D&D 5E My Crazy Theory about 2015 5e

[ExploderWizard]

WotC has already stated that they want to bring in more money by expanding to other media: tv shows, film, novels, etc. to make up for the far slower hardback releases.

I would LOVE to see a D&D TV show done right. Heck, an animated series with the OOTS characters could be done on a reasonable budget. I'd watch that.

 

[Flexor the Mighty!]

Still stunned there has never been a Drizzt show or movie.

 

[Nebulous]

I would LOVE to see a D&D TV show done right. Heck, an animated series with the OOTS characters could be done on a reasonable budget. I'd watch that.

Why they haven't tapped this yet is beyond my understanding. I mean, again. I think most of us older gamers were fans of the 80s cartoon.

 

[Nebulous]

Still stunned there has never been a Drizzt show or movie.

I know. 22 of Salvatore's titles have been on the NY Times bestsellers list. Usually Hollywood takes note of such things to leverage monetary opportunities. I mean, I'm SURE it has been discussed and voted on, but the backroom negotiations are something I don't comprehend.

Edit - The most popular roleplaying game in the World, with the biggest game company in the world (?) owning it, a slew of highly successful novels that could be made into a whole series of Harry -Potter-esque films, the enormous popularity (still) of LotR and The Hobbit...yeah, I just don't understand either.

 

[DEFCON 1]

The real take away from the OP is that trust and confidence in D&D/WotC/Hasbro has eroded. Fast.

Confidence is low and for rational reasons. The idea that newer editions is coming is just a symptom of the lack of confidence.

Not from where I'm sitting. Seems to me that the confidence in D&D/WotC/Hasbro has been low from a certain segment of the population for going on more than a decade. There is nothing new in the amounts of complaints about the game right now. D&D is awesome for a certain set of the gaming populace, is adequate for another certain set, is not particularly good by another set, and is absolutely, horrifically crap by a remaining set. Pretty much the same as it's always been.

If you are looking at the size and breadth of complaints we currently see here on the boards about a couple rules issues and the slow release schedule, and think this is the worst it's ever been... you either weren't around or not paying attention since back around the release of 3.5. And the brand didn't sink to the bottom then or since, so it pretty much can be assured it's not going to sink to the bottom now.

 

[doctorhook]

I very much doubt it. They'll have seen the surface issues, yes, but because of the complexity of the game there's going to be a lot of stuff buried in there that will only become apparent through emergent gameplay.

Yeah, that's fair. I mulled whether or not I even believed that comment before I posted it.

While that's true, Essentials very definitely fills the same niche in the 4e release cycle as 3.5e did for 3e: a replacement set of core rulebooks providing an updated entry point into the game.

In many ways, Essentials was "4.5e done right."

It's not quite apples-to-oranges; apples-to-pears, maybe.

More licensed products doesn't prevent them from doing more edition. Like a new one to correct concentration. It looks doubtful, but it is possible. I do not think they have long terms plans. From the playtest it was obvious that 5e's business model is improvisation.

The real take away from the OP is that trust and confidence in D&D/WotC/Hasbro has eroded. Fast. People were focusing a lot of the release of the core products. Not noticing what was happening after or the lack of stuff happening after.

Now that the core is out and the dust has settled, people can see the horizon more clearly. No ebooks. No OGL. A book has been cancelled, editors fired and no announcements have been made about future products. Dungeonscape is dead and no replacement is in sight. WotC/Hasro is sendind cease and desist letters to online initiatives. A retailer and a video game designers have come out publically to critique the game and how it is handled.

Confidence is low and for rational reasons. The idea that newer editions is coming is just a sympton of the lack of confidence.

I really don't think "improvisation" was ever a part of WotC's plan for 5E, because business "improvisation" (i.e.: failing to plan) is planning to fail. Rather, I think WotC is playing a deliberately cautious strategy: go slow, feel out the market, and get other companies to do the dirty work wherever possible. WotC knows that D&D is a valuable piece of intellectual property; they know they can afford to do very little, but they cannot afford another financial disaster like 4E ultimately became.

I'm also not convinced that the community has lost confidence to the degree you've claimed. I don't know if you remember the edition wars, but the past few months have been some of the most positive I've seen in years. Yep, lots of us would like WotC to get going on those licenses, but several of your critiques are bunk. DungeonScape was crap, and WotC ended their relationship before throwing any more money at it (and before Trapdoor collapsed completely). WotC wasn't publishing Adventurer's Handbook, Sasquatch was. WotC has full legal right to take legal action against people who host their material for free. Obsidian software's comments about WotC, Hasbro, and TSR were just ridiculous rehashes of long-debunked nonsense complaints from people who don't seem to remember what business was like under TSR.

I know. 22 of Salvatore's titles have been on the NY Times bestsellers list. Usually Hollywood takes note of such things to leverage monetary opportunities. I mean, I'm SURE it has been discussed and voted on, but the backroom negotiations are something I don't comprehend.

Edit - The most popular roleplaying game in the World, with the biggest game company in the world (?) owning it, a slew of highly successful novels that could be made into a whole series of Harry -Potter-esque films, the enormous popularity (still) of LotR and The Hobbit...yeah, I just don't understand either.

Drizzt... Honestly, that couldn't be a worse choice for a D&D movie than the original D&D movie. Make it happen!

 

[Trickster Spirit]

More licensed products doesn't prevent them from doing more edition. Like a new one to correct concentration. It looks doubtful, but it is possible.

That assumes that Concentration isn't working as intended. Just because a given group dislikes the effect a rule has doesn't mean that that rule is broken.

I fully expect errata and rules fixes to come in the wake of the feedback surveys, but Concentration strikes me as something that merits an optional rules variant or plain old house rule, as it pretty much does exactly what it's supposed to.

 

[Gecko85]

More licensed products doesn't prevent them from doing more edition. Like a new one to correct concentration.

Concentration isn't broken, so nothing to correct...

...No ebooks. No OGL...and no announcements have been made about future products. Dungeonscape is dead and no replacement is in sight.

* "We have every intention of releasing the books in electronic versions. But we don't have a date at this time." - Chris Perkins. True, they don't have them yet, but the 3rd of 3 core books was just released December 9th. That's 2 months ago.
* Re: OGL - They've said there will be a new licensing announcement in the spring. In the meantime, the current OGL is still in place and valid.
* No announcements about future products? Your definition of "no" doesn't fit with reality. (Princes of the Apocalypse, and a mention that they're already working on an unnamed storyline to follow Princes of the Apocalypse/EE...)
* Re: the digital tools. Here's what they said when they announced they were moving away from Trapdoor: "It’s never easy to end a relationship with one of our business partners, but we remain committed to creating great tabletop and digital gaming experiences for Dungeons & Dragons players and DMs around the world."

 

[Kramodlog]

Not from where I'm sitting. Seems to me that the confidence in D&D/WotC/Hasbro has been low from a certain segment of the population for going on more than a decade. There is nothing new in the amounts of complaints about the game right now. D&D is awesome for a certain set of the gaming populace, is adequate for another certain set, is not particularly good by another set, and is absolutely, horrifically crap by a remaining set. Pretty much the same as it's always been.

A strawman. I didn't say it was new, I said it was fast.

If you are looking at the size and breadth of complaints we currently see here on the boards about a couple rules issues and the slow release schedule, and think this is the worst it's ever been... you either weren't around or not paying attention since back around the release of 3.5. And the brand didn't sink to the bottom then or since, so it pretty much can be assured it's not going to sink to the bottom now.

Heh... Attacking my credibility, check. Using another strawman, check.

Let me said it again. After the hype that comes with the release of the core books, the news in January and February haven't been good for D&D. I'm not sure how you can banalize the cancellation of a book, the firing of two editors, Dungeonscape being scrapped before launch, cease and desist letters that annihilate some fans, the lack of PDFs, the lack of OGL, the lack of up coming products, a credible retailer saying the business model isn't good and a game developper saying licensing is very hard to do with Hasbro (when licensing will be an important part of D&D) as just people complaining. But hey, spin away. It makes people feel better to defend their brand, even when things look bad for it.

 

[The Grassy Gnoll]

Honestly, the main sticking point for other media, especially movies and TV, is unfortunately that, to the vast majority of people in real life equate "D&D" with "massive masturbatory nerd". Sad, but true. The brand still has a lot of negative connotations that a big studio might just baulk at. Elephant in the room and all, but it's true.