D&D 5E Don't Throw 5e Away Because of Hasbro

SlyFlourish

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For the past nine months, I’ve heard from a fair number of people, including people close to me and people I’ve worked with, say they don’t want anything to do with Hasbro, WOTC, or D&D. Unfortunately, they’re piling all of 5e in there too.

5e isn’t D&D. Since its release into the Creative Commons by two different companies, 5e is now an open system supported by hundreds of publishers and, in some cases, with whole games built around it.

5e is now and forever an independent tabletop roleplaying platform not tied to any single company.

If someone doesn’t like 5e as a system, that’s totally fine. Not every system is for everyone. I know many who love the tactical crunchiness and character customization of Pathfinder 2. I know many others who love the fast and furious grim dark fantasy of old-school games like Shadowdark, EZD6, and Old School Essentials. That’s cool.

Likewise, if you’re happy with D&D and don’t want or need anything else, that’s cool too. Most D&D players probably never consider products outside of what WOTC produces for D&D. I definitely recommend looking at the many awesome D&D / 5e compatible products many other publishers have created. Here are ten notable products for 2022 and my YouTube video segment on favorite products of 2023, all from other publishers than WOTC. Check them out.

If you enjoy 5e but you’re done with Hasbro or WOTC or the D&D brand, this message is for you.

5e isn’t D&D.

You can enjoy the hell out of 5e without having to use any products or pay any money to Hasbro.

There are several excellent alternative core books for 5e – my current favorite being EN Publishing’s Level Up Advanced 5e and more on the way like Kobold Press’s Tales of the Valiant.

These companies pay no license fees to Hasbro. Their work is completely independent from D&D. In A5e’s case, they have their own system reference document they wrote and released under a Creative Commons license that’s significantly bigger than the 5.1 SRD.

These systems and products are completely independent from Hasbro or WOTC or D&D. 5e's rules were built by designers, many of whom aren't at Hasbro anymore, based on principles that go back 50 years and two full company acquisitions ago.

Yes, 5e came from the development of the 2014 version of D&D. 5e stands for “5th edition” and that’s the 5th edition of D&D, but that doesn’t matter now. Now, all of the mechanics are released under a Creative Commons license and, as mentioned, there’s a whole separate one you can use instead if you don’t want to use the one published by WOTC.

If you love 5e, as I do, don’t throw it out just because you’re mad at one company publishing material for it. 5e is ours and I personally think it’s awesome. You’re not hurting anyone or supporting the wrong group by buing products for it, running it, and playing it.

Game on.
 
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Oofta

Legend
I wouldn't throw away 5E (or any D&D) simply because of a company. I've never even heard of anyone doing this...

But then again, I live under a rock. ;)
Same here. Other than this forum, I wouldn't know there were any issues. But my stance is fairly simple: the game designers working on (WOTC's) 5E have little to no control over idiotic managers. But if we abandon it, it's the developers and artists that will be hurt. And not just the ones working for WOTC. The suits? They'll be fine no matter what we do.

So I will continue to ignore the politics and buy products that I think we'll [EDIT: my group] enjoy.
 
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Micah Sweet

Level Up & OSR Enthusiast
Same here. Other than this forum, I wouldn't know there were any issues. But my stance is fairly simple: the game designers working on (WOTC's) 5E have little to no control over idiotic managers. But if we abandon it, it's the developers and artists that will be hurt. And not just the ones working for WOTC. The suits? They'll be fine no matter what we do.

So I will continue to ignore the politics and buy products that I think we'll enjoy.
By that argument, you should stick with WotC whether you like their work or not, because you have to support the employees. WotC corporate policies have led them to make products I don't like, and/or not make products I would like. Regardless of why that is happening, I'm not supporting them any longer as long as it is.
 

ezo

Get off my lawn!
Other than this forum, I wouldn't know there were any issues
LOL I still have no clue what the issues are supposed to be, but I would never bother clicking on a thread about something like this normally. The title got me...

I'm not supporting them any longer as long as it is.
I haven't supported them in over two years since none of the products interests me.
 

Oofta

Legend
By that argument, you should stick with WotC whether you like their work or not, because you have to support the employees. WotC corporate policies have led them to make products I don't like, and/or not make products I would like. Regardless of why that is happening, I'm not supporting them any longer as long as it is.
I'm supporting the game developers, the people who actually produce product. If they buy make product I like, I'll purchase it. If I looked too closely at corporations and didn't buy things from a company I didn't 100% approve of, I'd likely be living in a cave off the land.

I'm not telling anyone else what to do, just explaining my position.
 
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Micah Sweet

Level Up & OSR Enthusiast
I'm supporting the game developers, the people who actually produce product. If they buy product I like, I'll purchase it. If I looked too closely at corporations and didn't buy things from a company I didn't 100% approve of, I'd likely be living in a cave off the land.

I'm not telling anyone else what to do, just explaining my position.
Sure. I just misunderstood your point, figured you were thinking supporting the employees even if you don't care for the work produced, and I was saying I don't buy product I don't like, no matter why it was made. My mistake.
 




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