I posted this same thing after the core books were released for 4th Edition.
But the reason 5th Edition will fail, is different.
Here are the reasons, just read to the end before you dismiss me, remove my post, and warn and ban me.
This is the worst example of needless doom and gloom. Especially since you apparently did the same thing for 4e. It's needless pessimism. Expecting and predicting failure just so you can go "ha! I was right" if the game fails. (While if it doesn't you have a successful game, and win that way too.) It adds
nothing to the community, enriches no one's games, provides no ideas for campaigns or characters, and generally just pisses people off.
It's a useless post.
Skills still suck. Proficiency and Expertise in actual game play isn't functioning well.
Without an example of how skills could be improved, this is useless feedback. How do they suck? How does proficiency not function? Is it because there's still a chance of failure or because the number increase for training isn't as high as in 3e/4e?
Skills are better than in 4e, where there's a chance for anyone to succeed and there's not needless increasing of DCs. Or 3e with its similar treadmill of skill bonuses where you either have max ranks or shouldn't bother rolling. I rather like the separation of skills and tools.
The spell system still contains a bloated unorganized list of spells, many which do the same things. The spell slots are dumb, spell points are better.
They're organized alphabetically. Given any class could theoretically have any spell in the game, there's no other order that would really make sense.
And if spell points are better, then use that system. WotC wrote one for the DMG. But they're not going to completely remove Vancian casting from the game (again). Some people like that, so it's good to have both.
But the main reason is the company that produces the game.
Companies don't have attitudes. They're only individuals under law.
Any, regardless, WotC is just the publisher. The company didn't make the game. 90% of the company had nothing to do with the game. The game was made by a dozen or so dedicated people in their own department. Yeah, WotC can still mess up the future of the game by messing with that department, but the game itself will be good or bad pretty much independent of the company.
1.) The attitude that the writers of the adventures don't playtest the adventures. That will kill the game.
Please pick up either
Hoard of the Dragon Queen or
Tyranny of Dragons and turn to page 2. You will see a list of playtesters.
2.) No digital tools. And the attitude that nobody needs digital tools, just use pen and paper. ..wrong.
They had digital tools in the works. The company they hired proved problematic, so they parted ways and WotC had to start from scratch. You cannot get made or blame WotC for the lack of digital tool because it was beyond their control.
3.) Dependance on Third Parties to provide all the adventure modules. We just finished playing the 2 official modules and -- agreed, they aren't well written. Many contrivances, plot holes, NPCs we don't have any reason to care about.
Paizo mostly relies on 3rd Parties as well. They're called "freelancers" and almost all the APs are written by them because the actual people on staff are too busy. The difference is that instead of laying out and producing material written by freelancers in house, WotC also allowed the outside studios to edit, manage art, and the like.
Yes, the reason for this is that layoffs mean WotC doesn't have enough staff to write adventures AND the core rules at the same time. But we can't get mad and claim D&D 5e will fail because the upper management of WotC are tightwads.
4.) The disorganized and ugly formating of the books. The poor quality of the material and construction of the books. Shameful and a critical reason why the game will fail.
I doubt very much the entire game will fail because a few hundred PHBs were poorly glued (under 10% of the books). And damaged books were quickly replaced by WotC, who also often included free product as an apology. And WotC will almost certainly be more aware and cautious of the binding for the immediate future (demonstrated by the lack of complaints regarding failed Monster Manuals and DMGs).
Many of the 4e core rulebooks were also defective, but that was not a reason that edition failed.
5.) Silence from the company that makes 5th edition. Cancelling books and giving them out free. A sure sign of failure. Just look at all the 4th edition adventures and material that was given out free on game day.
They're allowed to cancel products that aren't working. That's not a sign of failure: that's a sign of good management. Putting out poor or inferior products just because you can or because people expect them are bad decisions that damage the reputation of the company.
I could go on and on. Obviously I have given up on the game.
Did you *really* give it a chance, though?
I threatened that I would go over and support Pathfinder, but if you go to the Paizo forum, you will see that I posted one thread, something like, "I will Fix Your Game", which was intended to bring out the worst in people. And you can see the general unfriendliness of their responses. You can't work with an angry mob like that to improve their game. He, he.
....
I...
So you went to the Paizo forums, trolled people, and left when they got upset? And now you laugh about it? This, more than saying 5s is going to fail, makes me want to dismiss and block you.
It can still work if Wizards changes their poor attitude and stops firing people and issuing Cease and Desist orders to fans who provide digital tools Wizards does not currently have, and starts paying for good formating, good book materials, good writers, and lots of fun accessories and adventures. But I am not holding my breath for Wizards.
Those would all be good for the game and the hobby. But D&D can still succeed if the people currently working try their hardest and still release good product.
Wise man once say it is foolish to expect different results from the same people.
I was foolish.
Except 5e wasn't done by the same people. The actual people who made the game, the actually D&D team, is very different. They still work for the same people, but they're a department all their own.
