WotC 2020 Was The Best Year Ever For Dungeons & Dragons

[Levistus's_Leviathan]

If that were even remotely true they wouldn't have published EXPLORER'S GUIDE TO WILDEMOUNT let alone entirely rewritten Ravenloft
WizCo doesn't give even half a &%$@ about older gamers any more. It's all about the kids

Have you bought and read through Explorer's Guide to Wildemount? I highly recommended it. There's a ton of great stuff in it, I absolutely believe it is one of the objectively best D&D 5e books (far better than the SCAG, but that's neither here nor there). It's adding more content to the game, whether or not it's aimed at younger or older players. That's a good thing.

They do give "half a &%$@" about older gamers. If they didn't they likely wouldn't have published Ravenloft at all, probably only doing Innistrad instead. They wouldn't have reprinted older adventures in Tales from the Yawning Portal and Ghosts of Saltmarsh if they didn't care about older players. They wouldn't have made the promise of "3 classic settings in the next two years" last year if they didn't care about older players (which there are two left for them to officially publish).

However, younger players (including me at 19 years old) are the future of the hobby. Like it or not, but any hobby that hopes to survive through multiple generations needs newer players, and they need the newer players to want to be a part of the hobby. However, as these stats show, there is a major percentage of the community that is older than 30 years old. They need to target products at both younger and older players (ideally both) in order to make the most money they possibly can. This is the same reason they put player-oriented content in Bestiaries and Setting Books, because they want as many people to buy their books as possible.

Ravenloft still has a lot of the stuff it had in previous editions, although it has a lot of new stuff and quite a few major changes. They brought back the setting to sell it to older players, and made some changes to make the setting feel "new". This is likely how they're going to do it for future classic settings that are going to be brought to 5e (my mouth waters at the idea of Planescape getting similar treatment).

 

[Parmandur]

If that were even remotely true they wouldn't have published EXPLORER'S GUIDE TO WILDEMOUNT let alone entirely rewritten Ravenloft
WizCo doesn't give even half a naughty word about older gamers any more. It's all about the kids

Have you considered switching to decaf...?

Do note that Matt Mercer has been DMing longer than most D&D players have been alive, and is really onenof the older players.

 

[Parmandur]

including me at 19 years old

...

Well, crapp, now I feel old.

 

[Disgruntled Hobbit]

They do give "half a &%$@" about older gamers. If they didn't they likely wouldn't have published Ravenloft at all, probably only doing Innistrad instead. They wouldn't have reprinted older adventures in Tales from the Yawning Portal and Ghosts of Saltmarsh if they didn't care about older players. They wouldn't have made the promise of "3 classic settings in the next two years" last year if they didn't care about older players (which there are two left for them to officially publish).

Older gamers weren't a factor at all
They did Ravenloft cause Wes Schneider is a Ravenloft fan and cause CURSE OF STRAHD was their best selling adventure

Doubt we'll see another product like TALES FROM THE YAWNING PORTAL. They don't need to sell books based on nostalgia anymore
The three classic settings will likely be revisions like Ravenloft. Classics in name only

 

[Disgruntled Hobbit]

First: Language.

Thanks Captain America

I see no reason that Wildemount wouldn't have gotten published with older gamers having power within the industry. Just because people are older doesn't mean that they want to endlessly retread what has come before and don't look for something new and novel.

Makes sense
Old folks are known for embracing new ideas

Also, VRGtR hasn't enitrely rewritten Ravenloft.

Sure
Think there's five pages that reflect the old version

 

[Parmandur]

Older gamers weren't a factor at all
They did Ravenloft cause Wes Schneider is a Ravenloft fan and cause CURSE OF STRAHD was their best selling adventure

Doubt we'll see another product like TALES FROM THE YAWNING PORTAL. They don't need to sell books based on nostalgia anymore
The three classic settings will likely be revisions like Ravenloft. Classics in name only

Many older gamers seem to disagree.

 

[Stefano Rinaldelli]

This discussion it seems to be sensless.
44 years old.
Ravenloft Refreshed.
Rebooted if you want.
Different from the original? SURE
Bad product? Not at all. Worst than original? No.
Why we give importance to canon? Because canon explain us how a setting is alive. And we want a setting to be alive. Because we are in the middle between passive fruition (as per a saga of novels) and active fruition (an homebrew setting). The first paralize the creativity of DM, the last cost too much in terms of prep time and creative effort. We need to stay in the middle because it is the more efficient way of playing, so we need rebooted setting.
Posing that we can always remove the traits we don't like, the best thing is that we have rebooted setting that mantain the original core of ideas but with some changes that permit us not to be statically and in the end bored about.
So yes I'm an older player and I'm all in with WOTC editorial line. They know how to create good RPG products.

P.S. YES I have read the book. And guys I must say the new DARKON is the most inspiring thing I've seen from the very start of 5edition.

P.P.S. BUT WAIT! VECNA? Where is Vecna? They have something in the pocket because they cannot let VECNA disappear in this way!

P.P.P.S. OK VECNA IS A GOD NOW. Sorry

 

[darjr]

Vecna reached across the multiverse to influence the writers to write them out of their domain and thus be free. What Vecna does not know is what has been wrought in full and Vecna must die.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

We can't stop the changes, but we should wonder about the possible limits to avoid the "jumping the shark" effect. This is not only a lot of new players because they were watching "Stranger Things" but adults who buy to play with their own children and not always with the computer, or how gifts for the youngest generations to share or passing on the hobby.

If there is a reboot of D&D multiverse the fandom would demand a right and epic plot to justify, and I guess WotC is working about it, but the best stories need a lot of time to be developed. I would bet Vecna will be involved, and maybe we are told something about chronomancers, time-travels and parallel worlds, with a open door for crossovers with no-fantasy franchises.

 

[Dannyalcatraz]

If that were even remotely true they wouldn't have published EXPLORER'S GUIDE TO WILDEMOUNT let alone entirely rewritten Ravenloft
WizCo doesn't give even half a Duck about older gamers any more. It's all about the kids

Watch the language, please.

Just a reminder to all in attendance, keep the language ”Grandma friendly”.