D&D 5E Tasha or xanathar's, choose one and why do you like it?

[Burnside]

Xanathar's. The sub-classes are better balanced (and the ranger sub-classes basically redeem the class as a whole) and the DM-facing content is more useful than the DM-facing content in Tasha's.

The entire puzzles section of Tasha's I haven't really used at all. Some of the sub-classes are overpowered. Pretty much all the optional class features and race/ability score features are great and are the best aspects of the book.

 

[Charlaquin]

Most importantly Xanathar's feels to me of a piece with the core 5th edition materials whereas Tasha's feels like it occupies a liminal space between 5th edition and this mysterious "next evolution" on the horizon that I refuse to call 5.5 of 6th.

Well said!

 

[Li Shenron]

Xanathar is a great book for players. Almost all subclasses have solid concepts that are easy to grasp and make work in nearly every setting, even some no-brainers that could have belonged to the PHB like Swashbuckler, Grave/Forge Cleric, Storm/Shadow Sorcerer... altogether these almost doubled the amount of subclasses in the PHB making the game feel well-rounded. Spells were also good albeit reprinted, feats could have been better but ok. The DM part is more hit-and-miss and it felt like a random bunch of topics with no cohesive sense; the bigger sections are really good (tools, traps, downtime, minor magic items) but the small interludes (knots, falling rules, identifying spells) really feel unnecessary and potentially irritating if you disagree with the ruling... practically they feel like unwanted sage advice articles you didn't need and actually made you pay for. Worst part of the book are the frankly offensive tables of real-life names (English names, seriously?).

Tasha is a problematic book... The majority of subclasses are fringe concepts, hard to integrate in fantasy settings at large, doubtedly playable more than once, and occasionally even seem associated to a plain wrong base class (why is the Swarmkeeper a Ranger instead of a Druid?). The book contains psionics in a form that might have won the UA polls but I really don't think it hit the nail, in fact there are people still asking when do we finally get psionics in 5e... it's there and some didn't even notice. Then there's the issue with the free character boosts, "optional" yeah right... they put the DM in a difficult spot. The alternative class features is the only very good idea of the book without question.

Overall Xanathar beats Tasha 90%-10% for me.

 

[Malmuria]

Worst part of the book are the frankly offensive tables of real-life names (English names, seriously?).

That’s interesting, as I liked the inclusion of the name lists. I think there might be some inaccuracies in there (eg “last” names being listed as “first” names, etc), but overall they are a good general resource

 

[Benjamin Olson]

That’s interesting, as I liked the inclusion of the name lists. I think there might be some inaccuracies in there (eg “last” names being listed as “first” names, etc), but overall they are a good general resource

They're a fine resource. They are however the laziest inclusion, and the one least necessary in an internet age where vast name generating resources are ever at our finger tips. As someone who helps kids roll up characters at a theoretically internet free Summer camp though I find them useful. Ultimately criticizing their inclusion only really makes sense if you find the extra weight troublesome or think they would have included something else more useful on those pages. I suspect the alternative was to just sell the book for the same price with 16 fewer pages.

 

[QuentinGeorge]

That’s interesting, as I liked the inclusion of the name lists. I think there might be some inaccuracies in there (eg “last” names being listed as “first” names, etc), but overall they are a good general resource

Me too, I generally don't get the hate for them. And the names there are more aesthetically pleasing that the surfeit of apostrophes and "z/x" consonants that a lot of players seem to generate for their characters.

 

[John R Davis]

Xanathars for the reasons posted above.

Tasha's has all sorts of creep that has meant me and 5th ed are going different ways ( still playing it but no longer purchasing).

 

[S'mon]

Thinking about purchasing one of these books. If you had to pick one and leave the other, which would you choose? Why?

I threw in a poll, but I am more interested in your reasoning.

I use Xanathar's all the time as GM - the Downtime rules (crafting, training etc) and the encounter tables, primarily. The name tables are also handy. I like the Common magic items. The Xanathar's player stuff is overall better too I think. XGTE feels like completing the PHB/DMG/MM, where Tasha's feels like a splat book that seeks to change the game. Tasha's also boosts the power of classes with 'optional' add-ons that are quite disruptive.

 

[Li Shenron]

They're a fine resource. They are however the laziest inclusion, and the one least necessary in an internet age where vast name generating resources are ever at our finger tips. As someone who helps kids roll up characters at a theoretically internet free Summer camp though I find them useful. Ultimately criticizing their inclusion only really makes sense if you find the extra weight troublesome or think they would have included something else more useful on those pages. I suspect the alternative was to just sell the book for the same price with 16 fewer pages.

I would have preferred less pages for the same price

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

I prefer Xanathar.

Tasha looks like a DmsGuild product by a different team of designers.
The class patches and optional rules for ASI arent bad, but after 7 years, most tables that add a problem with the ranger's power level, the Sorcerer's lack of thematic spells or racial ASI already have found a solution that works for them.