D&D (2024) Kobold Press posts 2024 DMG Hit Piece

[jerryrice4949]

I'm going to go contrarian here and suggest that their review is spot on, and its problem is not being inappropriate but rather feeling a tad desperate. I have both the new DMG and the GMG from Kobold Press, and their review/stealth attack ad is pretty accurate. But to the OP's point, yes Level Up! A5E may well take the cake on this if it were thrown into the mix.

I feel bad for the Kobolds, though. They have a good product, but its a little too close to the new 2024 D&D and as a result, it is taking a bit more work for them to showcase how they are different, including these attack reviews/stealth ads, I guess. My own group won't switch to TotV because why would they when shiny new D&D 2024 is there? I have had the exact same problem with trying to convince them to adopt Level Up! as well. The thought has crossed my mind that WotC's shenanigans with the OGL essentially causes multiple 3PP to jump the shark with their own variant systems which will all fail for being either too close or too unlike D&D 2024.

I would go a step further. I don’t think there is huge demand for a 5E knockoff to have its own GMG. I think they are trying to justify it and draw people in due to poor demand.

Honestly, I'd rather they try to convince me on why I should bother buying any more of their lackluster and unbalanced material then try to tell me for the 100th time why a book I do enjoy and have been getting use out of is bad and I should feel bad for liking it. Books like Deep Magic, Ebon Tide, and Tome of Heroes are so underwhelming and I have to tweak everything just to make it on par with WotC's stuff, let alone other 3pp products that increase the power scaling for player and DM material, and even their monster books are only ok, many other 3pp creators have done a lot better in my opinion, even Level Up and I haven't even invested much time with that particular monster manual yet. I have no intention of touching ToV if the quality is the same as all the rest I've tried to use so far.

Above is definitely a bit over the top and just my own opinion on the material, but honestly I'm just so sick of this rhetoric of insulting something people like in order to try and convince them that this other thing is so much better. I has never made me try anything that is pitched like that. It's prevalent is so many conversation about all manner of entertainment, it's just tiring.

Ok, little rant over, I feel loads better.

Yeah KP subclasses have been pretty hit or miss and probably more miss at that. I usually find them too underpowered and too narrow. For me KP really shines with their monster books but even more than that Midgard is one of the premiere 5E settings. It is a shame they have pretty much abandoned Midgard material in favor of ToV with so many areas undeveloped.

 

[Micah Sweet]

After 10 years of being told the 5E DMG should have been aimed at new players, we're now getting complaints that the 5E24 is being aimed at new players?

Also, I fail to see how 5E discourages homebrew.

I noticed they closed the comments after the first couple of responses were pointing out that it's a bad look.

I never thought the 5e DMG should be aimed at new players. That's what starter sets are for.

 

[Yaarel]

even more so when they say DnD doesn't support homebrew

I care about homebrew, and worldbuilding.

In my experience, the 2024 DMs Guide makes it easier for me to worldbuild, and tweak, than any other version of D&D ever, since AD&D 1e (which required homebrewing to even make the system functional).

5e is a fantastic game engine, and the 2024 DMs Guide lets it accommodate almost anything the DM can imagine.

Meanwhile, there are many solid examples to default for DMs who arent currently homebrewing.

 

[jerryrice4949]

I never thought the 5e DMG should be aimed at new players. That's what starter sets are for.

I don’t think it is for new players. But it is designed as a guide for new DMs which aren’t necessarily the same as new players.

 

[Oofta]

I never thought the 5e DMG should be aimed at new players. That's what starter sets are for.

Then people would just complain that it's a cash grab because you need to buy a starter set in addition to the DMG.

 

[Gradine]

Seems a bit unreasonable to me to expect a book that is a called a Dungeon Master Guide to not be a guide on how to be a dungeon master.

 

[Cadence]

Seems a bit unreasonable to me to expect a book that is a called a Dungeon Master Guide to not be a guide on how to be a dungeon master.

And one could always make an Advanced DMG or the like for the additional stuff folks seem to want...

 

[Micah Sweet]

I care about homebrew, and worldbuilding.

In my experience, the 2024 DMs Guide makes it easier for me to worldbuild, and tweak, than any other version of D&D ever, since AD&D 1e (which required homebrewing to even make the system functional).

5e is a fantastic game engine, and the 2024 DMs Guide lets it accommodate almost anything the DM can imagine.

Meanwhile, there are many solid examples to default for DMs who arent currently homebrewing.

How? How does 5.5 make it easier to homebrew?

 

[Micah Sweet]

Then people would just complain that it's a cash grab because you need to buy a starter set in addition to the DMG.

I'm not responsible for what people other than me complain about.

 

[mamba]

I never thought the 5e DMG should be aimed at new players. That's what starter sets are for.

many people skip starter sets, I see nothing wrong with having information for new DMs in it