D&D 5E (2024) Polygon takes shots at WotC & D&D

[Nord Ronnoc]

and so should you…

From the article:
“The announcement of new campaigns and adventures has also notably slowed. After the revised Monster Manual (2025) arrives in February, fans may need to wait until the summer for new playable adventures set in the Forgotten Realms. And when those do arrive, they may not add up to a full campaign. Additionally, fans will get an unnamed dragon anthology of unconnected adventures by the summer, and a new starter set by the fall. That’s seemingly it for playable content”

Everything you say is missing is right here

That is still more than one release in the year. Tiamat books between corebooks aside, it took four months for another to be released. The 2014 DMG was released December of 2014. Princes of the Apocalypse was released in April of 2015.

 

[Nord Ronnoc]

and so should you…

From the article:
“The announcement of new campaigns and adventures has also notably slowed. After the revised Monster Manual (2025) arrives in February, fans may need to wait until the summer for new playable adventures set in the Forgotten Realms. And when those do arrive, they may not add up to a full campaign. Additionally, fans will get an unnamed dragon anthology of unconnected adventures by the summer, and a new starter set by the fall. That’s seemingly it for playable content”

Everything you say is missing is right here

I would quote this part right here.

"While we don’t really know how that’s affected the head count at Wizards, it’s clear from the 2025 schedule that the pace of releases is off. There just aren’t as many books coming out this year as I was expecting."

 

[Aldarc]

It’s time for independent tabletop role-playing games to get loud

The dragon is wounded, and it’s time to throw yourselves into the breach

www.polygon.com

There categorization of FR is garbage fyi, it's not generic.

This is article is Polygon blaming indie TTRPGs for years of Polygon ignoring indie TTRPGs, and your big take away from this article is that it's firing shots at WotC D&D and that we should all be offended somehow? Okay.

FYI for everyone else who is wondering about what Polygon said about FR that spurred Henadic's final remark:

Just a “Forgotten Realms Player Guide” and a “Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide,” two products that I expect to double down on what’s become a staid, largely generic Vaguely Medieval Fantasy World.

That's it. lol.

 

[SteveC]

There's definitely an opportunity for smaller publishers to take advantage of WotC's missteps, but I think the window for a 5.5E alternative is largely closed. We're going to see Dagger Heart, Draw Steel, 13th Age 2E, and I'm sure others, but the marketing for 5.5E is pretty much wrapped up at this point. I've thought that if you wanted an alternative to 5.5E to take off, you needed to have it when people were still talking about 5.5E. I think that's pretty much done at this point, as odd as it may sound. We still have the rollout for the MM in progress and how's that going? Are we still seeing interest in the larger media? I interact with that all the time and I'm not seeing it.

I guess this polygon article is designed to show some media interest but ... okay? It seems like trying to create interest in a wave that's already crested.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

That opinion article has gotten a lot wrong.

Basing opinions on actual facts is sooo yesterday...

 

[mamba]

That is still more than one release in the year.

where do they say that there is no other release in the year? Given that they listed all others, I doubt they ever said that…

 

[mamba]

I would quote this part right here.

"While we don’t really know how that’s affected the head count at Wizards, it’s clear from the 2025 schedule that the pace of releases is off. There just aren’t as many books coming out this year as I was expecting."

not sure how that relates to anything. They listed the upcoming titles, they expected more for whatever reason. That still does not mean they believe that the MM is all there is this year, they included a full list after all

The part I quoted also mentions the slowdown ‘The announcement of new campaigns and adventures has also notably slowed’.

I am not sure there is a slowdown, it’s still 4 books and a starter set, that is pretty normal. What may be noticable is the long gap between the 1st and 2nd book this year

 

[MonsterEnvy]

I would quote this part right here.

"While we don’t really know how that’s affected the head count at Wizards, it’s clear from the 2025 schedule that the pace of releases is off. There just aren’t as many books coming out this year as I was expecting."

We are getting about as many books as last year or the year before.

 

[bedir than]

Four books and a boxed set feels typical

 

[MerricB]

not sure how that relates to anything. They listed the upcoming titles, they expected more for whatever reason. That still does not mean they believe that the MM is all there is this year, they included a full list after all

The part I quoted also mentions the slowdown ‘The announcement of new campaigns and adventures has also notably slowed’.

I am not sure there is a slowdown, it’s still 4 books and a starter set, that is pretty normal. What may be noticable is the long gap between the 1st and 2nd book this year

The only thing missing from next year's slate is a campaign adventure. And given we've had one or more a year from 2014-2024, that is a notable omission.

But we are getting both the Dragon Anthology adventures and the starter set (an adventure); it is possible we may consider the starter a campaign adventure, especially if it takes inspiration from Keep on the Borderlands and is similarly meaty.

I certainly don't consider 2025 a slow year at present.

Cheers!