D&D 5E WotC to increase releases per year?

[Oofta]

Well, then the problem with gnolls becomes this: in previous editions, they were a playable race. Gnolls had player stats in AD&D, 3e, and 4e. 5e just threw that in the trash for some reason, and then changed the default lore to reinforce the change, closing the doors on official support for playable gnolls. I've seen more than a few people who were very specifically bitter about this.

I know they were a playable race, I played a gnoll PC in 4E. Had a lot of fun, but I'm not fixated on one specific race or build, I'm just happy when I actually get to play.

 

[Dausuul]

Ehh...I'd argue Tasha's raised the floor of power level for a lot of concepts, but it didn't raise the ceiling. Nothing is the new PAM/GWM paladin, or crossbow fighter, or sorlock. Some classes getting a new best subclass is no big thing.

I agree. People complain about power creep in D&D, but in both 3E and 5E, I've found that the most busted stuff is in the PHB; it has to be written before the designers have really nailed down balance for the edition, and stuff gets through that wouldn't fly in later books.

 

[tetrasodium]

Well, then the problem with gnolls becomes this: in previous editions, they were a playable race. Gnolls had player stats in AD&D, 3e, and 4e. 5e just threw that in the trash for some reason, and then changed the default lore to reinforce the change, closing the doors on official support for playable gnolls. I've seen more than a few people who were very specifically bitter about this.

for what it's worth, exploring eberron gives them about 3-4 pages including a playable version that fits a version that's been around since at least 3.5 & had a couple pages in 4e

 

[TwoSix]

I agree. People complain about power creep in D&D, but in both 3E and 5E, I've found that the most busted stuff is in the PHB; it has to be written before the designers have really nailed down balance for the edition, and stuff gets through that wouldn't fly in later books.

Yep. There's no way stuff like paladin smite or Agonizing Blast would have made it into a 5e rules expansion.

 

[Dire Bare]

Hyperbole all the time!

Hey, gotta respect living your truth!

But I also strongly feel that there is value in keeping different aspects of the game isolated from one another. I understand that the multitude of settings was part of what tanked TSR back in the day, but I also strongly believe that one of the benefits from having all the different settings was that they could be DIFFERENT. I really feel that the current trend, of using Forgotten Realms as a de facto baseline for all the generic D&D material, does a disservice both to FR and the game at large.

D&D "defaults" (kinda) to the Realms for two reasons, 1) it's the most popular D&D setting ever, and 2) it doesn't really stray that far at all from "core" D&D. There isn't much, if anything, in the hundreds of Realms books that wouldn't work just fine in any standard D&D fantasy campaign. That's part of the reason why I have never understood the level of Realms-hate that gets expressed sometimes. I mean, some of the Greenwoodian naming-conventions get a bit goofy (Volothamp Geddarm?), but other than that . . .

And again, other than (most) of the 5E adventure paths . . . none of the D&D 5E books are Realms books (EDIT: Oops, except the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide. One). Volo's and Xanathar's books, despite their title characters being from the Realms, are NOT Realms books. Just as Mordenkainen's and Tasha's books aren't Greyhawk books. Is some of the lore presented borrowed from the Realms? Yup, but again, it's the highly portable lore that dovetails with non-Realms D&D lore or fills a gap where there is none.

Someone else argued that there's nothing wrong with having standard bad guys, and I agree with this statement 100%. But it would be nice to see the expansionist/colonialist human empire presented as the aggressor and go-to villain for once, instead of always being cast as the hero.

Heh, depends on what you mean by "standard bad guys". But I agree, having "bad guys" is okay, and to have a bad-guy organization that avoids being based on the obvious choices (fascists, nazis, slavers) but rather, lets say, an expansionist, capitalist democracy . . . . it'd certainly be a nice change!

 

[Dire Bare]

Beyond that, expressing any opinions on this subject tend to get the thread shut down and it's a tangent anyway.

That's not remotely true. Well, the tangent part is.

 

[teitan]

I think that ship has long since sailed.

Yeah it's kinda sad. Even just a 64 pages adventure for like $20 would be awesome.

 

[Oofta]

That's not remotely true. Well, the tangent part is.

The other thread that was just shut down says otherwise. For the most part it was a reasonable back and forth (with the usual outliers).

I saw no reason for it to be shut down other than the subject being discussed. So I don't see any reason to discuss this particular tangent further.

 

[DEFCON 1]

I'd like to think the reason for WotC going to more titles in a year is so that they can release additional things like more Magic: The Gathering setting books that do not take the publishing slots that normally would be in the pipeline... thus reducing the number of whines some people will make about not wanting more Magic: The Gathering setting books.

But I also realize that just isn't true, because people are still going whine about them, thinking that they would have gotten a different book they DID want otherwise in its place.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

Which I understand and also don't. Nobody bats an eye when my Korean heritage buddy plays a cleric of Thor.

But I also get that we're ripping off a "dead" culture that was crushed and assimilated long enough ago that no one cares any more.

So I'd love books on a whole variety of mythological backgrounds from around the world. I'd also like to be able to fly and that's not going to happen any time soon either.

I'll add, I've been listening to Three Black Halflings (a D&D podcast with a focus on the racial factors of D&D), and people do want more diverse material for all sorts of settings and character archetypes.

But the key to do this right is obviously by not only being properly respectful, but also having the writers of this diverse material be of the same culture as the material that is being inspired.

If you look at the material being published in the upcoming Ravenloft book, you can see some domains are inspired by different cultures, and THANKFULLY their writers are from those some ethnic backgrounds. Hopefully this is a harbringer of good diverse writing material going forward.

That said, that means if there is an "Asian-Inspired Book" it's probably not going to be "Oriental Adventures" (definitely not that name)! I think if they pick up an older WotC setting like Kara-Tur or Kamigawa, there are going to be some big retcons and rewrites. Otherwise, they will make something entirely different and new (and that may just be the better way forward).