D&D (2024) You're not planning on getting 2024 D&D? Why is that?

[JDR]

Biggest thing: Hasbro/WotC foolishness, current direction of the game, and the direction where they seemingly want to take it (big focus on digital)

Also not currently running 5e, have moved on to other systems/games: OSE, Shadowdark. I still want to try DCC and I did Kickstart DC20. I have to say these days I find I also like more streamlined/light rules. I recently picked up Fate Condensed. What I really would like to run though, if I can convince my group to try it, is EZD6.

I will not buy any of the new books (stopped buying any WotC last year). If I run 5e again I will stick with 2014 and might use some of the new rules.

 

[Zaroden]

My "other concern" is that I haven't played the series before and don't think I'd quite get the love or appeal of it because I am not a lifelong fan from before.

Like, it could be one of those series you had to have stuck with before to enjoy it.

 

[Brak]

The OGL fiasco made me decide to never give WOTC another dollar. When D&D was almost dead at the end of TSR's days Ryan Dancey's OGL brought D&D back. He realized that D&D was a community that should be embraced not fought (T$R - They Sue Regularly). He was right and D&D became strong once again. After the community brought D&D back from the dead, WOTC decided to thank them by .... stabbing them in the back and trying to use their corporate muscle to revoke the OGL and put all 3rd party publishers out of business. This was unforgivable. Well, I guess it could be forgivable if they said we screwed up and asked to be forgiven, but their gas-lighting response made things even worse. Subsequent fiascoes (Pinkertons, etc.) have further confirmed in my mind that I made the right choice. The only real power we have as consumers is to vote with our wallet.

One positive that came out of this is that it forced me to look at other systems. There are a ton of great ones out there. For me: when I'm in the mood for something with modern design sensibilities - Pathfinder 2e scratches that itch. It's a great system. When I'm in the mood for rules lite, old school play it's hard to beat BFRPG. It's a simple enough system to play with kids and to introduce adults to RPGs. Plus, I have more than a lifetime's worth of old-school (1e, 2e, OSR, etc.) adventures to go through and BFRPG is pretty much compatible with all of them.

 

[ART!]

I've been playing a 2024 playtest fighter (battle master) in my weekly game for months now, and updated it recently as best as I could from what I know about the final form of the 2024 fighter.

I have to say, between the weapon properties, combat maneuver, and new uses for Second Wind? It is more complicated than I care for, like it's moved a step or two closer to a 4E fighter or a Pathfinder fighter. I'm not saying those fighters are bad things, but I have ADHD and I do not need a lot of options every turn. And I feel like a lot of what is accomplished by weapon properties and maneuvers could be accomplished with something like the superiority dice (why aren't they just called "manuever dice" or "battle master dice"?), where there's just a list of things you can do with 1 or more dice (add damage, force a save, give advantage to your next attack, to someone else's attack, etc.) without having a list of maneuvers or a list of weapon properties.

Of course, at the same time I kind of want a system where certain weapons are better vs certain kinds of armor, so maybe I just don't know what I want!

Anyway, this kind of experience is making it less likely that I will want to invest in the 2024 D&D stuff.

 

[Manbearcat]

My expectation is that this game will overwhelmingly port in 5e’s ethos of GM Storyteller priorities, with freeform action resolution heavily mediated by GM Rulings Not Rules and underwritten by natural language to facilitate that. My instinct is the significant bulk of changes will be PC build side with some improved rules codification here-and-there and some more robust monster design.

Good direction, but not enough to draw me in. Too many games that do varying versions of play paradigms which interest me for this new D&D to court me.

I’ll take a look at release to confirm, but that is the present inference I draw. If they would have tightened up the balance and holistic integration of currencies (turns, spells, coin, hit points/die, mundane gear, hirelings, social and exploration win/loss cons, some form of recovery currency, threat action economy outside combat, etc) + codified action resolution + codified recovery dynamics + synched those into a tight and transparent play loop (contra a loose, freeform one with “GM-as-Glue” which is central to the core, designed-for 5e experience)?

That would have piqued my interest and drew me in. But for some time now I’ve been pretty comfortable with the reality that I am not a part of the constituency that WotC D&D is designing for…and that’s

 

[Micah Sweet]

My expectation is that this game will overwhelmingly port in 5e’s ethos of GM Storyteller priorities, with freeform action resolution heavily mediated by GM Rulings Not Rules and underwritten by natural language to facilitate that. My instinct is the significant bulk of changes will be PC build side with some improved rules codification here-and-there and some more robust monster design.

Good direction, but not enough to draw me in. Too many games that do varying versions of play paradigms which interest me for this new D&D to court me.

I’ll take a look at release to confirm, but that is the present inference I draw. If they would have tightened up the balance and holistic integration of currencies (turns, spells, coin, hit points/die, mundane gear, hirelings, social and exploration win/loss cons, some form of recovery currency, threat action economy outside combat, etc) + codified action resolution + codified recovery dynamics + synched those into a tight and transparent play loop (contra a loose, freeform one with “GM-as-Glue” which is central to the core, designed-for 5e experience)?

That would have piqued my interest and drew me in. But for some time now I’ve been pretty comfortable with the reality that I am not a part of the constituency that WotC D&D is designing for…and that’s

Yeah, I want a lot more support for the non-combat portions of the game than WotC is willing to bother designing. Fortunately there's Level Up.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

I don't care to play 5e anymore and nothing I've seen from 5.5 seems like its going to make it more like my tastes. I'm fine with OSR games. OSE, S&W, etc.

 

[MoonSong]

My expectation is that this game will overwhelmingly port in 5e’s ethos of GM Storyteller priorities, with freeform action resolution heavily mediated by GM Rulings Not Rules and underwritten by natural language to facilitate that. My instinct is the significant bulk of changes will be PC build side with some improved rules codification here-and-there and some more robust monster design.

Good direction, but not enough to draw me in. Too many games that do varying versions of play paradigms which interest me for this new D&D to court me.

I’ll take a look at release to confirm, but that is the present inference I draw. If they would have tightened up the balance and holistic integration of currencies (turns, spells, coin, hit points/die, mundane gear, hirelings, social and exploration win/loss cons, some form of recovery currency, threat action economy outside combat, etc) + codified action resolution + codified recovery dynamics + synched those into a tight and transparent play loop (contra a loose, freeform one with “GM-as-Glue” which is central to the core, designed-for 5e experience)?

That would have piqued my interest and drew me in. But for some time now I’ve been pretty comfortable with the reality that I am not a part of the constituency that WotC D&D is designing for…and that’s

The irony is that I think they are moving the game partially into the direction you want. What has turned me off the worst is all of the needless codification that is being going. But that is the funny irony, it is too much codification for me, not enough for you.

 

[Arilyn]

The irony is that I think they are moving the game partially into the direction you want. What has turned me off the worst is all of the needless codification that is being going. But that is the funny irony, it is too much codification for me, not enough for you.

I agree that the game is moving more into nailing down every little rule. Having clear rules without the need for "rulings over rules" is a perfectly fine design choice. The irony is WotC seems to be failing, judging by the many posts and videos about broken changes and exploitable loopholes. I believe the shift in tone and design priorities is being painted over a somewhat looser system and cracks are forming. I don't know if they will be serious cracks, as D&D has often been a bit wobbly rules wise.

 

[ART!]

If this 2024 edition isn't the success they want, maybe it will motivate them to create an official 6th edition that embraces some actual conceptual changes.

EDIT: I didn't mean that as snarky as it might read. I'm not knocking the 2024 books. It will just be interesting to see how the game evolves.