true for adventures and rules supplements. By that logic, WotC has no reason to publish anything for 5e itself.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Acquisitions Incorporated is based out of Waterdeep, but a case could be made for it being a pseudo-Setting or sub-Setting. Not terribly conservative, at any rate.

Para-setting might be a better term.

Since it incudes an element of parody.

 

[Hussar]

That's also true for adventures and rules supplements. By that logic, WotC has no reason to publish anything for 5e itself.

No. That's not true. As I said in another thread, the benchmark apparently for 5e is 100k books. If a book isn't going to move that many copies, WotC isn't interested in it. Which means that settings that have been out of print for thirty years maybe aren't really the well to dip into.

Meh, I look at it this way. Five years now and WotC has yet to put out a dud. That's a pretty darn solid track record. They've put out modules that are still selling years after their publication date, something that was virtually unheard of in the history of the hobby. I'm fairly willing to give them the benefit of the doubt here.

 

[Marandahir]

Para-setting might be a better term.

Since it incudes an element of parody.

Not to mention that the same characters were based out of Fallcrest in the Nentir Vale (Nerath/Points of Light) Setting just a few years ago. When the Realms became the default setting for the new edition, they just migrated over from the default 4e setting.

 

[Parmandur]

Not to mention that the same characters were based out of Fallcrest in the Nentir Vale (Nerath/Points of Light) Setting just a few years ago. When the Realms became the default setting for the new edition, they just migrated over from the default 4e setting.

Per the book, they actually have branch offices on several worlds.

 

[Parmandur]

No. That's not true. As I said in another thread, the benchmark apparently for 5e is 100k books. If a book isn't going to move that many copies, WotC isn't interested in it. Which means that settings that have been out of print for thirty years maybe aren't really the well to dip into.

Meh, I look at it this way. Five years now and WotC has yet to put out a dud. That's a pretty darn solid track record. They've put out modules that are still selling years after their publication date, something that was virtually unheard of in the history of the hobby. I'm fairly willing to give them the benefit of the doubt here.

The older Settings, when they came out 30 years ago, were designed to be commercially appealing and play on popular tropes. Trading on borrowed nostalgia is a good marketing technique, too, particularly with enthusiastic inlurncers like Matt Mercer who are willing to spread their enthusiasm (Mercer has come out hard in favor of Dark Sun and Planescape when Exandria was announced as an official Setting.

 

[QuentinGeorge]

Per the book, they actually have branch offices on several worlds.

There's been a bit of weirdness over that. The fact that the characters had taken a flying house to Toril from Nerath was acknowledged up to Acquisitions Inc: The Series at the very least.

But... the latest material also says that Omin Dran was born in Red Larch, and his mother(s) still live there.

I suppose it's entirely possible he was born in Red Larch, somehow travelled to Nerath, and then returned to Toril.

 

[jayoungr]

That's also true for adventures and rules supplements. By that logic, WotC has no reason to publish anything for 5e itself.

New settings, however, arguably require more work and bring more associated risk than adventures and rules supplements. And unless they really catch on, they probably are less likely to bring in a return on investment. It's relatively easy for GMs to adapt published adventures and rules to their homebrew settings.