D&D (2024) Do you plan to adopt D&D5.5One2024Redux?

[Micah Sweet]

And they will because player bases for most people change as time goes on. You are sticking with that 2014 5e Champion? Great. A new player shows up at the table with the new and much more powerful 2024 Champion. Are you sticking to the old one?

That is why I am saying what I am saying. No player sticks with the weaker version. It is a form of power creep, and power creep outweighs all other game choices. If you would like an example, look at any MMORPG and the millions and millions of players. There is data on it, and the overwhelmingly majority (I think it was 99.6%) take the stronger option. (There is a caveat. The stronger of the two options needs to be clearly stronger.)

What about stuff like the old warlock, and Paladin smites, and some 2014 spells? Some stuff is nerfed in 5.5e. How does your theory work then?

 

[Maxperson]

@Hriston one thing that is working in your favor is that the two things you mention as saying you 100% want... Background Features and BIFTs... are things that you should be able to easily to bring forward from the 5E14 books into a 5E24 game if they don't appear. So while you say you aren't going to pick up the 5E24 books because of that... I personally don't think you have to worry too much about it if it turns out there's a crapton of rules clean-up in 5E24 that you actually end up liking and want to use. You could ultimately decide to play 5E24 and just bring Background Features and BIFTS forward into it easily enough... or alternatively bring cool 5E24 rules changes back into your 5E14 game if that ends up being easier.

That's the nice thing about these new rules... many of them will be interchangeable into and out of the two respective "core books" from 2014 and 2024. As a DM you can pick and choose which bits you like and mix and match them together (assuming you aren't running strictly AL.)

LOL Modularity at last!!!

 

[Micah Sweet]

I stated a bit earlier that there will be some holdouts. And most those holdouts will eventually change. And then you'll be left with a small handful of people that probably play with the same friends, at the same table, on the same day, for as long as they play D&D.

The other versions you mention are literally different games. It's the same as saying, "What about people who play Masquerade?" It is not a point, it is just an observation.

Those who play 5e-adjacent games are still playing 5e though. You can't lump together every person who doesn't play WotC 5e as outside the discussion as a block.

 

[Maxperson]

If this was true, how do you explain those players who continue to use and role-play in previous editions of D&D? Or who have taken a liking to RPGs based off of D&D2014 like Level Up or Tales of the Valiant?

Because those were previous editions. The changes from edition to edition generally(2e I'm looking at you!) make those editions significantly different from one another. People will sometimes balk at moving on to something very different. Half edition changes like skills and powers, essentials, 3.5e and 5.5e are much softer changes. They remain the same primary edition and people are less resistant to making the smaller changes.

 

[Oofta]

Fair enough, but dismissive of "most" of the people who voted no isn't great either.

The replies indicate that many, if not most, of the people who voted "no" aren't playing 5E anyway. But the real question is, why do you care? What does it matter to you what other people play?

I think it's logical that over time, percentage wise the number of people playing the 2014 edition will become smaller. That's no reflection on you choosing what works best for you and your group. I just think that new people coming into the game will want to play the 2024 edition and it will become more difficult to recruit people interested in playing the old edition. Meanwhile I wouldn't want to play OD&D or variants, but a lot of people do. More power to them, just don't expect me to join your game.

 

[Scott Christian]

So why are you here? Just to tell people who disagree with the majority how little they matter?

I replied to the poll, and then expanded the conversation with my own reasoning. I am not being dismissive of the people who said no. I stated the people on these forums does not make the average player base. I also think there are many people on these forums that hated what Tasha's did. There are threads with 100-page arguments over Tasha's new rulesets. In real life too. I knew people that thought Tasha's new rulesets were terrible. And... Just like that, it seems everyone adopted them anyways. Why? Because the players realized they could make stronger characters using Tasha's ruleset.

Power creep will always win. I actually think it was one of the reasons why 4th edition wasn't a smash hit. Because 3.5 characters felt stronger. They felt easier to break. 4e was so mechanically sound that it was difficult for the player to feel the same way they did when playing 3.5.

 

[Corinnguard]

The other versions you mention are literally different games.

They would be literally different games if they weren't compatible with D&D2014.

 

[Micah Sweet]

The replies indicate that many, if not most, of the people who voted "no" aren't playing 5E anyway. But the real question is, why do you care? What does it matter to you what other people play?

I think it's logical that over time, percentage wise the number of people playing the 2014 edition will become smaller. That's no reflection on you choosing what works best for you and your group. I just think that new people coming into the game will want to play the 2024 edition and it will become more difficult to recruit people interested in playing the old edition. Meanwhile I wouldn't want to play OD&D or variants, but a lot of people do. More power to them, just don't expect me to join your game.

I would feel better about it if WotC would call it a new edition, like you just did multiple times in the above post.

 

[Scott Christian]

What about stuff like the old warlock, and Paladin smites, and some 2014 spells? Some stuff is nerfed in 5.5e. How does your theory work then?

We do not know that they nerfed it. But the probability of the classes getting stronger is a thousand times greater than WotC making them weaker. If they do nerf the warlock it will not appear that way. (I do not think they will. Instead, I think they will make it comparable, and then dress it up so it looks better.)

 

[Micah Sweet]

We do not know that they nerfed it. But the probability of the classes getting stronger is a thousand times greater than WotC making them weaker. If they do nerf the warlock it will not appear that way. (I do not think they will. Instead, I think they will make it comparable, and then dress it up so it looks better.)

My point is, there almost certainly will be points in the rules where the 2014 stuff is stronger (certain feats nerfed in the playtest come to mind). How does your power creep-obsessed player base deal with that?