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

[Remathilis]

I mean...Stormtroopers aren’t a race, species, etc.

They’re an organization.

I don't want to continue this (per Morrus) but I was using them as an example of quintessential villains of the game. Something you see and know are bad. If we are going to move away from sentient monstrous races, then something needs to fill the void.

Anyway, topic over.

 

[Maxperson]

Nevermind

 

[Parmandur]

I dunno. Almost everyone in my group has Xannathar's, and I think many of them have Tasha's.

The only people I know who have bought anything more than the PHB and dice are DMs.

 

[Parmandur]

If we look at Amazon Best Sellers, which is only a rough guide due to digital and FLGS purchases, we can see that the player facing books generally outsell the adventure paths, to include SCAG still selling better than newer adventure paths and settings.

Amazon Best Sellers: Best Fantasy Gaming

Discover the best books in Amazon Best Sellers. Find the top 100 most popular Amazon books.

smile.amazon.com

Each of those "player facing" books are mostly DM material (including SCAG, probably the most generally targeted book outside the core three).

 

[Urriak Uruk]

The only people I know who have bought anything more than the PHB and dice are DMs.

I have a player who does not DM, and she owns both Xanathar's and Tasha's. My other players also do but sometimes DM themselves.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I mean, I picked up the worst example of this to illustrate my point, but if you play a samurai and are doing a Japanese accent the whole time... well, maybe don't do that.

I mean, it’s possible to do an accent respectfully.

I don't want to continue this (per Morrus) but I was using them as an example of quintessential villains of the game. Something you see and know are bad. If we are going to move away from sentient monstrous races, then something needs to fill the void.

Anyway, topic over.

Sure, and Orcus cultists work fine for most people IME. I’m not sure it’s impossible to have the discussion of “what can be a no-guilt-kill generic bad guy in a progressive D&D” without talking about orcs and racism, but even if so it was off topic to begin with.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

I mean, it’s possible to do an accent respectfully.

There is, but most people tend to overemphasize what makes an accent unique. My advice is stick to accents of cultures you are personally connected to, unless your a talented voice actor you'll probably eff it up otherwise.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

There is, but most people tend to overemphasize what makes an accent unique. My advice is stick to accents of cultures you are personally connected to, unless your a talented voice actor you'll probably eff it up otherwise.

I disagree, but I don’t want to derail the thread. I will simply say that I’d rather advise people to no exaggerate and to take some care, than to tell people not to try at all.

 

[Enevhar Aldarion]

I mean, it’s possible to do an accent respectfully.

Sure, and Orcus cultists work fine for most people IME. I’m not sure it’s impossible to have the discussion of “what can be a no-guilt-kill generic bad guy in a progressive D&D” without talking about orcs and racism, but even if so it was off topic to begin with.

I don't think people need to be using real world accents for characters in a fantasy setting. Also real-world names should not be used to fantasy versions. Someone want their setting to have samurai and ninja? Cool, but give them names that fit the world.

As for "evil" enemy armies, there is a huge difference between faceless, nameless cannon fodder and screaming, fanatical hordes. Stormtrooper types are the first, religious zealots seeking to sacrifice you to Asmodeus or some other demon or devil is the second. A horde of the Realms-version of gnolls would be the second also.

And because we are human, and we have only our human experiences to base our fantasy creations on, even if we created a setting with no humans at all, the fantasy races would still be influenced/tainted by what we have experienced personally or seen happen in the world in general.

Now, after the new Ravenloft book, there are still two more classic settings they have promised to release for 5E, which is likely part of the talk of increasing the number of releases per year, but like Ravenloft, basically every classic setting for D&D has those issues that will have to be fixed/cleaned up/outright removed for today's market. And so they should. Too many people look at the old stuff through rose-colored glasses and refuse to see the bad mixed in with the good. Tradition is a double-edged sword.

 

[Dire Bare]

I disagree, but I don’t want to derail the thread. I will simply say that I’d rather advise people to no exaggerate and to take some care, than to tell people not to try at all.

Context and audience are important too.

I'll bust out my terrible fake-accents for just about any Western European country . . . terrible Scottish, terrible English, terrible French, terrible German . . . .

But I'd find doing a terrible Japanese accent for my samurai character super cringey, especially if any of my players were of any Asian descent, or ever met someone of Asian descent . . . . likewise I'll never do (again) a terrible African accent . . . . and I've got acting and accent-training in my (long-ago) background . . . .