D&D 5E (2024) Is the 5E player base going to split?

[delericho]

I don't think its a cash grab specifically. I think what they have said they're changing is not enough to justify re-buying the books.

Honestly, I'm at a point where just putting in a good index and putting it in good bindings is enough to justify a re-buy.

 

[Micah Sweet]

It's not that folks don't like the phrase, it's that it is completely inaccurate.

What would you prefer then? I'm accomodating.

 

[Mercurius]

Doing that would make sense from one perspective, but it would also make the new books even less worth paying for than otherwise, as the re-print percentage would go up.

I don't follow. Could you re-phrase? What do you mean by "re-print percentage?"

 

[Vaalingrade]

Honestly, I'm at a point where just putting in a good index and putting it in good bindings is enough to justify a re-buy.

I feel like you're going to be disappointed.

This is an industry that is allergic to good indexes.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

Idle curiosity about how folks feel. I don't really have a dog in the race and haven't been paying super close attention to things, but it appears that we are in the early stages of a "renovation" of the 5E rules, and we know we have revised core books coming.

So what I am curious about is how folks feel. Do you think that "5.5" is going to split the 5E player base such that there are 2 camps of 5E players -- 5.0 and 5.5? I know that some people felt that way about 4E essentials, and some folks stuck with 3.0 rather than go to 3.5.

What do you think?

Also, be nice.

EDITED for grammar.

I don't think it will, mostly because it will have been a longer time. 3.5e came out only three years after 3.0e. This will be a full decade. That's long enough for people to really sink their teeth in...and see where the system is lacking. If they can address some of the faults that projects like Level Up are attempting to address, adding enough crunch to deepen the experience for those who want it without compromising the lightness that other fans value, then I could actually see "5.5e" integrating the fanbase, bringing people back together by offering more folks the stuff they want, while taking away little valued by the people who are already happy.

Essentials "splitting" the 4e fanbase is frankly ridiculous, simply because it was still all 4e. Nothing in Essentials was in any way a "renovation" of the rules. It was literally just a rules expansion. That would be like saying that Tasha's has already split the 5e fanbase because some of its changes are something not every DM is interested in using.

 

[LordEntrails]

The price should go up. It needs to. It called inflation and is a basic concept of economics.

It's why you might get a salary raise each year. And it's why you need one as well. I'm no economist, but arguing against normal inflation is like yelling at a tree for growing.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I don't follow. Could you re-phrase? What do you mean by "re-print percentage?"

If they incorporate material from previous books, they are essentially re-printing that material. This is not necessarily great for those who own the previous books.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I don't think it will, mostly because it will have been a longer time. 3.5e came out only three years after 3.0e. This will be a full decade. That's long enough for people to really sink their teeth in...and see where the system is lacking. If they can address some of the faults that projects like Level Up are attempting to address, adding enough crunch to deepen the experience for those who want it without compromising the lightness that other fans value, then I could actually see "5.5e" integrating the fanbase, bringing people back together by offering more folks the stuff they want, while taking away little valued by the people who are already happy.

Essentials "splitting" the 4e fanbase is frankly ridiculous, simply because it was still all 4e. Nothing in Essentials was in any way a "renovation" of the rules. It was literally just a rules expansion. That would be like saying that Tasha's has already split the 5e fanbase because some of its changes are something not every DM is interested in using.

That would be nice, but WotC's policy and design philosophy seems to be going the opposite direction of games like Level Up. I don't see them adding any crunch.

 

[Jer]

Many folks forget or are unaware this is exactly what TSR did with AD&D 2nd Edition. The Black Border books were reprints with new art and some errata applied, not 2.5.

Yup. And Wizards is in a position where doing that alone could actually work. I don't think that's all they're going to do, but I think they could and it would be profitable for them if they did.

Honestly, I'm at a point where just putting in a good index and putting it in good bindings is enough to justify a re-buy.

Yes. Spending the money on some good indexing of both the PHB and the DMG would actually make it worthwhile to purchase new books for me. Even a new DMG.

 

[EzekielRaiden]

That would be nice, but WotC's policy and design philosophy seems to be going the opposite direction of games like Level Up. I don't see them adding any crunch.

Adding feats to backgrounds certainly seems like an expansion of crunch to me!