D&D 5E 2020 Release Speculation Thread

[gyor]

It could be for something like the Elemental Evil Player Guide that was cancelled before even being announced. An awfully large amount of UA over the past five years never reached print.

True, bur cutting that much, most of it was very good.

 

[Parmandur]

True, bur cutting that much, most of it was very good.

Time will tell: it seems most of the Theros tests didn't pass muster.

 

[gyor]

Time will tell: it seems most of the Theros tests didn't pass muster.

Yeah, no one liked the Wild Soul Barbarian, But had people known it was for Satyr's of Skola Valley it might have done alot better, this is what I mean by context matters for surveys. On its own it seemed goofy and it make no sense, but in the context of Theros setting it makes sense and would have been alot more popular with context.

Same with the Izzet Wizard. People are judging subclasses by traditional settings like FR, because that is what they are used too, and largely the default assumption, not MtG setting tropes. It really needs a better context.

Out of context goofy, in context amazing. Now we lost out.

 

[Parmandur]

Yeah, no one liked the Wild Soul Barbarian, But had people known it was for Satyr's of Skola Valley it might have done alot better, this is what I mean by context matters for surveys. On its own it seemed goofy and it make no sense, but in the context of Theros setting it makes sense and would have been alot more popular with context.

Same with the Izzet Wizard. People are judging subclasses by traditional settings like FR, because that is what they are used too, and largely the default assumption, not MtG setting tropes. It really needs a better context.

Out of context goofy, in context amazing. Now we lost out.

But WotC wants to sell people books based on material they want out of context. They want straight opinions, to narrow it down.

 

[bedir than]

Yeah but they aren't really considered part of WotC "core release schedule." Maybe Essentials is, that's debateable.

Yes, but if the original claim is "1 boxed set" there is no reason to leave off the other three made under the same demand structure.

 

[gyor]

But WotC wants to sell people books based on material they want out of context. They want straight opinions, to narrow it down.

No they want opinions on a particular opinion for a particular book, to give an honest opinion you need context.

Example when I saw the Wild Soul Barbarian I was not impressed because I picturing what seemed like a Disnified Barbarian in a setting like FR or Eberron and alot of other settings were it doesn't fit.

But now that I have the context and familiarized myself with the setting I know exactly what they were trying for, a Satyr of Skola Valley (likely the stand in for the Feywild of the setting), whose spent their life in Revellery, Orgies, and Baccanilias, often violent ones, fueled by passions like lust, gluttony, and RAGE. It was beautiful, and would have been an amazing subclass to play, my top pick, if I had any idea what they were working for. And I couldn't give them feedback on how to improve the subclass, because I had no idea what they were trying to invoke, I didn't know it was supposed to be akin to a reveller in the Cult of Dionysus, or one of his Maenads, or Theros' equiviliant. I can help them if they aren't straight up with me and neither can you.

Context is Kings. Its frustrating because now this book doesn't have what would have been the coolest subclass in the entirely book, because no one knew what it was for.

Alot of what goes into the popularity of a class isn't just the mechanics, its the flavour.

To compare by the time we got Simic Hybrid and Vendlken UA, we knew what these were for Ravnica and we could judge them by that standard. No way Simic Hybrid would have survived if it haf just been Hybrid and no context, because it would never fit in most home brewed D&D setting or any traditional D&D settings not even FR or Eberron. But it fit Ravnica like a glove. And so it passed, but contextless Izzet wizard didn't because when its UA happen we had no idea what it was for, or how it fit in, or how to improve it, because were lied to and told it was a lore wizard! Something that you'd expect to be able to slot into any setting, even Darksun, the fussiest of traditional settings.

This is why the only setting subclasses to survive are the ones you could drop just as easily into the Forgotten Realms, or Eberron or Greyhawk or Mystara or Birthright, (but not Darksun, like the Order Domain which even mentions other settings, or the Rot/Fungus Druid because every setting has rot and fungus and zombies, and the Oath of Glory because ever setting has heroes of some sort, or the College of Elequence Bard because that fits alot of roles from statesment to lawyer to comedian, to philosopher, ect... meaning it fits into every setting.

But all the onces that fit amazingly into a particular setting, and evoked what was truely was unique about the setting got axed, because without context no one knew what to do with them, the ones that made it could be dropped into amy setting just ss easily. Again Simic Hybrid only made it because we had the context for the strangest D&D race I've ever seen, no that only fits Ravnica and tge weirdest homebrew settings maybe.

 

[Parmandur]

No they want opinions on a particular opinion for a particular book, to give an honest opinion you need context.

Example when I saw the Wild Soul Barbarian I was not impressed because I picturing what seemed like a Disnified Barbarian in a setting like FR or Eberron and alot of other settings were it doesn't fit.

But now that I have the context and familiarized myself with the setting I know exactly what they were trying for, a Satyr of Skola Valley (likely the stand in for the Feywild of the setting), whose spent their life in Revellery, Orgies, and Baccanilias, often violent ones, fueled by passions like lust, gluttony, and RAGE. It was beautiful, and would have been an amazing subclass to play, my top pick, if I had any idea what they were working for. And I couldn't give them feedback on how to improve the subclass, because I had no idea what they were trying to invoke, I didn't know it was supposed to be akin to a reveller in the Cult of Dionysus, or one of his Maenads, or Theros' equiviliant. I can help them if they aren't straight up with me and neither can you.

Context is Kings. Its frustrating because now this book doesn't have what would have been the coolest subclass in the entirely book, because no one knew what it was for.

Alot of what goes into the popularity of a class isn't just the mechanics, its the flavour.

To compare by the time we got Simic Hybrid and Vendlken UA, we knew what these were for Ravnica and we could judge them by that standard. No way Simic Hybrid would have survived if it haf just been Hybrid and no context, because it would never fit in most home brewed D&D setting or any traditional D&D settings not even FR or Eberron. But it fit Ravnica like a glove. And so it passed, but contextless Izzet wizard didn't because when its UA happen we had no idea what it was for, or how it fit in, or how to improve it, because were lied to and told it was a lore wizard! Something that you'd expect to be able to slot into any setting, even Darksun, the fussiest of traditional settings.

This is why the only setting subclasses to survive are the ones you could drop just as easily into the Forgotten Realms, or Eberron or Greyhawk or Mystara or Birthright, (but not Darksun, like the Order Domain which even mentions other settings, or the Rot/Fungus Druid because every setting has rot and fungus and zombies, and the Oath of Glory because ever setting has heroes of some sort, or the College of Elequence Bard because that fits alot of roles from statesment to lawyer to comedian, to philosopher, ect... meaning it fits into every setting.

But all the onces that fit amazingly into a particular setting, and evoked what was truely was unique about the setting got axed, because without context no one knew what to do with them, the ones that made it could be dropped into amy setting just ss easily. Again Simic Hybrid only made it because we had the context for the strangest D&D race I've ever seen, no that only fits Ravnica and tge weirdest homebrew settings maybe.

But that's the point: they want to release products that appeal to people playing in any Setting. If something doesn't speak to people outside of context, it doesn't fit the goal of selling the game.

 

[Urriak Uruk]

Yes, but if the original claim is "1 boxed set" there is no reason to leave off the other three made under the same demand structure.

I think there is a distinction between the Essentials and the other two; the two are partnerships with 3rd-party IPs, so the idea that "oh there will be 3 boxed sets in 2020 because there were 3 in 2019" seems... farfetched.

 

[bedir than]

I think there is a distinction between the Essentials and the other two; the two are partnerships with 3rd-party IPs, so the idea that "oh there will be 3 boxed sets in 2020 because there were 3 in 2019" seems... farfetched.

I don't think any of the boxed sets indicate a new box set is coming.

 

[Parmandur]

I think there is a distinction between the Essentials and the other two; the two are partnerships with 3rd-party IPs, so the idea that "oh there will be 3 boxed sets in 2020 because there were 3 in 2019" seems... farfetched.

Essentials was a third party issue, too, since Target went to WotC and asked for something more they could put in the board game aisle. If there is another box set in the future, I'd say Target might be the impetus again.