the gangbuster hiring was for the VTT, the books have slowly crept up.
No, I mean for the design team, they have hired tons of full time designers in the past couple years.the gangbuster hiring was for the VTT, the books have slowly crept up.
I have no problem with the approach (I think this year’s schedule is fine, but the last years could have been increased to that already), I am just passing on what I think Matt was getting at.
I think one solution for this is diversifying crunch. Xanathar's and Tasha's both expanded existing rules (Subclasses. New Spells) but also gave new systems (Patrons). While I dont say no to more of the same (I always need more monsters and magic items), what can really pull me in are new systems. It is why Spelljammer was such a major fail for me. I didn't need it for setting. I needed 5e rules for space travel and combat, and honestly I was let down. It's why I am rather pleased by seeing the UA Bastion content. More of this please. Fill the gaps, else I will just seek out good 3pp alternatives.
The precedent from prior editions was a torrential glut of books, along with mismanagement in the case of 2e. We haven't seen any real middle ground between torrential downpour of releases(2e, 3e and 4e) and the glacial rate of 5e which has all of those other factors to contend with.
And they put out a special digital physical bundle to coincide with the games release, and gave the huge Gazateer section out for free.
For me, balance matters when you pass an inflection point, where PC A is so much more effective than PC B, that it makes PC B feel like they didn't need to attend the game. Its always a struggle. I have found speaking with players who overclock their characters to restrain themselves a touch, making A tier instead of S tier builds, is a good way to handle a table where most everyone else is making more manageable B tier PCs. A PC who is too much more powerful than the table average has a warping effect on encounter construction, especially if it is due to better damage mitigation.
I said what I said.
And how many of those companies are still around? Classic World of Darkness got canceled in 2004, and many of their lesser game lines were canceled long before then. White Wolf then got sold to CCCP (the makers of EVE Online, not the USSR) where they were basically devoured for parts when trying to make a WOD-based MMO before being sold again to Paradox, who are now again publishing Vampire and other WOD things, but at a much, much, slower pace than White Wolf used to do. FASA ceased active operations in 2001, and sold most of their IP to WizKids who are licensing some of it to Catalyst, who also have a far slower production rate than FASA used to. West End Games went bankrupt in 1998, although my understanding is that that had more to do with its shoe importer parent company. Steve Jackson Games is still around but have basically left the RPG business in favor of Munchkin and assorted board games.
This is very much group based. My group had no such feelings, even when playing a fighter or rogue along side wizards and clerics. Perception and playstyle make a huge difference here. I do agree that in groups where have folks that feel that way, the above is a good way to handle it.
