D&D 5E Do all the rules need to be released at once?

[Storminator]

You have to be able to play the game while you're waiting for the next product to come out. So you need sufficient game at first release. That's rules for PCs, rules to run the game, rules for monsters/etc, preferably an adventure (or 2!) and enough advancement rules to get you to the next release.

Personally I'd like to see a single book or box do everything you need for the first 6 months.

PS

 

[VinylTap]

A big launch, with a not only fun, but also a really well crafted pre-made dungeon would go a long way. They need to find a way of making it accessible to non-die hards right from the start, and build on that with steady logical supporting releases that get people excited. A lot of their challenge will be turning the basic rules into a genuinely inclusive and fun event that's relatively easy to run. No feats or inventory management, just a character with a bit of a background in 10 minutes and into the fray with you! It needs to be fun and fresh though, dungeon crawls lose people when they're not into the metagame yet.

The beginners box is likely to appear first, but it better come loaded with adventurers that really grab people. I think their best bet is give away the basic rules for free, than add a ton of value to the beginner box. But that's a long shot... But they really do need to get people running right off the bat. New players really aren't going to keep interested in the launch that staggers over 3-6 months.

 

[Callahan09]

What I would be interested in is a highly configurable, modular type of system that is designed to be house ruled and can easily have different features plugged in or taken out. Open source design philosophy. Think Arduino of RPGs type of mentality. Make it easy for me to take content from any previous edition of D&D and plug it in. Make it convertible. Give us some kind of formula for all previous editions. Don't try to make one edition that can make everyone happy, try to make one product that can be any edition. And in doing so, I will be happy with just the core rule book and conversion guide. Just one or two books that will tell everyone how to play the game and how to modify and convert materials for the game. Let me utilize all my materials I already own. Then you can release new materials that will plug in real nice and friendly after a few months and keep a steady stream. But if it is a game where I can use my existing materials I will be happy with the core rules and nothing more for some time to come, while I would gladly welcome new original materials to expand the game with fresh ideas and content.

Now that's probably not at all what 5E will be, so if it's going to be a mostly standalone edition that won't play particularly nice with my existing library of materials, I would be interested if there was a ton of content available early for the new system, I would need to be able to sink my teeth into it and really get a lot of fresh material from it before I deemed it worthy of my time. I don't want to feel limited in my options at the outset.

 

[Sunseeker]

If they're doing only electronic distribution, that's fine. But for print material, it seems to me that the profit margins on that format would be horrible.

I think PDFs would be an ideal method for "piecemeal" content, but I'd have to seriously question any price over $5 for any content less than 50 pages. I would like to see a system similar to DDI, where you could choose to be a subscriber and get a major discount or free docs, or choose not to be and simply pay the regular price.

What I REALLY want is an option like the original offline CB had, where I can then check or uncheck what content I want my games/players to use. So I could select say, Humans, Dwarves, Dragonborn and Githyanki, or just choose "Big Book of Races" for all of them.

 

[innerdude]

Let's jump ahead a year and change.
The basic rules of D&D 5th Edition are released. The formatting is irrelevant, and all that matters is you can go to stores and buy the basic game, likely with the big four classes and races.

How long after that product is released should there be an expansion with modules, more classes, more races, and the like? Does it have to be within the same month? Can it be a couple months later?
Can they spend an extra six months really testing that content? How about a year? Is that too long?

Here's what I as a consumer would expect at launch --

--The full "standard dials" PHB
--A supporting DMG for the "standard" set
--A Monster manual using the standard features
--A "Red Box" of the "basic" rules system that cover levels 1-5, but is fully inter-compatible with the "standard" set

Give me as a consumer the choice. Maybe at the start I'm smack dab in the middle of a long-running campaign and only want the basic set to try out in a short trial run. Or maybe I want the full set to start, or maybe I what the full set for me, but want to give someone else the Red Box.


Within 6 months I'd expect--
--The main "advanced" module (which in all likelihood might have a higher page count than the "standard" PHB)
--A PHB2 with additional classes
--A supplement to the "basic" Red Box that takes the basic game from levels 5-10

 

[sabrinathecat]

They do not have to be released all at once, but they should be consistent, and not need constant rewrites or clarifications. What is first published should be clear, concise, and unequivocal. There should be room for expansion, and that expansion should be planned. What is printed should have been play-tested. What is printed should be proof-read. PH1 should be a good, solid, book, with basics for many races and classes. If a race book comes out for one race, there should be one for EACH race or origin (a book for all Fey, one for underground dwellers, one for shifters/beastmen, one for monsters). If a class book comes out, there should be one for each class or class type (martial power/arcane power/divine power was a good move for 4e).
All bonuses are typed. Period.
Keep the power sources either even with each other, or just limited.
Feats should make sense.
I don't know the name of the program used for the current online character builder, but it should be abandoned in favor of a much better, faster, and more reliable version.
In fact, the online builder should be tossed in favor of the downloaded version, which should be right the first time, and supported as the game expands.

 

[Jester David]

It's interesting how many people want to see a boxed set released first when that would take several months longer than a book. Having the Starter Box come out at the same time or a month early means there'd be this awkward period of a month or two where the box is finished but it's too soon to get the books finished but you cannot playtest or change anything because the former needs to be compatible with the later.

 

[Zustiur]

I endorse the proposal put forward by steel dragons. I might change a title here and there but his outline suits me perfectly.

Sent via Tapatalk 2

 

[Hussar]

Certainly. The basic point to come away with is that there's more than one way for a game to have 20+ years of life.

While Hussar is saying that there's not much economic health, look at that Werewolf kickstarter. $380,000! Anyone in the business who isn't WotC or Paizo would probably love to have that kind of gross revenue for a single product! If you consider that sales, it is a stunning success!

But, that's the point though. This came up because someone pointed at White Wolf as an example of how WOTC could do it. Thing is, that's probably something around their one month operating costs. Trying to do business the way that Onyx Path or whoever is doing business is a pretty sure way to go out of business. At least for companies the size of WOTC.

 

[delericho]

What I REALLY want is an option like the original offline CB had, where I can then check or uncheck what content I want my games/players to use. So I could select say, Humans, Dwarves, Dragonborn and Githyanki, or just choose "Big Book of Races" for all of them.

Yes, this is a good idea. Indeed, if the default assumption of 5e is that people will tailor their selection of modules (as opposed to the "anything goes" default of 4e, and even late 3.5e), then there really does need to be any easy way to configure the various tools for use.

In fact, I'd go one further - it needs to be possible to export your chosen configuration, pass it to your players, and have them import the settings for "Delericho's Campaign" into their tool for creating their characters. (And it needs to be something that can be swapped in and out, too - because the settings for "Delericho's Campaign" probably don't match those from "Shidaku's Campaign", but a single player might well play in both.)