D&D 5E Justin Alexander's review of Shattered Obelisk is pretty scathing

[Micah Sweet]

If you set the bar of entry too high then folks can’t meet it fail. If you set the bar lower they get to succeed and you get to jump as high over it as you like. No one is stopping you jumping as high as you like. If you’re an experienced GM you’re experienced enough to change a room description.

Making products in the core line that require more expertise to use makes zero business sense and would be rightly criticized for excluding people.

It’s much better that third parties service that kind of need.

Which is why 3pp is where all the good stuff happens.

 

[Micah Sweet]

That's a weirdly pessimistic way of saying they have a clear monetary incentive to cater to old grognards like me.

Lack of a disincentive in this particular case.

 

[Micah Sweet]

But what is it you feel you need from WotC? What could they make that would make you happy as a consumer?

I mean, almost all of the old stuff is available digitally. I ran plenty of 5e in Sigil and the planes before they ever released the new Planescape set. I just used old stuff that I had (mostly Faces of Sigil).

Most of us who have been playing for decades don’t need as many products as WotC will produce. Plus, there are all kinds of third party products that can fill any gaps in their line.

So what is it you want to see them do?

At this point, I would have liked a mechanical update on the old setting material they own the rights to. That's about it.

 

[Micah Sweet]

It’s not by ‘any means necessary’. It’s by following a proven business strategy that they believe grows the hobby and the profits. They clearly have a working vision for brand and they’re sticking to it.

… thank god.

Why "thank God"? What benefit do you get from their marketing strategy?

 

[TheSword]

Why "thank God"? What benefit do you get from their marketing strategy?

Consistency, a reliable brand, the end to the cycle of editions and subsequent edition wars, slow release schedule that avoids the bloat that destroyed our enjoyment of Pathfinder. Good artwork. Focus on adventure compilations, Focus on adventure campaigns. Maps and artwork that perform well on VTT, products and systems that stay compatible with VTT.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Consistency, a reliable brand, the end to the cycle of editions and subsequent edition wars, slow release schedule that avoids the bloat that destroyed our enjoyment of Pathfinder. Good art work. Focus on adventure compilations, Focus on adventure campaigns. Products that perform well on VTT, products that are compatible with VTT.

Wow. I either don't care about or actively dislike every one of those things.

 

[hawkeyefan]

At this point, I would have liked a mechanical update on the old setting material they own the rights to. That's about it.

What material? It’s not as hard as it seems to just set a game on Krynn or Athas. The old material is all there, so as you say it’s almost all mechanical… but 5e is pretty easy to convert to.

 

[occam]

Sure. But it still feels like an an odd encounter which was added into a crypt crawl, without doing much to integrate the encounter with the dungeon. A dungeon to which a hydra encounter was added, vs, a dungeon which has a hydra which may be encountered. What is the story reason (or dungeon reason) for having a hydra encounter?

"A hydra is a cool D&D monster" isn't enough reason to add it to a dungeon? Oh, what has the world come to?

 

[occam]

No. But you did say that it was to be "as inclusive...as possible." Except that it was actively antagonistic to 4e fans.

As a counterpoint, I was a big 4e fan, and I've never felt antagonized by 5e.

 

[Micah Sweet]

What material? It’s not as hard as it seems to just set a game on Krynn or Athas. The old material is all there, so as you say it’s almost all mechanical… but 5e is pretty easy to convert to.

I told you what I wanted from them. "Just do it yourself" is not as helpful or respectful and answer as you imagine. There are an awful lot if monsters that never got converted, for example.