WotC D&D Gets A New Division At Hasbro

Remathilis · Feb 25, 2021

DEFCON 1 said:
And a hue and cry goes out from all the older fans who desperately want D&D sold off and bought by someone who "gets it" and changes the game back to the old ways they think it is supposed to be.

Erdric Dragin said:
I wish they sold it off; to Paizo. Better left in the hands of actual gamers and not corporate stockholder butt-kissers.

Although I'm disappointed in Paizo with their PF2e debacle, and they forever lost my support. Now I've grown suspicious of them.

Right on cue...

Dausuul · Feb 25, 2021

The Tolkien and Warhammer crossovers appear to be purely Magic-related at this point, but I could imagine D&D being pulled in as well. (I mean, D&D is halfway to being a Tolkien crossover already.)

My initial reaction to seeing that Wizards plans on doing a Tolkien Magic set was "MY CHILDHOOD! IS NOTHING SACRED?" Then I thought about building a Commander deck headed up by the Witch-King of Angmar, and suddenly I was okay with it. Which leaves me with the uneasy feeling that I'm the baddie...

Von Ether · Feb 25, 2021

"Hasbro bought WotC in 1999 for about $325M."

And then quickly sold off the D&D video game rights, which adds some irony to this bit of news.

embee · Feb 25, 2021

Dausuul said:
The Tolkien and Warhammer crossovers appear to be purely Magic-related at this point, but I could imagine D&D being pulled in as well. (I mean, D&D is halfway to being a Tolkien crossover already.)

My initial reaction to seeing that Wizards plans on doing a Tolkien Magic set was "MY CHILDHOOD! IS NOTHING SACRED?" Then I thought about building a Commander deck headed up by the Witch-King of Angmar, and suddenly I was okay with it. Which leaves me with the uneasy feeling that I'm the baddie...

JRR Estate: No Hobbits in D&D!
TSR: What about halflings? They're like Hobbits in every way except the spelling.
JRR Estate: Ummmm...
Every player since: Okay guys! Wherever you see "halfling" written, just pronounce it "Hobbit." They can't send lawyers to everyone's rec room. And go ahead and stat up Gandalf and Thorin while you're at it...

Wrathamon · Feb 25, 2021

embee said:
JRR Estate: No Hobbits in D&D!
TSR: What about halflings? They're like Hobbits in every way except the spelling.
JRR Estate: Ummmm...
Every player since: Okay guys! Wherever you see "halfling" written, just pronounce it "Hobbit." They can't send lawyers to everyone's rec room. And go ahead and stat up Gandalf and Thorin while you're at it...

I've never called them hobbits ... in any D&D game i played. /shrug I am sure some do but not every player since

Dire Bare · Feb 25, 2021

Dausuul said:
The Tolkien and Warhammer crossovers appear to be purely Magic-related at this point, but I could imagine D&D being pulled in as well. (I mean, D&D is halfway to being a Tolkien crossover already.)

My initial reaction to seeing that Wizards plans on doing a Tolkien Magic set was "MY CHILDHOOD! IS NOTHING SACRED?" Then I thought about building a Commander deck headed up by the Witch-King of Angmar, and suddenly I was okay with it. Which leaves me with the uneasy feeling that I'm the baddie...

We're unlikely to see D&D crossovers with Warhammer and Middle-Earth, as the RPG license for both is already with other companies. But you never know . . .

I have mixed feelings about Magic crossing over with D&D, Warhammer, and Middle-Earth . . . . I feel like I'm either going to be disappointed with the dilution of the Magic setting & brand, or be even more addicted to purchasing boxes and boxes of cardboard . . . . or both.

Whizbang Dustyboots · Feb 25, 2021

Lieslo said:
Here's hoping that this means 6E is not on the horizon then.

They will be releasing some sort of big anniversary edition in 2024, you can count on it. It would be easier to get everyone to buy it if, at the very least, it updated some of the books at least in a mild fashion. I think we should expect, at a minimum, that it'll be a 5.1 edition.

Whizbang Dustyboots · Feb 25, 2021

Dire Bare said:
We're unlikely to see D&D crossovers with Warhammer and Middle-Earth, as the RPG license for both is already with other companies. But you never know . . .

Free League has talked about a new edition of Adventures in Middle Earth coming either later this year or early next. Maybe it's WotC doing it, but I can't see why it would be.

Hatmatter · Feb 25, 2021

Reynard said:
One wonders if the growth will be sustainable post-Covid. That is, when people can go back to bars, concerts and sporting events, are they still going to play D&D, buy books, sub DNDBeyond, etc?

Well, there is a (healthy) addictive quality to role-playing. Once one's imagination seizes on the fantastic, it is not so easy to give it up. At least, that has been my experience.

Reynard · Feb 25, 2021

Whizbang Dustyboots said:
They will be releasing some sort of big anniversary edition in 2024, you can count on it. It would be easier to get everyone to buy it if, at the very least, it updated some of the books at least in a mild fashion. I think we should expect, at a minimum, that it'll be a 5.1 edition.

And just like that I realized D&D is turning 50 years old. Wow.