D&D 5E D&D 5E’s Top-Selling Adventures and What It Means for the Hobby from Teos Abadia aka Alphastream.

[darjr]

I'm digging around in my old posts for verification, but didn't the Bookscan data show Spelljammer had a huge initial spike in sales and a precipitous dropoff?

I think there is data that shows that or seemed too. It was doing well in Amazon rankings for a while. After doing well in preorder and I think a big drop right after release, but then seemed to do better at a large discount.

 

[Parmandur]

Fizban's was kind of meh to me - and I am dragon person through and through. However, Bigby's is one of better/best splatbooks IMO. The monster design work is the best WotC has done yet and there is lots of other interesting bits and pieces in there. I planned on not buying (not a giant person), but it was to good to pass up for me.

I quite like Fizban's, but Bigby's is next level.

 

[dave2008]

I quite like Fizban's, but Bigby's is next level.

Part of my problem with Fizban's is I really like dragons and I have spent a lot of time designing dragons for 5e. I hopped they would fix some of the issues with there default (MM) dragon designs and they did not. Those issues continue to infect their dragon design. I really hope the 2024 MM correct this, but I am worried they will not.

But I agree - Bigby's is next level.

 

[Parmandur]

Part of my problem with Fizban's is I really like dragons and I have spent a lot of time designing dragons for 5e. I hopped they would fix some of the issues with there default (MM) dragon designs and they did not. Those issues continue to infect their dragon design. I really hope the 2024 MM correct this, but I am worried they will not.

But I agree - Bigby's is next level.

I think the flaw with Fizban's is that James Wyatt really likes Dragons and has written too many books about them. A lot of Fizban's is hence somwhat of a retread, which invites comparisons such as to Wyatt's own work in the 3E Draconomicon. Whereas with Giants, Wyatt apparently had to dig deep and figure out what to do since he was not that into Giants...making the book much more original in the annals of D&D material.

 

[ersatzphil]

Part of my problem with Fizban's is I really like dragons and I have spent a lot of time designing dragons for 5e. I hopped they would fix some of the issues with there default (MM) dragon designs and they did not. Those issues continue to infect their dragon design. I really hope the 2024 MM correct this, but I am worried they will not.

But I agree - Bigby's is next level.

Huh - it’s really that good? I spent my RPG budget this month on a print copy of ‘The Monster Overhaul’ instead of Bigbys, but now you have me wondering if I should pick it up in the future.

 

[Parmandur]

Huh - it’s really that good? I spent my RPG budget this month on a print copy of ‘The Monster Overhaul’ instead of Bigbys, but now you have me wondering if I should pick it up in the future.

It's really pretty awesome, worth a flip-through or both from the library to kick the tires at least. A big highlight are the mapped sites, equivalent to the Lairs from Fizban. In Bigby, they go really nuts (World Tree Sapling, Star Forge, a Lost World, etc.) and provide great adventure seeds to go long with the maps.

 

[darjr]

Huh - it’s really that good? I spent my RPG budget this month on a print copy of ‘The Monster Overhaul’ instead of Bigbys, but now you have me wondering if I should pick it up in the future.

The Monster Overhaul is amazing and worth it in my book.

 

[ersatzphil]

The Monster Overhaul is amazing and worth it in my book.

Every day since ordering a copy, I've been giving the mailman increasingly dirty looks each time they come to my door and fail to deliver it to me.

 

[dave2008]

Huh - it’s really that good? I spent my RPG budget this month on a print copy of ‘The Monster Overhaul’ instead of Bigbys, but now you have me wondering if I should pick it up in the future.

I hesitate to recommend any books as people have different wants and tastes. But for me, it is one of the best 5e books. I would follow @Parmandur's suggestion and try to flip through it a bookstore or library to see if it is for you.

 

[Parmandur]

I hesitate to recommend any books as people have different wants and tastes. But for me, it is one of the best 5e books. I would follow @Parmandur's suggestion and try to flip through it a bookstore or library to see if it is for you.

My local library is pretty zealous about stocking D&D naterial, but at a minimum should be painless through interlibrary loan.