D&D 5E Revisited Setting News: Its not the 2023 Classic setting, but rather for 2024

[overgeeked]

I agree. I think that, anything else we can say about WotC I'm the past 8 years, they have done a very good job walking that particular line thematically. They stay firmly in PG-13 territory, but push it just enough to keep it interesting.

I disagree with the bolded bit. They stay firmly in Disney PG land. Their version of Ravenloft barely managed to get into PG-13 territory and that's their "horror" setting. As mentioned up thread, it's far more Disney's Haunted Mansion than Hammer Horror...much less anything remotely close to what a modern horror fan would consider anything but laughably quaint.

 

[eyeheartawk]

What do you like about Inferno Road? I just read the description and it tells me next to nothing about the adventure.

Besides doing the whole Mad Max in Hell thing years before Descent? A bunch of things. It's quite a bit more gonzo, being for DCC. But mainly the difference between them is like the difference between some Disney animated movie and Heavy Metal.

 

[Faolyn]

Whatever it is, my only real hope is that it's not half-adventure like Strixhaven.

 

[Parmandur]

I disagree with the bolded bit. They stay firmly in Disney PG land. Their version of Ravenloft barely managed to get into PG-13 territory and that's their "horror" setting. As mentioned up thread, it's far more Disney's Haunted Mansion than Hammer Horror...much less anything remotely close to what a modern horror fan would consider anything but laughably quaint.

Sounds a bit like an Overton window issue: the Hammer Horror movies were rated R by and large, not PG-13 (though there wasn't a PG-13 I'm their heyday, they would probably not qualify for PG-13 today). Any WotC approach to Horror is going to be more Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange than any R rated stuff. Think Goosebumps, not Hammer. Think classic Universal Horror (which mostly passed the Hayes Code, which would mean G now), not modern R rated horror.

You keep saying Disney like that means PG, but Disney is the current master of PG-13: and yes, thst is the tone WotC is going for, be use that is what sells to their core market. The three biggest films of all time are PG-13 movies from Disney.

 

[dave2008]

I’m honestly more interested in setting specific player options (classes, subclasses, feats, backgrounds, etc.), magic items, monsters, and unique mechanics ( like piety). Those are what I want more of.

Yes, I wish more of the setting guides had unique bits like piety & supernatural gifts from Theros.

 

[dave2008]

I disagree with the bolded bit. They stay firmly in Disney PG land. Their version of Ravenloft barely managed to get into PG-13 territory and that's their "horror" setting. As mentioned up thread, it's far more Disney's Haunted Mansion than Hammer Horror...much less anything remotely close to what a modern horror fan would consider anything but laughably quaint.

I'm not really into the horror genre for RPGs, but I do think they missed an opportunity to really lean in horror with VRGtR. It definitely has the start of some really horrific stuff, but they just didn't delve into it. Maybe some will on the DMsGuild

 

[dave2008]

Besides doing the whole Mad Max in Hell thing years before Descent? A bunch of things. It's quite a bit more gonzo, being for DCC. But mainly the difference between them is like the difference between some Disney animated movie and Heavy Metal.

It seems you misread my question as I did not ask for a comparison. I asked:

"What do you like about Inferno Road? I just read the description and it tells me next to nothing about the adventure."

So what do you like about it and what is the adventure about?

 

[overgeeked]

Sounds a bit like an Overton window issue: the Hammer Horror movies were rated R by and large, not PG-13 (though there wasn't a PG-13 I'm their heyday, they would probably not qualify for PG-13 today). Any WotC approach to Horror is going to be more Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange than any R rated stuff. Think Goosebumps, not Hammer. Think classic Universal Horror (which mostly passed the Hayes Code, which would mean G now), not modern R rated horror.

Right. Non-horror fans point to 5E Ravenloft and say "that's horror" while horror fans break their spine from doubling over laughing. Which does not bode well for any of the more "mature-themed" settings that WotC owns.

You keep saying Disney like that means PG, but Disney is the current master of PG-13: and yes, that is the tone WotC is going for, be sure that is what sells to their core market. The three biggest films of all time are PG-13 movies from Disney.

There's a difference between Disney, the animation studio that pushes songs and love stories in all their films, and the Disney subsidiary Marvel which does the PG-13 superhero stuff. When I see 5E Ravenloft, I think Disney the animation studio and theme park, hence the reference to Haunted Mansion. Goosebumps might be too scary.

The top three biggest films of all time are Avatar, Avengers: Endgame, and Titanic. Of those, only Endgame is a Disney film.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

I might also point out that Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom was released with a PG rating. You know, the movie with the guy's heart getting ripped out (that wasn't at all traumatizing as a kid...). It essentially created the PG-13 rating, with Spielberg using his clout to create a halfway point between PG and R.

Also, the first movie had people's faces getting melted off. Empire Strikes Back has one decapitation and one hand-severing.

Honestly, I don't really need a hard-R RPG or setting, nor would I really want to play with people that wanted to play at that setting. Mork Borg might be the exception.

Sounds a bit like an Overton window issue: the Hammer Horror movies were rated R by and large, not PG-13 (though there wasn't a PG-13 I'm their heyday, they would probably not qualify for PG-13 today). Any WotC approach to Horror is going to be more Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange than any R rated stuff. Think Goosebumps, not Hammer. Think classic Universal Horror (which mostly passed the Hayes Code, which would mean G now), not modern R rated horror.

You keep saying Disney like that means PG, but Disney is the current master of PG-13: and yes, thst is the tone WotC is going for, be ause that is what sells to their core market. The three biggest films of all time are PG-13 movies from Disney.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

I'm not really into the horror genre for RPGs, but I do think they missed an opportunity to really lean in horror with VRGtR. It definitely has the start of some really horrific stuff, but they just didn't delve into it.

Possibly something to do with the core market being 12-17?