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The lack of metaplot is a feature . . . for some fans. Shrug. Yes, it is part of the original conceit, despite the novels, comics, and video games based on the setting . . . but that was then, WotC is free to change things up. I'm not sure the setting timeline needs to be advanced or metaplot...

For similar reasons, I'll probably never run a Transformers RPG game with my local group. Not that they'd make it a joke, but that they don't have the emotional investment into re-creating what was glorious on Saturday mornings back in the 80s . . . But maybe online, if you advertise the game...

I run an afterschool D&D club for middle-schoolers . . . it's all dragonborn and tieflings. :) The worst part . . . they don't often even get elves, dwarves, and hobbits (halflings), unless they have really cool parents who made them watch the Lord of the Rings movies . . . Anecdotal, of course.

IMO . . . It's definitely worth the $30!! The updated character options are not AMAZING . . . but they are superior to Rising from the Last War. Dragonmarks, backgrounds, and the artificer class are all an improvement over the previous rules.

What kind of circus troupe are folks going to complain about in 20 years from now? :O In my campaign, I only allow goliaths, tieflings, tabaxi, tortles, aasimar, dhampir . . . none of that new-fangled weird stuff!

This is a trope common throughout literature of all genres and all ages. Broken people are generally more interesting than folks with little to no trauma in their background. And IRL, everyone has trauma. Different kinds and to different degrees, but it allows us to empathize with the broken...

Oh good lord. Who is this for? Me. It's for me. And gamers like me. I've been curious about Traveller for years, never played it. It's unlikely I could get my play group to give it a try. But a 5E version? I don't have to invest a lot of time or brain power to learn the rules. My group just...

Why not? This new version likely won't appeal to Traveller purists . . . so? It will likely appeal to folks who are Traveller curious, and don't often play games that aren't 5E adjacent. Not every game is for everyone.

What's confusing? The Traveller setting using the 5E rules. In the past, Traveller has had a d20 version, a GURPS version, why not a 5E version? Obviously, it will be different from the core game in important ways . . . but, yeah?

Yeah, but . . . they're not that different. D&D elves vary only slightly from setting to setting, for the most part. There are some neat exceptions, of course. If a player rolls up an elf cleric of Corellon for your Dragonlance game . . . use the character, and just swap the deity out for...

It was an interesting sci-fi idea to explore! It was icky, for the characters themselves as well as the audience, that was very much what they explored, the ethical problems in using this tech versus the necessity to maintain contact. Stargate Universe was definitely a darker show, and a huge...

Anvar was so good as Alex, it was perfect casting . . . well, other than the landmine that he was a terrible person. I'm angry at him for harassing tons of women, but also for screwing up such a great show! But despite killing off Alex's character suddenly . . . I still enjoyed the heck out of...

No Netflix? Disney+? Setting up Amazon Prime on your SmartTV isn't any different from the other streaming channels, it's pretty easy. And there is so much good genre TV waiting for you!

It's a challenge, sure. But a good writing team can certainly rise to meet it!

The "new" crowd coming into D&D over the past 10 years or so . . . are they more open to playing "oddball" characters? Or does the game facilitate playing the more non-traditional options easier than earlier editions? Or a mix of both? Which came first, the cockatrice or the egg?

Exactly! Joining the circus doesn't make you a "freak", but if you are already a "freak", joining the circus is a natural choice!

And yet, its a common trope both within and without fantasy fiction. How many ensemble groups of characters in movies, TV shows, novels and comics are an assembly of odd-balls and misfits?

That's part of the disconnect too. The fellowship was a unique group for Middle-Earth . . . but the baseline for D&D adventuring parties!

I think part of the challenge is feature creep. Over the past 50 years, options were introduced that became popular and were added to the core. The "core" options in 5E are quite a bit more than the "core" options in AD&D 2E. But features keep being added, and the game is overall much better...

One method I employed years ago when I also wanted a more traditional adventuring party composition . . . . I wrote class and race/species names on slips of paper, threw them into a hat, and had the players draw. What they drew was their parameters for creating a character, but they were...