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

[lynnfredricks]

Huh. This isn't classy. I wish they'd chosen to talk about what was great about their book instead of tearing down somebody else's. It's not a good look.

I can appreciate how you look at it but, it also answers some questions potential buyers of ToV might have.

ToV falls into the same league of games that compete directly with D&D. D&D 2024 presents an opportunity to shift buyers.

Link to the original article...

 

[Clint_L]

Yeah, because their Game Master's Guide is awesome. Agreed with it all, especially the "who's the intended audience with this" sentiment.

100% - they make good stuff. I bought Tome of Beasts the day it became available on DDB. Just sell me on what your stuff is, rather than what someone else's stuff isn't.

 

[DrJawaPhD]

Huh. This isn't classy. I wish they'd chosen to talk about what was great about their book instead of tearing down somebody else's. It's not a good look.

It looks bad when you snip a few sentences out of context and provide your own commentary, but after clicking the link and reading the entire thing in its own context, I don't see what people are complaining about. The article was a reasonably fair review, and the deficiencies they highlighted aren't even anything new that haven't already been criticized by many others already.

I don't even like Tales of the Valiant but this review seems totally fair to me.

 

[Distracted DM]

It looks bad when you snip a few sentences out of context and provide your own commentary, but after clicking the link and reading the entire thing in its own context, I don't see what people are complaining about. The article was a reasonably fair review, and the deficiencies they highlighted aren't even anything new that haven't already been criticized by many others already.

I don't even like Tales of the Valiant but this review seems totally fair to me.

Yeah the snipped pieces really paint a different picture from the actual article. Wished I'd read the whole thing originally rather than trust to OP's interpretation.

After reviewing the content, it’s clear that the 2024 DMG is meant to be a resource primarily to onboard new DMs. Which is great! But we were surprised how little there was for experienced GMs looking to elevate their game.

As a GM with two decades of experience under their belt, the D&D 2024 doesn’t offer us enough to justify the cost—or space in our GM-going-to-game backpack.

Closing Thoughts​

Lots of smart people worked plenty hard on the Dungeon Master’s Guide. We don’t know what goes on there. They made their calls with the information they had. And look, we wrote the book we thought was good. Of course we’re going to think ours is better.

However, the DMG appears to be aimed almost exclusively at brand-new GMs, and it appears designed to capture them into the WotC mindset. That’s an OK place to start. But if you want more than that, the Tales of the Valiant Game Master’s Guide is built on the same SRD bones as D&D and gives you a lot more to grow on.

 

[Imaro]

It looks bad when you snip a few sentences out of context and provide your own commentary, but after clicking the link and reading the entire thing in its own context, I don't see what people are complaining about. The article was a reasonably fair review, and the deficiencies they highlighted aren't even anything new that haven't already been criticized by many others already.

I don't even like Tales of the Valiant but this review seems totally fair to me.

Nah the "review" was petty, catty and passive aggressive and I read the entire thing.

They should have either reviewed the 2024 DMG or plugged their own product... not tried to do both.

 

[SteveC]

I think this is a pretty soft hit piece. In fact, I'd just say it's some advertising. I think WotC will be able to get past this. Especially since they are selling products through D&D Beyond.

 

[DeadlyUematsu]

I read the article, read this thread, and then bought the Limited Edition GMG. I was thinking about it for some time but I need a bit of spur to get me going. Thanks, Kobold Press!

 

[mamba]

Nah the "review" was petty, catty and passive aggressive and I read the entire thing.

They should have either reviewed the 2024 DMG or plugged their own product... not tried to do both.

so if they had written the exact same thing about the 2024 DMG but not mentioned ToV and had no comparisons, then you would have no objections to that ‘new’ article?

 

[Parmandur]

It looks bad when you snip a few sentences out of context and provide your own commentary, but after clicking the link and reading the entire thing in its own context, I don't see what people are complaining about. The article was a reasonably fair review, and the deficiencies they highlighted aren't even anything new that haven't already been criticized by many others already.

I don't even like Tales of the Valiant but this review seems totally fair to me.

It was bad enough that the author of the article has disavowed it, claimed it was butchered in editing, and they closed the comments section.

 

[Imaro]

so if they had written the exact same thing about the 2024 DMG but not mentioned ToV and had no comparisons, then you would have no objections to that ‘new’ article?

No I'd have wanted a review, where the DMG was evaluated on how good it works for it's intended purpose.