D&D (2024) Jeremy Crawford: “We are releasing new editions of the books”

[Azzy]

This is about the D&D community, and I expect even the newer members of it know what is being said. I've never heard anyone express confusion about it.

I really don't think that most newer members that started with 5e even know about 3.5e.

 

[Vaalingrade]

IF you call a game X.5 because it is just a slight revision to game X, what do you call it if you want to do a second revision later?

Pathfinder.

 

[Mirrorrorrim]

I don't know. It's short, easy to understand, and its been a common parlance in the community for the last 20 years.

Just because it happened in the past, it doesn't mean it was good. The common parlance was a mostly derogatory fashion. I remember the hubbub when they chose to publish an entire series of "Complete X" 3.5 books to update the "Sword and Fist" series of 3rd Edition books. If it was just 2 or 3 books, or if there was more time before the 3.5 update was released, it might have been ok, but the turnaround was much shorter than that. Do people not remember the how frustrated the community was that the 3rd Edition splatbooks were outdated and replaced so quickly? The impact it had on 3rd parties too?

It also spawned all the "3.75" Pathfinder and "4.5 Essentials" arguments, none of which were positive or productive. It was trash marketing with a wholly negative legacy. It belongs in the dustbin of history.

Where we are today is NOTHING like it was back then. Today the plan is compatibility to protect the purchases that were made 9 years earlier, not invalidating and replacing entire lines of books just 3 years prior. Today there is a playtest with public engagement to make sure the fans are on board.

It is not a 5.5, not in theme, not in purpose, and not in function.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Where we are today is NOTHING like it was back then. Today the plan is compatibility to protect the purchases that were made 9 years earlier, not invalidating and replacing entire lines of books just 3 years prior.

Well, at least until there's more profit to be made by doing so.

So approximately up to twenty seconds after the actual release of the new books.

 

[Chaosmancer]

Because these books carry the flag and affect the publishing of 3pp I do like.

So... your argument is that people currently making products you like, will stop making products you like, because WoTC is lying about the name of the product they are releasing in 2024? Or do you think that WoTC's decision to make a product will force companies that are currently making 5e content you like to stop doing that, and make 5e content you don't like?

I'm really struggling to understand the problem, and how some other companies response to their product is WoTC's problem... at all. This is like saying that Apple designing a new laptop might affect Hewlett-Packard's laptop design, so you don't want Apple to make the product. Even if you were correct... how is that Apple's problem?

 

[Chaosmancer]

/oddly enough tangent

Why Are McDonald's Ice Cream Machines Always Broken?

Yeah, I learned that recently. Wild stuff.

 

[Chaosmancer]

Why is it stupid?

I mean, from WoTC's stated goal about fifth edition being evergreen it is incredibly stupid, because it locks them in. Once you have 5.5 then you are going to end up either being forced into another 0.5 jump, or you go 5.6 for the next, or worse, the 5.5.5 model someone put earlier.

It makes far more sense to avoid that sort of numbering system, so that you can continue updating the rules over the decades without making a nightmare for yourself.

And I know, WoTC are all full of filthy liars who always lie about everything and we should never believe anything they say, but if you take them at their word, it becomes sort of an obvious answer.

Edit: To be more clear, that last part wasn't directed at you directly Raiden. But we already have had multiple posters stating that they will never believe anything WoTC says ever, so I figured it was worth acknowledging that was going to be a response I got to my post.

 

[Vaalingrade]

The evergreen idea was the real stupid move.

You simply should not just promise RPG fans that they're game is going to be left to stagnate and wither on the vine. You just slowly ramp down your innovation and editing over time and never acknowledge you're doing it, like Shadowrun.

 

[Mirrorrorrim]

The evergreen idea was the real stupid move.

You simply should not just promise RPG fans that they're game is going to be left to stagnate and wither on the vine. You just slowly ramp down your innovation and editing over time and never acknowledge you're doing it, like Shadowrun.

How does the 2024 update count as stagnation? If they do another backwards compatible update in another 10 years, is it still stagnate?

 

[Pedantic]

Just because it happened in the past, it doesn't mean it was good. The common parlance was a mostly derogatory fashion. I remember the hubbub when they chose to publish an entire series of "Complete X" 3.5 books to update the "Sword and Fist" series of 3rd Edition books. If it was just 2 or 3 books, or if there was more time before the 3.5 update was released, it might have been ok, but the turnaround was much shorter than that. Do people not remember the how frustrated the community was that the 3rd Edition splatbooks were outdated and replaced so quickly? The impact it had on 3rd parties too?

It also spawned all the "3.75" Pathfinder and "4.5 Essentials" arguments, none of which were positive or productive. It was trash marketing with a wholly negative legacy. It belongs in the dustbin of history.

Where we are today is NOTHING like it was back then. Today the plan is compatibility to protect the purchases that were made 9 years earlier, not invalidating and replacing entire lines of books just 3 years prior. Today there is a playtest with public engagement to make sure the fans are on board.

So, you don't expect a new book with an updated Artificer to appear? You're sure those existing subclasses won't be republished again, with modest, appropriate changes to match the new level format? Maybe the slow pace of 5e publishing will remain the same, but frankly I completely expect the same arc as the 3.5 years, where the outdated material is slowly replaced with new versions, and conversion guides slowly fade into obscurity as everyone expects you to update to the 2024 (or will it be 2025, if it comes out a year later?) version of the Banneret.

This is exactly the same thing, admittedly slightly better handled and certainly better marketed. There's some difference in scope, but no real difference in kind.