D&D 5E Convince me to Spend the Money

[Wicht]

Full Disclosure... I was never too enthusiastic for DnD 5e. 4e and the rollout was a major let down; Pathfinder has been great; I am a huge fan of the OGL. But...

Over the last month or so however, listening to people talk about 5e, I have been slowly considering buying into it, at least to read, maybe to write some material for it potentially if, when, they ever decide to release an Open License of some sort for it.

I could also use a new copy of the Pathfinder Core Rulebook as I am still very much active with that system. This is a factor.

So I am there in B.A.M. looking at the material. I look first at the Starter Set. It is my first direct exposure to it. I notice firstly how light it is. Very, very, very light. I notice the price. $20. I am, to say the least, non-plussed. I have the Pathfinder Beginner's Box and its fantastic. I do not feel that the Starter Set is going to offer me my money's worth at $20 (I notice its at $12 on Amazon; but the Beginner's Box is at $25 for comparison). So I pick up the Player's Handbook. I glance through it. It seems alright. I notice I can understand the language, and unlike 4e there's no weird codes or new language to grok...

Can I just insert an aside right here and say it is refreshing to once more be able to talk about Dungeons and Dragons with people playing a different ruleset than myself and feel like we are talking about the same thing. When trying to converse about 4e, it really did at times feel like the language was completely different. Which is one of the reasons I am predisposed to liking 5e better than 4e...

Back to my story...

So, at this point I am actually considering plopping down some money for the Player's handbook. I look at the price. $50. I confess I paused at this point and did a double take. The price point is probably old news for those who have been really into the game. But it was my first exposure to it because it was the first time I had actually considered buying. I look at the price on the DMG. $50. I check out the price on the Pathfinder Core Rulebook (twice as big as both books, has both the DMG and the Players info...) $50. Paizo is offering me the same material for $50 that WotC is offering for $100. And sure, I can get both books on Amazon for a combined $68, but I can get the Core Rulebook for $30 there as well. Besides which, if I like the game, I'll then want the Monster Manual for another $50...

I understand that there are potentially different strategies here... Paizo wants to hook me with a cheap buy in and WotC wants all my money upfront so to speak. No need to try and make that point to me. From my perspective Paizo has been successful in bleeding continuous money from my wallet so I know where I stand in deciding which is the better marketing strategy...

But here's the thing. I am curious about 5e. But money is always tight and there's a certain psychological roadblock which prevents me from making impulse buys much over $30. I need some convincing. Pathfinder is still satisfying my gaming needs quite handily... But I am not predisposed against other systems, as my large collecton of gaming books attest... And I still, despite 4es best efforts to trample my heart,... retain a nostalgic fondness for the Dungeons and Dragons brand... I want to like the game... But I do also like for new books to offer me sufficient incentives to buy them. So what does 5e offer me worth $150 dollars ($100 on Amazon) that wouldn't be better spent getting a new Core Rulebook (or maybe rebinding one of my old ones in leather), a copy of Shadow Run, and maybe the new edition of Paranoia when it is released?

I am not trying to start an edition war here... Don't argue, please, about the failings of older editions... Just tell me what 5e offers new that I can't get elsewhere or don't already have, that is worth the investment.

 

[TerraDave]

Don't spend the money.

 

[Roger]

The free basic rules might help you make up your mind.

 

[TerraDave]

ninjaed...I mean great minds post alike.

 

[weldon]

My advice is to spend $12 on the Starter Set and play the included adventure. If you like it, and your group likes it, then your decision is clear. If you don't find it to be your cup of tea, then you're only out $12.

 

[BryonD]

It offers an alternative system that achieves a nice continuity across threat ranges such that kobolds and big dragons can both appear on the same stage, both seem relevant, and yet both also still be in their own role and function.

It also offers a lot of flexibility.

If you are still digging ANY system, there is simply no *need* for it.

But it does provide something interesting and worthwhile in the bounded approach.

I'm not sure if it has what it takes to keep me interested for years. But for now it is well beyond worth what I have spent. Can't ask for more than that.

 

[Wicht]

So to know what 5th edition offers me different I have to read a bunch of PDFs....

That's not going to sell me, to be honest. I like books. I use PDFs only if I have to, as reading them for pleasure is not pleasurable and I find them slower for learning. I mean, I have a ton of PDFs already, but the only ones that get used are the ones I simply have to have material from for some gaming project, or the ones I already have read in a hard copy and know whats in it.

But thanks. When I have time I will look them over.

 

[delericho]

Yep, as the others have said, check out Basic before spending any money.

As for the price of the products themselves...

The "Starter Set" is very different from previous versions, and also from the Pathfinder "Beginner Box". It would be more accurate to describe it as an (excellent) adventure, plus a few bits. Indeed, with the exception of the dice and that adventure, there's nothing in there that isn't available for free download.

But $20 for an excellent adventure is a bit of a steal, and $12 is even moreso...

As for the Core Rulebooks... yes, those represent an above-inflation price increase. But assuming you actually do like the game, it's likely they'll see very heavy use at your table. So, dividing that higher price with the number of hours of use, you're probably looking at an exceptionally good deal.

(By the way, the comparison with the PF Core Rulebook is perhaps skewed a bit by the fact that that book is nearly 6 years old, and the price hasn't changed in that time. If it were being published now, it would probably cost quite a bit more. Not that that's necessarily a factor in your buying decision.)

Again, I would strongly recommend checking out the free Basic Rules. If you like those, you'll probably find buying the rules very much worthwhile. If not, you won't.

 

[Wicht]

It offers an alternative system that achieves a nice continuity across threat ranges such that kobolds and big dragons can both appear on the same stage, both seem relevant, and yet both also still be in their own role and function.

It also offers a lot of flexibility.

If you are still digging ANY system, there is simply no *need* for it.

But it does provide something interesting and worthwhile in the bounded approach.

I'm not sure if it has what it takes to keep me interested for years. But for now it is well beyond worth what I have spent. Can't ask for more than that.

Thanks. That's more helpful, I think.

How does it keep kobolds comparable to dragons though, and why is that a good thing that both would be always just as threatening?

 

[delericho]

How does it keep kobolds comparable to dragons though, and why is that a good thing that both would be always just as threatening?

They're not just as threatening. It's more that the power curve in 5e is much less steep, such that where kobolds become utterly trivial very quickly in Pathfinder, they remain something of a threat for longer in 5e. And, likewise, while that dragon might be an instant-TPK to a 5th level party in PF, it might be one that the 5e party could survive for a round or two - long enough to flee for their lives.