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The VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
D&D 5E 5e needs to push its IP instead of churning out splatbooks.
- Thread starter B.T.
- Start date
pickin_grinnin
Explorer
old gamers
>The goal of WotC is to bring in the old gamers
I am an old gamer - I have been playing D&D and other RPGs since the first boxed set came out decades ago. I have many hundreds of systems (in print - not even counting PDFs and such), setting books, etc., from the late 70s to today, including some very obscure ones that rarely ever pop up on eBay, even.
System mechanics aren't as big of an issue for me as they were in the past. With so many different ones to choose from, I can slap just about any setting on whatever system I think would be the best fit, modify a few things, and start playing almost immediately. There are a number of systems that I really dislike and don't use (4e is one of them), but I still have many dozens of others available to me.
What matters most to me these days is the quality of the writing and the art in the books. I can adjust mechanics and settings on the fly, but I can't get back the hours it takes to slog through boring writing, poor layout, tiny fonts, etc. Some companies employ good writers and artists - White Wolf is known for that, but there are a number of other examples, like ArcDream's Wild Talents books (particularly "The Kerberos Club"). I may never find people who will play some of the games I like most, but I can still enjoy them for the reading experience.
Though the writing in the WoTC D&D-related games and supplements is okay, it isn't anything special. That doesn't mean I won't use them in games, but it does mean that I won't take a chance on any of their books without sitting down in B&N and skimming through them.
>The goal of WotC is to bring in the old gamers
I am an old gamer - I have been playing D&D and other RPGs since the first boxed set came out decades ago. I have many hundreds of systems (in print - not even counting PDFs and such), setting books, etc., from the late 70s to today, including some very obscure ones that rarely ever pop up on eBay, even.
System mechanics aren't as big of an issue for me as they were in the past. With so many different ones to choose from, I can slap just about any setting on whatever system I think would be the best fit, modify a few things, and start playing almost immediately. There are a number of systems that I really dislike and don't use (4e is one of them), but I still have many dozens of others available to me.
What matters most to me these days is the quality of the writing and the art in the books. I can adjust mechanics and settings on the fly, but I can't get back the hours it takes to slog through boring writing, poor layout, tiny fonts, etc. Some companies employ good writers and artists - White Wolf is known for that, but there are a number of other examples, like ArcDream's Wild Talents books (particularly "The Kerberos Club"). I may never find people who will play some of the games I like most, but I can still enjoy them for the reading experience.
Though the writing in the WoTC D&D-related games and supplements is okay, it isn't anything special. That doesn't mean I won't use them in games, but it does mean that I won't take a chance on any of their books without sitting down in B&N and skimming through them.
trancejeremy
Adventurer
To me though, it's not so much "generic" fantasy as "real" fantasy.
While it's true that people today don't believe in elves, dwarves, trolls, goblins, and so forth, they did at one time. Tolkien really didn't invent anything, he borrowed from folklore and legend.
To me, all that gives those things a certain gravitas that completely made up things don't.
That's not to say fictional creations can't do that, but it takes a while. HP Lovecraft pretty much achieved something similar with his Cthulhu Mythos. But that was the work of dozens of people at first, expanding to 100s over the course of decades.
While it's true that people today don't believe in elves, dwarves, trolls, goblins, and so forth, they did at one time. Tolkien really didn't invent anything, he borrowed from folklore and legend.
To me, all that gives those things a certain gravitas that completely made up things don't.
That's not to say fictional creations can't do that, but it takes a while. HP Lovecraft pretty much achieved something similar with his Cthulhu Mythos. But that was the work of dozens of people at first, expanding to 100s over the course of decades.
delericho
Legend
Drowbane in an XP comment said:
I think perhaps my point wasn't clear - I was merely indicating that Paizo have vastly improved their presentation and control over the AP concept. If you don't like the comparison between "Shackled City" and "Kingmaker", then how about "Jade Regent", or "Skull & Shackles"? Basically, although they've got much the same concept of "a series of linked adventures telling one over-arching story", they're much more confident and, frankly, better presentations of the same concept.
(Not that I don't appreciate the XP, of course.
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