D&D General Kobold Press Going Down a Dark Road

[Parmandur]

HA HA!

Of course the CR system is backwards-compatible.

It won't work in OneD&D, just like it never worked in 5e.

Problem solved.

I mean, exactly. The extremely rough guesstimate guidelines are not any more guesstimate than they were before.

What will be interesting is if WotC comes up with a better encounter building math for OneD&D. That would be bigger than any PC build changes.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I mean, exactly. The extremely rough guesstimate guidelines are not any more guesstimate than they were before.

What will be interesting is if WotC comes up with a better encounter building math for OneD&D. That would be bigger than any PC build changes.

(The reason that OneD&D might have better CR and math than 5e is simply because they want to be able to translate it better for VTT-type experiences, and other products that would appreciate clean math.)

 

[Parmandur]

(The reason that OneD&D might have better CR and math than 5e is simply because they want to be able to translate it better for VTT-type experiences, and other products that would appreciate clean math.)

I'd say the reason is because they have been collecting raw encounter building data from Beyond for years now, not to mention the constant playtestingnof new Encounyers in Adventure books over a decade.

 

[J-H]

 

[Retreater]

Editions change. It's not reasonable to expect a company to keep a product on the shelf forever. As it is, 5e is the longest-lived edition in the history of the game.
Buy extra copies now if you're concerned. Or wait to get a "close enough" retro clone in print when they're available. It's literally what we've been doing since the first rules update occurred.

 

[Cap'n Kobold]

Exactly. And it looks like they either have a profound misunderstanding of what WoTC is planning from a design perspective and distribution perspective (digital only) or more likely they are playing off the illwill from the PGL fiasco to misrepresent things.

I am not saying this to bag on KP. I have almost all of their 5E products but I don’t care for they way they are approaching this.

This isn't a massive departure from Kobold Press' general marketing material, particularly from their Black Flag playtest documents. While their statements seem gauged by their lawyers to be true enough to not allow lawsuits, they are pushing a certain narrative very heavily.

The insinuations in the OP about WotC no longer allowing you to play face to face or selling hardcopies etc fit with this trend.

 

[Voadam]

1) 5th Edition Core Rulebooks are going away. The 5E Monster Manual, Player’s Handbook, and Dungeon Master’s Guide will not stay in print. New players must either use purely digital rulebooks (which works for some people) or find a new version.

My first impression of this as written was that KP was saying that OneD&D will be digital only and the 2014 5e books will go out of print so new players who want a hardcopy book should get a new version like the Black Flag ones.

On closer reading I think it is saying that when OneD&D hits the 2014 5e books will go out of print and the 2014 5e versions will only be available for purchase digitally on Beyond and such. The "a new version" is OneD&D I guess?

 

[Alzrius]

As it is, 5e is the longest-lived edition in the history of the game.

No, it's not. AD&D 2nd Edition debuted in February of 1989 and ran through August of 2000, lasting for 11.5 years, whereas 5E debuted in August of 2014, which was just over 8.5 years ago.

 

[CleverNickName]

Sheesh. Why this weird fear-mongering angle?

The 5th Edition Core Rulebooks aren't "going away," they are just going out of print like every other edition of D&D has done. Your books will remain on your home bookshelf, or on the shelves of your local used bookstore, for years and years to come.

And no, you don't HAVE to use purely digital books OR find a new version--there is a third option: keep playing with the same books you already own. This is what everybody would be doing anyway if OneD&D had never been announced.

I still support Project Black Flag, but this brand of marketing has really damaged my opinion of them. I expected better.

 

[jerryrice4949]

My first impression of this as written was that KP was saying that OneD&D will be digital only and the 2014 5e books will go out of print so new players who want a hardcopy book should get a new version like the Black Flag ones.

On closer reading I think it is saying that when OneD&D hits the 2014 5e books will go out of print and the 2014 5e versions will only be available for purchase digitally on Beyond and such. The "a new version" is OneD&D I guess?

I think you are right. They are literally saying 5e books will be going away which is correct. However the insinuation of indicating people won’t be able to play face to face is they are moving D&D digital. It may just be sloppy writing but may not.