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Yeah, I got nothing. That levels 1-5 prologue section isn't terrible or anything, but it has a very "this part was written after the rest of this adventure, as an afterthought" feel.

I don't think it existed prior to this adventure being published. It's near the Ardeep Forest, in the hills between Waterdeep and Daggerford. I can't recall ever seeing any official Sword Coast map that included it, only fan-made ones.

But this was a case where the company WAS making the print products you’re describing, and had to stop because it was financially unviable.

Any of them by Shawn Merwin is going to be great; he usually wrote the first adventure of the AL seasons when there was such a thing. One of the most well-regarded (with good reason) is The Black Road by Paige Leitman and Ben Heisler (DDAL5-02). One of the most well-received series was the one...

They're on the DMsGuild, but yeah. I'm taking a wait-and-see approach to this latest attempt at organized play. There have been too many half-hearted relaunches and false starts over the past decade for me to get excited about the latest iteration until I see what's actually done.

If that was true, they'd make them. To be clear, I very much prefer PDFs or physical products. But me wanting them doesn't at all mean that WotC needs to make them in order for them to be successful. I would also add that the hit-to-miss ratio of the short adventures in Dragon Delves, Keys...

Digital only.

The NYC scene in terms of D&D in-store play is basically... Hex & Co (popular gaming cafe with 3 Manhattan locations) - there is an active D&D scene at all three locations, and standing weekly open table D&D nights at the Upper West Side & Union Square locations. You can also hire pro DMs out...

I have yet to visit any store in the greater NYC metro area that is really keyed in to the Adventurer's League program, or whose patrons and players have even really heard of AL or know what it is.

I definitely do not need more rules, but am always looking for the next great adventure. Can't vote in poll because first option combines the thing I really want with the thing I don't need at all.

I would also add that I think in addition to the monk, 5.5 absolutely improves the Thief, Berzerker, and Circle of the Land subclasses imo. Also I don't have the issues with the new Ranger that some folks seem to have with it.

There are free 5.5 Basic Rules available for use on DNDBeyond, but not as a PDF or anything. There is also the 5.1.2 SRD, which is suspect is what's meant by "basic rules" in this case. They are not identical to the free rules you get to use on DNDBeyond.

Do you think D&D sells better than Shadowdark more because of how the actual games play, or might it have slightly more to do with awareness/name recognition/huge marketing budget/being a 50+ year old national institution brand name owned by a publicly traded company? All I'm saying is that...

It's just more of a mixed bag for me: Weapon Masteries - net negative, don't feel they're needed and they slow down combat Starter Feats - net negative, weren't needed and add complexity/character sheet bloat Adjustments to spells - like Counterspell and sleep - some good and some bad in the...

Nah. The Basic Rules for 5.5 are still 5.5. Weapon Masteries, Starter Feats, etc - it's all still there. Just fewer subclasses. Heroes of the Borderlands isn't at all what I want in a D&D experience, although Welcome to the Hellfire Club is closer. But regardless, Starter Sets are aimed at new...

FWIW, If I was WotC, I would strongly consider testing the market for a streamlined/less mechanically complex variant of D&D covering levels 1-10. Doesn't need to be a huge product; maybe even digital-only at first. But it could be a profitable small product line alongside the main one.

Yeah fair enough - the monk is inarguably improved and I haven't played the new one yet. Maybe the monk is the killer app of 5.5.

I 100% agree that "modern" design tends towards simplicity and I think Shadowdark punching so far above its weight class is clear evidence of what a lot of folks actually want in their TTRPG experience. I am not prepared to predict that 5.5 won't last, but I DO think that 5.0's relative...

I think the main questions are: Does your group want more crunch/mechanical complexity? Are you okay with combat being a little slower because, again, more options/complexity? There are legit reasons for your answers to be yes or no. If both are "yes", 5.5 is probably good for your group...

Is 16 hours on levels 1-2 "quickly"? At some tables, that would be slow. In recent years, the official WotC campaigns generally get the party to level 3 after ~8 hours. I think people don't realize how much pacing varies from table to table.