D&D (2024) Are you going to buy the new 2024 D&D Core Books

[Reynard]

Yeah this is the issue WotC have created for themselves.

They've gone out of their way to say this isn't a new edition, and isn't necessary, and you can keep using your old books just fine BUT also here's $100-$150 of "updated" books you "probably should" buy.

My feeling, based on 3.5E is, with that sort of messaging, a lot of people just won't or will only gradually pick up the new books. The advantage this has it's after 9 years of release, not 3-4, but an awful lot of people only got on-board with D&D in 2017 or later, so for them it's a much shorter period.

I suspect to Dan Rawson and the upper echelons of WotC, that's not a major concern, because they see the future of D&D in distinctly digital terms and I don't think the long-term intention is that book sales are the primary part of that. They may well have a deal to upgrade on Beyond or where if you subscribe to the 3D VTT, you get the 2024 content for free as long as you stay subscribed or something.

Assuming 2014 data remains on DNDB, there is even less incentive for folks to "upgrade." Now, if going forward they retire the 2014 core, will that create a 5E schism?

 

[mamba]

I just don’t see Level Up as an alternative to 5e. It represents a drop in the ocean and their ‘improvements’ are very different in many respects to how it seems the playtest is going.

Diverging from how the playtest is going sounds like it could easily be a plus, depending on how / where you diverge

 

[DammitVictor]

I am apparently behind on the news on several fronts. I'll stop speculating until I've caught up.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Assuming 2014 data remains on DNDB, there is even less incentive for folks to "upgrade." Now, if going forward they retire the 2014 core, will that create a 5E schism?

I don't think they'll retire the 2014 core, because if they did that, without managing to retain the various races, classes, subclasses, etc. as available, people would get very upset.

I think it's more likely they'll make it slightly to significantly awkward to use (requiring you to flip switches and so on before creating a character using a 2014 class, for example) and slap "LEGACY" all over everything like it's wildly outdated.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Diverging from how the playtest is going sounds like it could easily be a plus, depending on how / where you diverge

It wasn't a plus with DND Next to 5E, I'd suggest. Most of the sudden changes and divergences were stuff that's poorly or mediocrely regarded. But I guess it could be different this time.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I don't think they'll retire the 2014 core, because if they did that, without managing to retain the various races, classes, subclasses, etc. as available, people would get very upset.

I think it's more likely they'll make it slightly to significantly awkward to use (requiring you to flip switches and so on before creating a character using a 2014 class, for example) and slap "LEGACY" all over everything like it's wildly outdated.

I would assume it'll be just like accesing Volo's and Tome of Foes. If you still have them, they're there -- labelled "LEGACY" -- but they're not selling any more copies.

 

[Clint_L]

The way Amazon prices books? I would expect actual cost to the consumer more like $90-$120.

And, yeah, to some folks that's a large amount. Back when I was in school, that (or, it's equivalent correcting for inflation) would have been a notable spend. I'd have to think about it, plan for it.

But, on the other hand, $90-$120 is dinner and a movie for a couple in a metropolitan area.

We are hobbyists. That a lot of us are easily willing to drop dinner-and-a-movie money on our hobby without much forethought should not be weird.

This. I buy into Dwarven Forge kickstarters. $100 for some books is negligible. Even better, DDB lets me share those books with all my new players, for whom $100 is not negligible.

 

[Horwath]

With RPG books, my MO is: purchase now, regret it later.

I read them 1st, then decide to buy or not.

 

[Reynard]

I would assume it'll be just like accesing Volo's and Tome of Foes. If you still have them, they're there -- labelled "LEGACY" -- but they're not selling any more copies.

That's what I meant by "retire." If you own it you get to keep using it, but they don't offer it anymore. Combine that with the importance they are placing on the digital platform, it is "stealth" forced upgrading.

Let the enshittification begin!

 

[Corinnguard]

I read them 1st, then decide to buy or not.

In other words, get the PDF first and read it. If you like what you see in the PDF, then you buy the book.