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

[OldSchoolGamerGirl]

that just means we are operating from incomplete information and try to fill in the gaps. I expect this to be clear once we have a full 1D&D and not just variations of bits and pieces as they get tested

they work alongside each other, the 2014 one was not replaced, that decision is yours to make

wait what one of these is true? we are operating in uncertain times with incomplete info or we know they will work side by side?

 

[mamba]

If they don't change 5.5e significantly enough to get the vast majority of players to buy the new books, they are making a colossal business blunder by doing this.

no, the primary goal isn’t for everyone to upgrade, it is for no one to be left behind

If they do change it that much, compatibility is going to be a significant issue. You can't leave it pretty much the same so that you can mix and match as you please, and still have enough incentive to make the money that Hasbro needs WotC to make.

see above, also, if 50% of players upgrade, that still is a lot of sales you would otherwise not have

Why would I bother to buy any new books?

because they are sufficiently improved to be worth getting. If you disagree, do not get them, it’s that simple. WotC doesn’t really care either way

 

[mamba]

wait what one of these is true? we are operating in uncertain times with incomplete info or we know they will work side by side?

we don’t know every detail, we know enough to know they will be compatible

 

[Micah Sweet]

no, the primary goal isn’t for everyone to upgrade, it is for no one to be left behind


see above, also, if 50% of players upgrade, that still is a lot of sales you would otherwise not have


because they are sufficiently improved to be worth getting. If you disagree, do not get them, it’s that simple. WotC doesn’t really care either way

I can't understand going to the effort of writing and publishing a new set of core books, which are currently amazingly popular without said update, and not caring whether or not people buy it.

 

[mamba]

I can't understand going to the effort of writing and publishing a new set of core books, which are currently amazingly popular without said update, and not caring whether or not people buy it.

lack of imagination I guess I didn’t say they don’t care whether people buy them, I said they don’t care much whether you upgrade. They care a lot more that you do not jump ship because of a new edition.

They are creating the baseline for the next 10 years of sustained growth (at least that is the goal…). Modernizing and improving where needed to keep the momentum going.

Change too much and you risk a new 4e. Change too little and you lose some upgrades. These risks are not symmetrical

 

[Maxperson]

no, the primary goal isn’t for everyone to upgrade, it is for no one to be left behind

That translates into "The primary goal of WotC is not to make money off of this." which is business foolishness.

see above, also, if 50% of players upgrade, that still is a lot of sales you would otherwise not have

First, at best that's half of what they made for 5e which is probably a failure in the eyes of Hasbro. Second, there's no reason I see to think that further 5e books wouldn't make the same amount of sales and lower cost to WotC because of the lower page counts. They could sell two 150-200 page books for more money than one 350 page book and to as many or more players.

 

[mamba]

That translates into "The primary goal of WotC is not to make money off of this." which is business foolishness.

no it translates to them wanting to keep the momentum going while not risking a split of the community, the way 4e did. Risking that split would be the foolishness

First, at best that's half of what they made for 5e which is probably a failure in the eyes of Hasbro.

that is 50% upgrading, there also are sales to new players. In no way is this a reduction in overall sales

Second, there's no reason I see to think that further 5e books wouldn't make the same amount of sales and lower cost to WotC because of the lower page counts.

they raised the prices too, this is factored in.

Games do get long in the tooth, so working towards preventing that before it is too late is a good idea (in principle, the rest is a matter of execution).
If WotC only started worrying about what is next for D&D once the sales have fallen off a cliff, it would be too late

They could sell two 150-200 page books for more money than one 350 page book and to as many or more players.

I doubt it, additional X of Everything will see diminishing returns, they always do.

 

[Mirrorrorrim]

are they? because I have been attacked (more then a little viscously) for suggesting that a warlock cantrip = a cantrip any warlock can take.

If you've been viciously attacked, please report people who are viciously attacking you. If there is nothing to report, you are not a victim who is being viciously attacked. You are just feeling defensive of your position and keep iterating the same argument because you think you're not getting your point across. But I assure you that you are getting your point across. But while you are getting your point across, it is not wrong for people to disagree with your point. You aren't stupid for having your opinion or because other people disagree or think you are mistaken. And they are not stupid because they disagree. You are, however, beating a dead horse that your opposition believes is easily addressed as feedback that needs submitted.

It would be legitimate playtest feedback to say that you are experiencing some confusion as to whether (as written) the playtest pact cantrips would count as warlock cantrips for the old warlock, because you may choose to keep playing the old warlock post 2024. That is something the designers can use when they tidy up the text before the 2024 release. The designers say they will make sure to tidy up language for backwards compatibility. If you said your feedback once, and others offered reasons why they disagree, that would be the end of it. But you keep saying it and keep reiterating it, and the more you do, the more the opposition will try to dispel the confusion being asserted.

The playtest pact cantrips are being tested for the OneDnD playtest warlock. They have not yet been finalized to compare to the 2014 warlock because they aren't testing the 2014 warlock. They don't need to write the playtest to be that backward compatible yet. It doesn't matter yet. It's too early to assume that this is the final form. Again, the designers say they will make sure to tidy up language for backwards compatibility.

 

[Marandahir]

Ship of Theseus - Wikipedia Is D&D, a Ship of Thesus?

This is what 5e always was.

It was was 4e always was.

It was what 3e always was (and is the relationship between 3e and Pathfinder 1e, to boot).

It was what Original, Basic, 1e, and 2e always were.

Just by natural shifting expectations of the game over time, errata accumulates, and eventually the books may become unrecognisable to their version from 10 years prior. But that's normal. That's learning and improving the game rather than remaining stubbornly wedded to the exact language as it was fixed in a moment of time as if the context around it hadn't changed.

Now, as long as the game hasn't changed so much, each table will able to choose our moment in time for the rules. And they may be mostly compatible with each other. But eventually there may come a time when we realise we're no longer playing 5e, but that is not this day.

This day, we fight! For FRODO

 

[Mirrorrorrim]

They really seem obsessed with this whole adventure compatibility thing. Many players don't even buy or use 5e adventures. For them to be the crux of this whole compatibility question seems an odd hill to die on.

Obsessed? Sometimes I really don't understand your perspective of reality. Of course they care about their back catalog being valid going forward. How is that remotely a bad thing to prioritize?