D&D (2024) The Ray Winninger Era of D&D 5e

[Amphytrion]

It makes no sense to release a Forgotten Realms Campaign setting before the 2024 update. It’s one of the first things they are releasing with the 2024 rules. I don’t really see how you can expect anything different. You are the first person I’ve seen say that there isn’t enough Forgotten Realms materials about.

It’s also very strange to say there aren’t products to buy for people who want to know more about the Sword Coast. You say Phandelver isn’t suitable but it is on the Sword Coast, is a sandboxy style campaign and features illithids. I’m not sure how much of a tie you want.

Baldurs Gate material has already been released as you mentioned. Surely you’re not expecting a reprint of stuff that has already been trodden over several times already. I’m not sure what detail you expect that isn’t already covered in the multiple games and products set in that area.

I have plenty of FR material, but I’m not the target audience for tie-ins, neither are any of us in this forum.

The value of the tie-in is to capture someone who is not usually a customer via the associated property. When BG3 came out, the FR subreddit was awash with waves of newcomers everyday wanting to learn more about the world, and there is no good answer for them that is currently in print. There was a real market opportunity to sell a book to those people that has now mostly evaporated. They aren’t buying Phandelver and Below, and frankly there’s no reason to.

I don’t see enormous value in delaying to wait until post-2024 rules, as it’s all meant to be backwards compatible anyhow.

 

[TheSword]

I have plenty of FR material, but I’m not the target audience for tie-ins, neither are any of us in this forum.

The value of the tie-in is to capture someone who is not usually a customer via the associated property. When BG3 came out, the FR subreddit was awash with waves of newcomers everyday wanting to learn more about the world, and there is no good answer for them that is currently in print. There was a real market opportunity to sell a book to those people that has now mostly evaporated. They aren’t buying Phandelver and Below, and frankly there’s no reason to.

I don’t see enormous value in delaying to wait until post-2024 rules, as it’s all meant to be backwards compatible anyhow.

How do you know the ones that want a TTRPG product aren’t buying it?

Honestly if someone asks that question then they have Baldurs Gate Descent, Phandelver, Dragonheist, Storm Kings Thunder, Sword Coast Adventurers Guide and Princes of the Apocalypse all to float their boat.

 

[Parmandur]

Descent Into Avernus is part of the Mearls era of D&D, I think, and thus not encapsulated in my comment. It is a fine idea for a tie-in for early access, even if the final product is hamstrung. The Nine Hells angle was clearly meant to be more important early on in BG3's development. The Baldur's Gate Gazeteer is excellent and I think D&D Beyond released it for free once BG3 officially hit.

Phandelver and Below is unsatisfactory as a tie-in, I think. Sure, it has mind-flayers, but it doesn't answer the following: "I've spent 100 hours in this world and would like to know more. What can I buy?" It is also not set anywhere the game actually visits.

If I had both a movie and a videogame set in the Forgotten Realms in 2023, my immediate priority would have been to have a setting guide to be released in 2023 as well, especially when the prior version of it (the Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide) is really unsatisfactory. The SCAG often reads as an apology letter for 4e's changes and it spends forever just setting things back into place. It's not the book I would want to use to monetize all the new BG3 fans.

They released thw beefy Baldur's Gate Gazateer for free on Beyond when the full release dropped.

 

[Zardnaar]

How do you know the ones that want a TTRPG product aren’t buying it?

Honestly if someone asks that question then they have Baldurs Gate Descent, Phandelver, Dragonheist, Storm Kings Thunder, Sword Coast Adventurers Guide and Princes of the Apocalypse all to float their boat.

They're all mostly kinda meh. No one's going to buy 6 books to get a few chapters of very brief lore. Of middling quality as well.

I have been reading older FR books lately. FRCS, Lords of Darkness, Silver Marches, Dragons of Faerun, Lost Empires of Faerun.

There's nothing like that in 5E. Big problem with the 5E nooks is they're usually a mediocre adventure and a source book.

Everything is Sword Coast a little bit on Chult. We know virtually nothing about the Dalelands, Myth Drannor, or Cormyr for example.

 

[mamba]

It completely wasted the opportunity to kodernize and expand 5E official 5E monster design

it could have gone further, but the 2024 MM is a step backwards in many ways

 

[mamba]

Baldurs Gate material has already been released as you mentioned. Surely you’re not expecting a reprint of stuff that has already been trodden over several times already.

we are getting two FR books, most likely including parts of existing 5e books like Ten Towns, so…

 

[Zardnaar]

it could have gone further, but the 2024 MM is a step backwards in many ways

I only got mine two days ago.

The ramped things up but that applies to the phb as well so its a wash.

New monsters vs updated old ones seem to be interesting.

 

[TheSword]

They're all mostly kinda meh. No one's going to buy 6 books to get a few chapters of very brief lore. Of middling quality as well.

I have been reading older FR books lately. FRCS, Lords of Darkness, Silver Marches, Dragons of Faerun, Lost Empires of Faerun.

There's nothing like that in 5E. Big problem with the 5E nooks is they're usually a mediocre adventure and a source book.

Everything is Sword Coast a little bit on Chult. We know virtually nothing about the Dalelands, Myth Drannor, or Cormyr for example.

So wait… is it that they have released any products suitable for fans of BG3 or is that you just don’t like the products

For the records. Storm Kings Thunder has tons of lore. So does Dragon Heist. They all have more lore than was ever in a 3e adventure.

 

[Zardnaar]

So wait… is it that they have released any products suitable for fans of BG3 or is that you just don’t like the products

For the records. Storm Kings Thunder has tons of lore. So does Dragon Heist. They all have more lore than was ever in a 3e adventure.

O don't buy adventures for lore myself.

You endvu0 with anemic lore and usually a mediocre adventure.

You listed a hea of adventures that are not particularly well regarded. I own most of them.

It's also a lot of books to buy vs say the old FRCS.

A new player high on BG3 would need to track down an older book DiA that has a very small section on BG abd the adventure is C tier being generous.

I'm using SKT and PotA atm. OK source books mediocre adventures I don't use them as written.

 

[mamba]

The ramped things up but that applies to the phb as well so its a wash.

I am fine with the ramping up, I was referring to using less references to spells and having the ability description in the stat block instead. MotM had the right idea but did not go far enough and the new MM backtracked on the progress made right back to the 2014 MM position