D&D 5E (2024) No 5.5 AP Yet?

[TheSword]

Except I am not the neophyte GM that needs to be told this explicitly. Of course experienced GMs can pull stuff out of these books they like. But that is NOT the same thing as saying it is intended to be used that way. If it were, there would be explicit advice at the beginnig of every chapter to that end.

So you can pretend to be confused why I would respond this way all you want, but there is literally no evidence that this is what WotC intends with its publications.

I find it best not to assume my fellow DMs are dumber than me. People are more resourceful than you think.

 

[Reynard]

I find it best not to assume my fellow DMs are dumber than me. People are more resourceful than you think.

If the campaign modules were meant to be, well, modular, why do you think they would not make mention of this anywhere in the text of the modules?

 

[TheSword]

If the campaign modules were meant to be, well, modular, why do you think they would not make mention of this anywhere in the text of the modules?

It’s redundant. If someone gives you a route map for a 10 miles walk. You don’t need a note to say you are allowed to walk one leg of it.

It’s pretty strange that you are saying other people don’t know something that you have just said you do know… without being told.

 

[Zardnaar]

Paizo APs generally start well but collapse under the weight of the rules and bloat at around part 4. The first two parts are always amazing and then they tend to go down hill,

It’s why I’m very glad the Wizards books keep to a tighter more manageable range

Yeah those first 3 parts though (where most people actually play) are similar to WotCs level range.

And some are also very highly placed in my personal best adventures of all time. There is No Honor for example (Savage Tide Pt 1).

WotC cant even get tgat part right mist of the time. The mediocre Paizo ones are usually compared to the Paizo good ones. Most of the "mediocre" are still ahead of the WotC ones.

The high level problems are also there in 5E and any edition. High level in general. Not many classic high level modules imho (probably none lets face it some may be "classics").Generally the later Paizo ones started to get tied in with the latest Paizo releases so the quality kinda went down/became more niche.

 

[Zardnaar]

It’s redundant. If someone gives you a route map for a 10 miles walk. You don’t need a note to say you are allowed to walk one leg of it.

It’s pretty strange that you are saying other people don’t know something that you have just said you do know… without being told.

Newer players i suspect would take things at face value. They might not complete a module but I doubt theyre chopping out chunks and using them to construct their own.

Took me 3 or 4 years to do that and thst was with Dungeon magazine. I wasnt chopping up B2-4, X1 or whatever they were more or less ran as is.
Its way harder to do long form APs. Really hard along with higher level stuff.

I can do it (with lots of experience) but im improvising/ad hoccing a lot and level 11-13 thinking fml its not worth it let's start over.

 

[THEMNGMNT]

I don't think it's particularly weird that we don't yet know the 2026 slate. In fact, I thought it was always kind of weird that they would announce they were publishing a book in 9 months, but then not reveal the name of the book. The marketer in me believes it's better to wait until you have a complete story to tell.

As for adventure paths...there's a lot to unpack.

Overall, I found something to like about almost all of the 5E adventure paths. Even the unpopular ones. At the very least most of them had awesome Mike Schley cartography. But even I have to admit the last few years have been pretty bleak. Maybe all the effort was going into the new core books?

As for 5.5E...between the Starter Set and the two new Forgotten Realms books...not to mention Stranger Things and Dragon Delves...that's a LOT of adventure material. It's semi-traditional to launch a new edition with a dragon-themed adventure, a campaign setting, and a starter set. They did that, even if they switched up the approach in some novel ways. I don't think there was actually room in 2025 for an adventure path.

I hope they get back to high quality adventure paths in 2026. But even if they don't, I've got enough material to game with for the remainder of my natural life. And that's just for D&D!

 

[TheSword]

Yeah those first 3 parts though (where most people actually play) are similar to WotCs level range.

And some are also very highly placed in my personal best adventures of all time. There is No Honor for example (Savage Tide Pt 1).

WotC cant even get tgat part right mist of the time. The mediocre Paizo ones are usually compared to the Paizo good ones. Most of the "mediocre" are still ahead of the WotC ones.

The high level problems are also there in 5E and any edition. High level in general. Not many classic high level modules imho (probably none lets face it some may be "classics").Generally the later Paizo ones started to get tied in with the latest Paizo releases so the quality kinda went down/became more niche.

I’ve played most of both, as I know you have, and it’s a hard disagree here. But a lot is down to personal preference. I don’t expect everyone to like WotC adventures. So much comes down to aesthetic and style.

Just offering a counterpoint to the negging on some great Adventure books.

 

[THEMNGMNT]

I've read but not played a LOT of Paizo adventure paths. (Which is to say, only a small fraction of what they've published!) And while I think they all have some amazing chapters, most of them fail to hang together from front to back.

 

[TheSword]

I also wouldn't want a module written by William Shakespeare. Trying to improvise or expand anything in Iambic pentameter seems like a nightmare, I suspect his adventures would be very railroady, and of course the name attached would make it so famous and revered that I'd feel obligated to give it a go.

Do you remember the two Shakespeare modules from Dungeon Magazine for AD&D. Macbeth and King Lear IIRC

 

[Zardnaar]

Do you remember the two Shakespeare modules from Dungeon Magazine for AD&D. Macbeth and King Lear IIRC

Yes.

Storm Giants and Drow?