D&D 5E Am I no longer WoTC's target audience?

[oreofox]

Why would anyone bother to loathe Acquisitions Inc.? No one is being forced to use it and it doesn't have to impact anyone's personal FR, so why the nerd rage?. There is very much a thing as taking yourself too seriously and that, for me, makes the list. Personally I think the book is brilliant, and I'm actually going to be using it to frame the next campaign I run for my boys as an arc to string together a series of classic modules like KotBL.

I may also snag that Legion of Doom idea. I'm prepping Dragon Heist right now and that seems like a way more fun segue that doing the Dungeon of the Mad Mage. Just mix in a Professor Moriarty character (which I was going to do anyway) and it sounds like a blast.

It's the same type of nerd rage you get with people saying dragonborn and tieflings don't belong in FR or Grayhawk or Dark Sun or (insert other setting that existed before WotC put them in the PHB), saying it ruins "their" (insert setting). And the Acq Inc book is canon, which you know how much nerds LOVE canon unless it goes against what they perceive as the "One True Canon", such as the Faction War in Planescape, anything after 1984 for Grayhawk, and so on.

This is one reason I prefer to use my own setting of my own creation, and not something a company published. No one else can say "that's not real canon!" when it comes to my setting, only me. Jimmy from the FLGS who is super into FR can't throw that phrase around since I don't use FR.

 

[JeffB]

My whole point was that doing this as official content is pretty immersion-breaking for some players. Myself included.

Done as a "what if" that doesn't affect official Canon, who cares?

Frankly, they've butchered enough lore and made it official since the purchase of TSR. They have written several re-hashed (or" inspired by" , if "you prefer) adventures and jammed them into the Forgotten Realms for the past 5 years. As I mentioned somewhere else, there is a Tiefling running around Saltmarsh selling magic items for fish to send back to Iuz, all with the approval of Keolands's King- completely antithetical to GH canon/lore-They obviously don't care too much for immersion. Every time WOTC has come out with a new edition, they re-write the settings to match the rules. WOTC has been breaking immersion when it comes to TSR campaign settings since 1998. Everyone has their threshold for accepting immersion breaking- maybe this is yours? Mine was pretty much 3 Editions ago.

This "what if", if done right would actually be interesting, NEW, and would leverage all/most of their IP into one big adventure path/storyline. Also introducing more major villains of each setting actually may get younger players interested in those settings. Sorcerer Kings, Vecna, Tharizdun, other Domain Lords like Ankthepot/Lord Soth, The Lady of Pain, are just as great villiains/foes as the Draconians, Giants, Drow/Kuo Toa/Svirfneblin/Mind Flayers, Halastar etc. they have already used (over again and again)

 

[Mecheon]

This "what if", if done right would actually be interesting,

Key point: If done right. Which I significantly doubt.

You want people interested in the Sorcerer Kings, you don't drag them out for a crossover where they sit on the sidelines while the Dragon and Eliminster blap each other with the strongest spells they have on hand, you keep them back in Athas, but make them less "Villain" and more "Morally ambiguous character who you can ally with or fight against depending on the situation". Go full Kill Six Billion Demons with 'em. 4E did this -perfectly-

Also, I know I ain't a full on Greyhawk follower, but:

here is a Tiefling running around Saltmarsh selling magic items for fish to send back to Iuz, all with the approval of Keolands's King- completely antithetical to GH canon/lore-

isn't Keoland's thing that its that detached from everything it sort of got rushed into signing a pact with other groups against Iuz and was woefully unprepared for any sort of war? Of all places in Greyhawk to be letting that go on, Keoland is right up there.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Done as a "what if" that doesn't affect official Canon, who cares?

There is no "official canon".

 

[MichaelSomething]

This is how you feel right??

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Yeah, Planescape is baked into the PHB and DMG as it stands.

Yep. The guide to the multiverse book I want could easily have all you need to adventure in the planes, including Spelljammer vessels, rules for others ways to move through the multiverse, etc.

But space fantasy is something new fans will latch onto pretty easily and readily, IMO

 

[pemerton]

Main point is you have non magical healing full stop.

Original DS 1d3 points per day. 3 was with a skilled healer and bed rest.

DS was designed to be gritty and maybe fatal. It's why you had character trees.

So yeah the brutality is kinda key to the setting.

This sort of thing is easy to do in 4e - using the disease/condition track.

But the adventure in the 2nd ed boxed set doesn't seem super-unusual in its approach to damage or brutality compared to other D&D adventures.

 

[JeffB]

Key point: If done right. Which I significantly doubt.

Agreed, but isn't this a "wish" thread anyway?

Also, I know I ain't a full on Greyhawk follower, but:

isn't Keoland's thing that its that detached from everything it sort of got rushed into signing a pact with other groups against Iuz and was woefully unprepared for any sort of war? Of all places in Greyhawk to be letting that go on, Keoland is right up there.

Keoland did not want to get involved in the war against Iuz, but certainly is not a trade partner/ally. Post war, they have been heavily involved in taking on the Scarlet Brotherhood in the south (Lordship of the Isles) and aiding Sterich in the North. Keoland is definitely not "of all places" one to be supporting the greatest threat to the Flaeness.

Additionally you have a little $hit town whose inhabitants has been fearful of a decrepid house on a hill 10 miles away from town because of some strange noises, lights, etc.- how do you think the townsfolk would feel with a Demon walking around town? ESPECIALLY after Iuz himself was key in bringing so many demons to the material plane during the war. It makes no sense from a lore/canon perspective.

This would be like a Alderaan welcoming an Imperial garrison. "We don't want to get involved in a war, but yeah sure- let's help them out for some credits"

This doesn't even get into all the neighboring states who suffered greatly during the war and would chop that tiefling into mincemeat* at first sight going up a river on a boat North of Keoland or going up the Wild Coast into the domain of GH. Or maybe she teleports the Fish?

Iuz's capital city lies on the shore of the second largest lake in the Flaeness, and has access on his northern border to an ocean/sea. Why the hell would he be trading for fish from a Kingdom a thousand miles away?

So yeah, WOTC doesn't really care/research much. They just throw something into the settings that breaks established canon/lore because their new set of rules inform the world, not vice versa.

* That reminds me of the Tiefling hanging around Homlett in Andy Collins' version of Village of Hommlett for 4E (one of the DM reward modules) Sure- the town that is 20 miles away from the ToEE and watched like a hawk by the forces of good in case of any threat is going to be fine and dandy with a Tiefling roaming around town. Oh that's right "he keeps a low profile". Thanks Andy, that explains it.

 

[JeffB]

There is no "official canon".

I'm with you. Certainly Wizards doesn't really care. But I believe alot of fans would.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

I think this article could be be interesting

The Divide Brewing Among Dungeons & Dragons Fans

Dungeons & Dragons' newest book has put a spotlight on a growing rift between two segments of [...]

comicbook.com

Part of this ongoing issue surrounds Wizards of the Coast's deliberately slow publication schedule, with the D&D team formally releasing about three books a year [..] Personally, I think D&D's emphasis on quality over quantity is good in the long run, but today's society has a culture of immediate gratification, and there's a thin line between stoking demand for more material and causing frustration among fans who feel like they aren't being heard.

..

So - what's the solution to a problem caused by having so many fans looking for so many things out of D&D? I think that some of these issues could be solved by peeking into the pipeline and getting some confirmation that more campaign settings are being worked on.

...

I also think opening up some more campaign settings for use in DMs Guild publications could help sate demand. D&D already uses the DMs Guild to sell digital offerings of older sourcebooks, and they allow third parties to publish material on the DMs Guild set in the Forgotten Realms, Eberron, and Ravenloft. I think there's enough demand to open up other campaign settings as well, especially ones that aren't very high on D&D's list to reboot or update. This at least gives the fans a chance to "vote" with their dollars, and show the D&D team that there's money to be made on some of these older settings.

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I agree, I suggest to opening up more settings, even the almos unknown one, because with these the risk of a "jump the shark" is lower.

And you should remember the parallel worlds is almost canon in Dragonlance. Have you thought about how would had been Krynn without the first time-travel?