D&D 5E MUSING: An Evergreen, static Fifth Edition...

[Remathilis]

The psionics and Mearls' tweets thread made me think...

What if what D&D is now is all we're ever getting?

Three core books, two modules per year, and that's it. No supplements, no rules expansions, no campaign settings. New monsters, spells, races, etc come in the appendixes of those storyline modules. Some additional (use at your own risk) support via Unearthed Arcana.

Would you be happy with that? Would you continue to play knowing there would be no Forgotten Realms Campaign book, no Monster Manual 2, no Psionics Handbook, no Eberron, Dark Sun, or Dragonlance setting guides? Just two mega modules per year? That is 2017, the same general options would exist as in 2015 (save your choice of storyline to play)?

Can D&D exist on a "Boardgame" support system: One main game, two scenario packs per year, and nothing else?

 

[ExploderWizard]

Considering that I'm still perfectly willing to play B/X with little more rules-wise than the two 64 page booklets released 35 years ago, I think 5E has a good chance.

IMHO game sold as a product of YOUR imagination shouldn't need an endless treadmill of stuff from someone else's.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Considering that I'm still perfectly willing to play B/X with little more rules-wise than the two 64 page booklets released 35 years ago, I think 5E has a good chance.

IMHO game sold as a product of YOUR imagination shouldn't need an endless treadmill of stuff from someone else's.

Yeah, this. I would totally be cool if no other splatbooks came out because that's what I'm used to anyway. and like you say, the tagline for TSR was "Products of Your Imagination", and that wasn't by accident.

Besides, it's SUPER easy to convert older stuff to 5e, so I have a huge trunk full of adventures that I'll never run out of.

 

[Nathal]

Isn't conversion easy enough that old material is relevant and usable? For that reason alone I think 5E could remain "evergreen" without additional supplements. Nevertheless most gamers seem to feel a game is dead without a steady flow of supplements. I've rarely used more than the three core books when I ran D&D of any edition, though I read the Forgotten Realms fiction and enjoyed that (but I played in my own generic setting).

 

[S_Dalsgaard]

That is what I have been assuming will be the case for some time now, and I have no problem with it at all. Our group hasn't even begun to use any of the UA options yet, so there are plenty for us to do with what we have for the foreseeable future. Sure, at some point a new MM would be nice, but I have no doubt that in a year, it will be easy to find homebrew versions of basically any previously released monster, so even that isn't really a must-have.

I do agree that it would settle a lot of internet arguments if WotC would come out and say directly, that that is the extend of their plans for D&D (if that is the case), but some would argue, that they have already hinted strongly that it is their current model.

 

[Blue]

Could I happily play with just this? Yes. Would I want more? Also yes - for example I find the spell lists woefully short of non-combat-related spells, and even within combat I can't play certain elements due to lack of spells. Can I convert these myself? Absolutely - but then I don't have the legitimacy. For example I play in a shared environment with multiple DMs and tins of players where I doubt I'd get approval for adding a bunch of acid spells at different levels if I wanted to place a black dragon themed draconic sorcerer. But there aren't enough spells to do so otherwise.

 

[Giltonio_Santos]

I already expect it to be just that, and I'm loving it anyway.

 

[Gnarl45]

This works for me for now. In the long run, I doubt it's going to be enough.

I'm a bit surprised we don't have campaign settings though.

 

[Agamon]

Personally, I wouldn't buy anything else, so that suits me fine. I have shelves of material from past editions that I can use with 5e, if I need it. Tidbits from UA every month is good enough for new stuff.

 

[SigmaOne]

Considering that I'm still perfectly willing to play B/X with little more rules-wise than the two 64 page booklets released 35 years ago, I think 5E has a good chance.

IMHO game sold as a product of YOUR imagination shouldn't need an endless treadmill of stuff from someone else's.

This is very well put, and sums up my response to the original question as well.

Though I appreciate the points other people have made elsewhere that they don't want to have to come up with stuff... D&D, being many things to many people, has a hard time still being many things to many people all at the same time. The splat books that dilute and ruin the game for some are the same that keep it fresh for others.

For me, I have years and years worth of content to plunder. I want to play a Dark Sun game. I want to play an Eberron game. I want to play in Planescape. And I would love to see boxed sets for 5e released for all of these; it would be more convenient for me. And given all the things that has happened in the Forgotten Realms and the fact that that's where we're currently playing, I'd *really* love to see an update that gives us the current state of the realms. All of this I think goes double for folks who are just learning to roleplay with 5e -- they shouldn't have to do research to get a proper setting presented to them. But I could easily play in all these settings, and so can newcomers with considerably more effort, using content that's already available. That's to say nothing of creating my own world, or adventuring in a completely undeveloped world which can be just as fantastic.

Frankly, I think one of the best things they could to is to create a new starter set every couple of years; refining the process of "getting started" playing D&D into an art. Make it as easy to get into as a mid-level board game. (Frankly many modern boardgames are far more impenetrable to new players than D&D, given that new D&D players don't need to be experts on the rules.) Keep working on developing fantastic introductory adventures, and make it less daunting for new people to DM; and you'll create an ongoing market for the three core books. If the adventures are good, many current players will buy them as well.