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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Mercurius" data-source="post: 6597166" data-attributes="member: 59082">I don't think there is such a thing as a "must-buy," except for the PHB. The DMG and MM are almost must-buys, but only to DMs. And so it declines from there in a curve. It seems that with 5E, WotC has decided to cut things off at a very "fat" part of the curve, at least relative to past editions, although to be honest I wonder how the story arcs are selling relative to setting books or splats. OK, it is hard to disagree with you here. Given what you say, I could see a Realms book, one or two supplements, and then maybe a new setting. But as I've argued for years now, I think one of the reasons 4E suffered is that it didn't have a living world like Golarion to tie it together, to unite the community. Maybe the Realms can be that, but I think they can--and should--diversify a bit. At least eventually. In a few years people will be ready for something new.Yes, true, but everything is a niche product - or at least down the line in the "product tree" from the PHB. As I said to Jester, the question is where WotC chooses to cut things off in terms of diminishing returns on product - "nicheness." One thing to consider, though, is that Paizo has produced a fairly comprehensive edition in Pathfinder, not dissimilar to 4E or 3E, although with a focus more on adventures and "mega-splats" rather than yet another "Complete This or That." So it must be profitable enough for Paizo to stay the course, at least so far - six years in their cycle - and with no sign of slowing or veering. It seems that the powers-that-be at WotC have decided that they need a higher profit margin, or at least a much slower roll-out - which may be good for Hasbro, but is not so good for 5E fans. I mean, don't you want a 5E Manual of the Planes? A living setting? An Unearthed Arcana once in awhile? It doesn't have to be all (2E, 3E, 4E) or almost nothing (5E) in terms of product support. There's a middle ground possible, that would feed the game. I'm not giving up hope, mind you, and think we could have surprises in store for us. But I do harbor a fear that what we've seen so far is all that we're going to get, which as a fan of the game would be quite disappointing. Nothing is a "must buy." As I said above, it is a curve of diminishing returns. The question all publishers must ask is where to draw the line. Clearly WotC is choosing to draw the line when the curve is still quite thick, at least so far. We can hope that they stretch it out a bit.As I said above, it doesn't have to be all or almost-nothing. There are countless variations between 2E-to-4E style glut and 5E minimalism. I think a good middle ground would be something like this as far as yearly out-put goes:One big splat expansion book - a Manual of the Planes, MM2, Fiend Folio, Unearthed Arcana, etcTwo story arcs (as is)Several short adventures One setting bookThat's maybe 6-8 products a year. Paizo publishes less than that and is not just surviving, but thriving.</blockquote>

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