D&D 5E If you're buying Strixhaven, will it to be to run a campaign there, or as a crunch sourcebook?

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

JKR's unwillingness to allow the Wizarding World to be used for an officially licensed RPG has long been a point of frustration at ENWorld and for tabletop gamers in general. As JKR has become more controversial in recent years (whether it's wizards canonically pooping on the floor and magicking their feces away for centuries or her political views), a bunch of not-Hogwarts alternatives have shown up in the tabletop space. I recall seeing three or so on Kickstarter in the last year, and I bet I've missed some.

I personally own Redhurst: Academy of Magic, Kids on Brooms and will be purchasing Strixhaven this winter.

With the publication of the UA, the focus is naturally on the mechanics of the setting (except for the excited MTG players who keep wanting to loredump everyone), but that reminds me that many people just view these player- and DM-facing hybrid books WotC puts out in the 5E era as books full of crunch, and little more.

So how about you? Will you be running a magic school campaign with Strixhaven (or your own setting) or will you just be using the crunch from it in other games?

 

[bedir than]

It fits in my campaign's fey continent so I'll use it there.

Also, I hope to play in Strixhaven and/or something Wix/Magicians inspired.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Also, I hope to play in Strixhaven and/or something Wix/Magicians inspired.

I have mixed feelings about the Magicians TV show (fun for what it was, but very different in tone than the books, which I found more interesting). I would love to see a Fillory setting write-up some time.

And I know the trope has fallen out of fashion, for the most part, but I'm always amazed there's no mechanical support for the "hero from modern Earth" character in D&D. You could in theory make them a regular human, but they have outside knowledge (memorably leveraged in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court) but also deficits (a recurring joke on Hello from the Magic Tavern) that don't show up that way.

 

[darjr]

Both but not in that order.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

whether it's wizards canonically pooping on the floor and magicking their feces away for centuries

I am still dying because of this.

But yeah I'm old and didn't like Harry Potter much - mumble grumble chosen one mumble grumble should have been Hermione at least she puts some effort in mumble grumble - I'm so old I grew up with The Worst Witch anyway - and I literally went to a school with "Houses" you were put into anyway IRL (hence zero excitement there lol) - so likely just sourcebook. If I was ten years or more younger though that might be different.

 

[Parmandur]

JKR's unwillingness to allow the Wizarding World to be used for an officially licensed RPG has long been a point of frustration at ENWorld and for tabletop gamers in general. As JKR has become more controversial in recent years (whether it's wizards canonically pooping on the floor and magicking their feces away for centuries or her political views), a bunch of not-Hogwarts alternatives have shown up in the tabletop space. I recall seeing three or so on Kickstarter in the last year, and I bet I've missed some.

I personally own Redhurst: Academy of Magic, Kids on Brooms and will be purchasing Strixhaven this winter.

With the publication of the UA, the focus is naturally on the mechanics of the setting (except for the excited MTG players who keep wanting to loredump everyone), but that reminds me that many people just view these player- and DM-facing hybrid books WotC puts out in the 5E era as books full of crunch, and little more.

So how about you? Will you be running a magic school campaign with Strixhaven (or your own setting) or will you just be using the crunch from it in other games?

Well, I voted "Crunch sourcebook" but I also include the fluff in that. Campaign books are grist for the world building and adventure generation: Ravnica, Eberron and Theros are treasure tropes of maps, NPCs, adventure seeds, etc. So really more the fluff than the crunch.

 

[Minigiant]

Crunch?
I think it's too early to ponder buying and using Strixhaven for crunch for a non-Strixhaven campaign.

 

[Parmandur]

I am still dying because of this.

But yeah I'm old and didn't like Harry Potter much - mumble grumble chosen one mumble grumble should have been Hermione at least she puts some effort in mumble grumble - I'm so old I grew up with The Worst Witch anyway - and I literally went to a school with "Houses" you were put into anyway IRL (hence zero excitement there lol) - so likely just sourcebook. If I was ten years or more younger though that might be different.

I was juuuuuist old enough to be out of the target age range, and just young enough to not be sufficiently mature to feel comfortable reading "kid" stuff: I was too busy with the Simirillion or Amber (I was a weird teen). When I transfered from junior college to a big university, all my fellow literature majors were a couple years younger, and Harry Potter was the direct cause of their getting into books. It was an odd experience.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Crunch?
I think it's too early to ponder buying and using Strixhaven for crunch for a non-Strixhaven campaign.

I am second only to Monte Cook in my love of wizard crunch. If you tell me WotC is publishing a book that's likely heavy on wizard crunch, my only question is when can I purchase it. I already anticipate using the new spells, at least some of the new subclasses and almost certainly other content in my regular game.

(Given that I also DM for kids in some of my games, I can almost guarantee I will run at least one Wizard School game over December break.)

 

[Twiggly the Gnome]

Probably repurpose it as Arcanix in Eberron.