7 Years of D&D Stories? And a "Big Reveal" Coming?

When asked what he was working on, WotC's Chris Perkins revealed a couple of juicy tidbits. They're not much, but they're certainly tantalizing. Initially, he said that "Our marketing team has a big reveal in the works", and followed that up separately with "Right now I'm working on the next seven years of D&D stories". What all that might mean is anybody's guess, but it sounds like there are plans for D&D stretching into the foreseeable future! Thanks to Barantor for the scoop!

 

[BryonD]

Ah yes, the "adequate support" buzzword, a vital part of the "not enough product drinking game". Because there's an amount of support that is exactly adequate and will make everyone happy. No one seems to know what that is or agree, but they know the almost monthly products we've seen are not "adequate" and we need to keep churning out product like Goldilocks with an eating disorder testing porridge until everyone is agreed we have reached "adequate" for everyone.

Complete strawman.

You don't need to know anything close to "exactly" to have less than adequate.

You are the one using buzzwords like "churning" and bogus emotionally laden claims about "eating disorders".
I just described a level of *ONE* hardback a year. But you are going "eating disorder".

That speaks for itself.

Do you have an example of a game with a low release being detrimental to one with an adequate fanbase?

No, they don't last long enough.

Actually, I find new classes detrimental,

What does "I" have to do with anything?

5e needs to last as long as possible. I doubt WotC will give the D&D RPG a fifth chance to succeed.

Same thing was said about 4E.

Has it held it back in the short term? No.
Has it held it back in the long term? Maybe.

6 years? Please define "long term"?
How long must 5E last under your zero release schedule (and yes, we have ZERO announced splat books, all I'm asking for is something above zero as binge and purge as ONE may be to you)

Pathfinder is running out of steam.

Agreed. Six years is a damn good run.

And that seems like a perfectly *ahem* adequate amount of content.

Not if too many people move on to the next interesting thing before they ever buy it.

And there's a very real possibility that's what we're getting. I would not be surprised if they yanked all the sublasses from the Adventurer's Handbook to release a larger (and much more tested) Big Book of Subclasses and options this summer. Really, a single book of subclasses expanding on the PHB is really all we need and cover all the basic archetypes and concepts.

Without comment on personal preference, you called my request an eating disorder and now you are describing the exact level I proposed. What does that say?

A new monster book every other year would be fine.

Is this you binging or purging?

 

[BryonD]

Well, we know how many PHBs sold during 3.0 and 3.5e. And we know that 4e somehow outsold 3e on its launch. And we know how many Pathfinder Core Rulebooks have sold and that every year Paizo sold more Pathfinder CRBs than the year before.
The number of CRB was around half the number of 3.0 PHBs. So the number Paizo sold several years earlier - when they started beating 4e - would be much lower. So the number of people who stopped buying 4e was greater than the number of people who bought Pathfinder.
So the total number of people buying RPG books either shrank or became much, much more spread out. Likely a bit of both.

I don't agree that you can measure the market by PHBs.

But if you both think 4E made the market shrink. Noted.

 

[Ristamar]

Everyone likes to test out new classes, or subclasses, or feats etc...

Actually, I find new classes detrimental, as they dilute the archetypes of the core classes and generally lead to overspecialization. I was exceedingly happy with Paizo when they said they were going to limit new classes and exceedingly disappointed when they decided to reverse that decision and churn out new classes.

I agree. As a DM, I don't want to test new stuff all the time. I'm still settling in with the new ruleset, and there is something to be said for stability and simplicity.

 

[GlobeOfDankness]

calling it as an announcement about the official Realms book. will probably focus on the sword(boring)coast and will have optional material for the core classes.

 

[Hussar]

I don't agree that you can measure the market by PHBs.

But if you both think 4E made the market shrink. Noted.

Wow. Considering the lengths you go to complain about others putting words in your mouth, that's pretty brutal.

The rpg market has shrunk over the last five to ten years. The market was pegged at 30 million per year and is now pegged at about twelve. At least that's what's been stated.

I really don't think pointing fingers is productive or even plausible. You're confusing correlation with causation.

 

[Warbringer]

Wow. Considering the lengths you go to complain about others putting words in your mouth, that's pretty brutal.

The rpg market has shrunk over the last five to ten years. The market was pegged at 30 million per year and is now pegged at about twelve. At least that's what's been stated.

I really don't think pointing fingers is productive or even plausible. You're confusing correlation with causation.

Where're you getting hose numbers from?

 

[Hussar]

http://www.google.co.jp/url?sa=t&so...l4DoAQ&usg=AFQjCNE2JKE11O2Q7oZW2pcnpqsWPPLfYw

Hope that link works. Pegs RPGs at 15 million. Sorry misremembered.

 

[Jester David]

Complete strawman.

"Strawman" is overused in online discussions. Too often it's just used as an excuse to just ignore what someone said (for right or wrong), only while drawing attention to the fact you're ignoring it rather than just not replying or cutting that part out of your reply. I always have to fight not to just ctrl-W when I see "strawman" pop up. But that's my baggage...

You are the one using buzzwords like "churning" and bogus emotionally laden claims about "eating disorders".
I just described a level of *ONE* hardback a year. But you are going "eating disorder".

You described one hardback a year in the post following the one I was replying to. I hadn't read that yet.

No, they don't last long enough.

How about, oh, Basic D&D?
You had levels 1-3 from 1977 to 1981, then 4-14 until '83, 26-36 in '84, and 36+ in 1985. Some revisions in 1991 and that lasted until Basic ended in 2000 with 3e. Two or three rules accessories for 23 years, with only minor revisions to the ruleset. Almost everything released for Basic was either an adventure or related to the world of Mystara.

The only accessories I can find are the Creature Catalogue, some character sheets, a couple books of magic items, and a monster book that focused solely on Dragons and Giants.

6 years? Please define "long term"?
How long must 5E last under your zero release schedule (and yes, we have ZERO announced splat books, all I'm asking for is something above zero as binge and purge as ONE may be to you)

So it's less a matter of releases, but of announced releases?

Princes of the Apocalypse isn't even in stores yet! We haven't seen their next product and WotC hasn't begun previews on their website and you want to start speculation on the next?!
Especially with the fervour over Adventurer's Handbook being cancelled (depite never being officially announced) WotC has every reason to be hesitant to pull the trigger on their GenCon release.

Especially since the needing to know what's coming out in five months is information only the smallest segment of the fanbase really cares about. The average play does not care about that. Heck, the average player likely wouldn't even know what Princes of the Apocalypse is.
I play Pathfinder with some pretty dedicated gamers, and PFS with others, and none of them have any clue about what Paizo is doing five weeks from now, let alone five months.

Agreed. Six years is a damn good run.

Six years is nothing. I've purchased new rulebooks books too many times in the fifteen years. 5e was my last. It's simple enough that it'll make a good first RPG for my son (in 6-8 years) but classic enough to be D&D and introduce him to the hobby. If we see 6e in 2021 I'm so done.

You asked how long is long term? I think at least a decade is good. If not more.
If ever, really. I'll happily accept some small revisions (ala the Basic changes or even 4e to Essentials), some reprints with errata and small tweaks. But I don't see why we really *need* a new edition. They got this one right. 1e and 2e were full of warts, 3e had some balance issues, 4e was... divisive. But 5e is just right. I don't think we *need* a new edition so much as a revision or reprinting with minor tweaks. D&D isn't a game console where the tech keeps changing and you need to upgrade. While game design evolves over time, 5e's mix of modern and nostalgia keeps it timeless and its modularity should make it easy to accommodate new innovations in gaming.
I wonder if people think we'll see a 6e only because we've seen edition changes before so it's accepted. We *think* editions need to change and so we accept 6e as inevitable.

But this is likely off topic, or worthy of its own thread.

 

[Shasarak]

There's more to it than just having people buy:

You know, if those guys had a bigger shop then their success would be assured!

 

[Reynard]

calling it as an announcement about the official Realms book. will probably focus on the sword(boring)coast and will have optional material for the core classes.

Possible given the recent announcement of the Sword Coast CRPG with (reportedly) decent GMing tools. A TTRPG give seems like a good and likely candidate.