D&D 5E SCAG -- Worth it?

[flametitan]

I'll add that there's also a note on human variants, though it's more Realms specific. It allows humans to take an ethnicity exclusive language as a free bonus language.

 

[Patrick McGill]

Keep in mind that the book is mostly not crunch, however. The largest portion is setting information for the Sword Coast.

I personally enjoy it and I like the character options it brings, but if you get it just for the options... well I hope you enjoy reading setting information for entertainment.

 

[Dualazi]

I'll be the voice of dissent and vote nay on its worthiness, unless you can find a used copy in reasonable condition for cheap. As others have said, there's some good crunch in there, but most of the book is fluff for the realms, and not even all the realms; just the parts you already probably know the most about. As it stands, for me the price/value to me isn't great enough to recommend it.

 

[Blue]

With the dearth of official expansions of character options, the third of the book devoted to crunch was quite welcome. Even moreso in that if added some options that weren't covered in the PHB like the who weapon attack cantrips, Booming Blade and Green Flame Blade.

The rest of the book is quite nice, but if you are only looking for crunch the breakdown is: 17 pages of races, 23 pages of classes (including the four new spells), 9 pages of backgrounds.

To sum up - if buying just for crunch it's 1/3 of the book, maybe 1/4 if the backgrounds aren't interesting. There are definitely some new options like bladesinger, the cantrips, some racial, that are broadening.

 

[Jester David]

I think the determining factor is how much spare cash you have, and how much the cost will set you back. It's a good book and can be found relatively cheaply online, but if you're not playing in the realms the scant dozen pages of crunch are pricey.

 

[tuxgeo]

Another consideration is Adventurers' League: the last I knew, players are allowed to use any material from the PHB, and either from the Elemental Evil Player's Guide or from SCAG, but not both. If that matters to you or to members of your group, it might be worth considering.

 

[MrWildman]

Thanks, everyone! (I knew I could count on the ENWorld boards)

Looks like I'll be visiting my FLGS next month. Probably look for a used copy first.
The new options look like fun. I'm familiar with some from Unearthed Arcana, and reading about some of the others gets my creative juices flowing! And I always enjoyed reading fluff material. I remember buying so many Shadowrun books that never saw any game-play, but that I read and re-read endlessly for entertainment. Ah, good times . . .

 

[CapnZapp]

I've noticed more threads and builds using SCAG content (spells & cantrips especially).
I tend to do sandbox/homebrew worlds, so the book didn't really register on my radar at first. But now I'm wondering . . . what's the consensus? Should I get the book for the cool new crunch (and the entertaining fluff, of course), or am I really not missing out on anything?

I have it, but sadly, I do not feel it's worth its money. Not for its crunch, at least.

As an introduction to the Realms, sure. But boy does it pale in comparison to the absolutely stellar 3rd edition Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting - which must contain a hundred times as much campaign info, and still managed to cram in much more crunchy goodness too!

So, as crunch it's far too light. As fluff is much lighter than ten years ago. The best thing I can say about it is that for a complete newcomer to Forgotten Realms, it presents an easily digestible introduction. For everyone else, it just contains scraps of info: scattered bits of Realms-updates since 4E and the odd cantrip here, and a subclass there.

It's just too light. Condense it down to half its page size, cut two thirds off its price, and you have something.

Alternatively, add more subclasses so every class gets one, and add a dozen spells (NOT the elemental evil ones!), and a sprinkling of magic items, and you have a solid foundation. Perhaps add a few bonuses, such as the page on Svirfneblin Spell Gems (from Out of the Abyss). Then just double the background info and you might have something worth the asking price!

---

More specifically, I'd say over half of the little crunch there is simply not interesting enough.

One reason for this is how padded it feels, with chunks of text devoted to races and classes that end up in... nothing. The way it refluffs existing crunch feels like empty calories.

Then there's too many subclasses I simply don't see any of my players actually taking.

Battlerager: cool image but meh implementation. Using up your bonus action for an extra attack - we already have such a subclass (and it still can't amplify a feat that too uses the bonus action). Reckless Abandon - too many ways to gain temporary hit points already. And the small number just sucks - had you gotten them each round, it might have been something. Getting to dash as a bonus action is also weak. Ultimately, you will never find magic spiked armor in any module or on any random roll, dooming the subclass in any group where you can't trust in the bottomless generosity of your DM. Grade C+

Totem Spirits: a nice extra selection. Sure, nothing beats Bear, but still. Grade B (but a very small snippet of crunch)

Bards: from a crunch perspective, a solid F. Especially since it takes you a fair few minutes before you realize you're not actually getting anything, which is especially harsh since you're the first class to make this realization.

Cleric: again, the Arcana domain is a solid effort. Just so very little. Grade B

Druids: Grade E (not F because by now you know some classes doesn't get anything, and the section is mercifully short)

Fighter: Grade C-. Yes, we get a whole new subclass. But it's strangely specific and tied hard to the Realms (and Cormyr is not even on the Sword Coast!). It is a warlord-like subclass, but extremely cautious. The only thing the warlord players want is an Inspiring Surge like ability, but here you get a single use per short rest, rather than something you can use every other round! And to add insult to injury, you only get to give a single attack, not a full extra attack's worth! And the final straw is that you can't do this instead of acting yourself - nooo you get this as part of your Action Surge, preventing a true passive Warlord feel!

Monk: I'm gonna be generous and hand out an B+. The two new subclasses might not be ultra-inspiring or that different, but this should have been the minimum bar for all classes, rather than the maximum contribution for just a single lucky class.

Paladin: Not sure how good this subclass is, so I'll give it a grade of B for the moment.

Rangers: Grade E. Only the fanboys and apologists would not agree when I say the new revised Ranger should have been ready for inclusion in SCAG!

Rogues: Two subclasses, but my generosity is faltering quick, and really "above and beyond" means more than two subclasses. (As I said above, how about some new spells, magic items and the like; a couple of new battlemaster maneuvers perhaps) The swashbuckler isn't bad, but doesn't change the basic fact ranged combat is too attractive in 5th edition, especially for fragile rogues whose hp and ac has no place in melee. The mastermind is mostly strange. The warlord wants its Master of Tactics back. I hate abilities that talk about meta information, such as Insightful Manipulator. Grade B-.

Sorcerer: the storm sorcerer didn't get bonus spells (as in playtest) but also didn't get anything else (that is, the bonus spells were just removed, not replaced by anything else). The end result is something that reads as a decent NPC class: too many abilities are just glorified ribbon abilities, and you certainly don't get anything comparable to the draconic AC you lose. Grade C-.

Warlock: also a NPC build. If you feel favored enemy is too situational, just wait until you get a load of this. Slightly better because Warlocks got so much going, and because Warlocks can be built for the new cantrips (the sorcerer should stay far away from melee) - grade C+.

and then we get to the only truly brightly shining spot...

Wizard: you get the Bladesinger, which is awesome. And you get cantrips to support it. By this time I'm so starved for some truly crunchy crunch, if you know what I mean. Grade A


In the end, I can only recommend SCAG it somebody else is buying it for you... or if you're new to the Realms, to 5th edition and to D&D in general.

Zapp

 

[Demetrios1453]

My group uses it all the time - since I got it, I don't think we've had a campaign yet where someone doesn't use options from it. Right now in my current SKT group, we have a swashbuckler, a barbarian using the Tiger totem path, and a sorcerer with the Waterdhavian Noble background.

 

[Prakriti]

I feel like the SCAG needed to be 100 pages longer to be worth the money. One thing that was conspicuously absent was faction information. The AL makes a big deal about factions, and the SCAG would have been the perfect place for in-depth write-ups. I'm thinking 20 pages for each faction, detailing its history, prominent NPCs, bases of operation, etc. Instead, we got nothing.