D&D (2024) Is anyone going to use the new 2024 backgrounds?

[Mistwell]

Trying to rectify any bad review in your head with it being for clicks is just ignorance.

That you're saying that unironically when the thesis of your argument is D&D 2024 is a moneygrab is difficult to swallow.

Most of the YouTube clickbaiters who do this about D&D admit that's exactly what they are doing. So I ask again, produce a link to a video on that topic which you think is not doing it for the clicks.

Why are there THOUSANDS of comments across various platforms that have similar opinions, hmm?

Thousands in the world? That's a grain of sand on a beach of opinions about D&D and not meaningful. It's why we use sales numbers and extremely broad surveys, rather than Internet comments. WOTC even said outright one definitive result they got from doing surveys all these years is cranks on the Internet turned out to not be very representative of D&D players. When they started following surveys their sales went way up.

It's not about you. But clearly you think it is. There are tons of people reading. Who knows how many might be interested in trying other things out, or decide not to purchase 5.5, because of seeing commentary about why it's flawed and/or not worth the expense.

Show me who you're persuading with this approach. Serious question, show me whose mind you think you changed by coming into a fan forum to tell fans of something that they're wrong and shouldn't be fans of that thing. You've done it nearly a dozen times now here, so there should be someone if you say "tons" of people are reading your comments.

I do think if you advocated for other games you like, you would persuade people. But you don't seem interested in doing that.

Nope, that's not it.

Then why did you call people lemmings if you didn't mean it and won't apologize for doing it?

You don't seem to understand the power of branding. There are millions of people out there who are never even aware of other products. D&D is what they see on the shelves at the game store, it's what they hear about. Thus, that's all they ever play, because it's the known thing, it's what everyone around them is doing. For the sake of ALL these people, and the entire genre, I want the best game out there. It won't happen if complacency reigns. I've played D&D since I was a kid and can only imagine how much better sessions would have been with a better ruleset (or how much worse, if some of my groups had just followed the rules exactly, which is the situation some people will be stuck in).

I've asked you two things you're refused to do which indicate your motives might not be the ones you've stated:

1) why are you doing this now and here, given there was 18 months of surveying system and communications direct to WOTC to change their minds and this is a terrible place and time to change WOTC's mind relative to that method, and

2) why won't you advocate for the other games you prefer, particularly when directly asked what you like rather than what you dislike, if your interest is in advocating for other games?

 

[Clint_L]

My experience is that a lot of players will just pick a background from the available list, especially newer players. Experienced players might use the optional build your own background if they feel like it. Optimizers are gonna optimize.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I think it’s very sad that so many people seem to feel wedded to the output of a single company. When I started playing in the early 80s there were a whole bunch of different RPGs, and people wear generally happy to give them a try. And there was lots of 3rd party stuff produced for D&D and other games. And no one worried who the publisher was. And magazines like White Dwarf were not locked into a particular game,

If there is one idea that’s pretty much central to capitalism, it’s that a lack of competition is bad for everyone.

Yeah. I have the old Dragon Magazine archive pdfs, and one of the coolest things about them was the ads.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Yeah. I have the old Dragon Magazine archive pdfs, and one of the coolest things about them was the ads.

Have you seen White Dwarf from that period? It was awesome!

 

[Micah Sweet]

Have you seen White Dwarf from that period? It was awesome!

I have and it was. Wish I had those pdfs.

 

[mamba]

It's not about you. But clearly you think it is. There are tons of people reading. Who knows how many might be interested in trying other things out, or decide not to purchase 5.5, because of seeing commentary about why it's flawed and/or not worth the expense.

if you want to persuade them to try something else, I'd recommend praising something else instead of just complaining about D&D

 

[ECMO3]

For me, spell slots are a separate resource and at low levels a precious resource. So allowing a player to spend that resource doesnt really affect the balance of the feat in itself.

Except shield is probably the most effective use of a 1st level slot.

Again, this is resource management. Swapping in a new spell, means losing access to the previous spell. So the overall balance remains in dynamic equilibrium.

Swapping in a new spell does not mean losing access to a previous spell, because you might get that spell from your class or another way. Using the Paladin example earlier - pick up shield at 1st level and then at 6th level multiclass to Wizard, grab shield on your mediocre intelligence Wizard and switch magic initiate to an offensive spell like Dissonant Whispers or something on Charisma with a good save. This Paladin has shield from level 1 without multiclassing and continues to have it after swapping.

Also you have spells which have different values at different levels. Sleep is very powerful at 1st level, but not so much at 4th or 5th.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Except shield is probably the most effective use of a 1st level slot.

Depends on the number of encounters.
Mage armor for wizards is probably more effective (permanent +3)

Swapping in a new spell does not mean losing access to a previous spell, because you might get that spell from your class or another way. Using the Paladin example earlier - pick up shield at 1st level and then at 6th level multiclass to Wizard, grab shield on your mediocre intelligence Wizard and switch magic initiate to an offensive spell like Dissonant Whispers or something on Charisma with a good save. This Paladin has shield from level 1 without multiclassing and continues to have it after swapping.

Yeah. That is a good way to do it.

Also you have spells which have different values at different levels. Sleep is very powerful at 1st level, but not so much at 4th or 5th.

Yes. Probably more value than shield at level 1. I'd also add color spray. It is just one round of blindness. But it is 6d10 instead of 5d8.

 

[ECMO3]

Depends on the number of encounters.
Mage armor for wizards is probably more effective (permanent +3)

That is a niche case for a Wizard or Sorcerer without armor proficiency. For the vast majority of characters shield is better.

 

[Zuranthium]

Armor should cause spell failure chance, bah.

Show me who you're persuading with this approach

It's impossible to tell how many people are persuaded by something. Just have to put the writing out there and it will do what it will. Many people have already stated their opinion in this thread though about their dislikes with the system. You can stop acting like my opinion is solitary.

why are you doing this now and here, given there was 18 months of surveying system and communications direct to WOTC to change their minds

That's none of your concern. People are busy with other things in life.