D&D 5E The cost of D&D 5E (it ain't so bad!)

[Zardnaar]

Its also $150 on a game you may not like. After 4th ed not willing to buy D&D sight unseen like I was for 2nd,3./0 and 3.5. If you like D&DN $150 is not that bad. But if you don't like it you have flushed $150 down the toilet.

 

[fjw70]

Its also $150 on a game you may not like. After 4th ed not willing to buy D&D sight unseen like I was for 2nd,3./0 and 3.5. If you like D&DN $150 is not that bad. But if you don't like it you have flushed $150 down the toilet.

You don't need to spend $150 to figure out whether you like the game or not.

 

[Li Shenron]

Its also $150 on a game you may not like. After 4th ed not willing to buy D&D sight unseen like I was for 2nd,3./0 and 3.5. If you like D&DN $150 is not that bad. But if you don't like it you have flushed $150 down the toilet.

You are not going to buy 5e "sight unseen".

You have already seen the game in the form of playtest material. Mearls just confirmed that the final product is almost the same, and that changes are mostly monsters' HP increase, class balancing and tweaks. You should already know you level of like/dislike for 5e!

Those who don't know because they've missed the playtest phase, can buy the Starter Set for only 20 bucks!

 

[Blue]

I think most of the people complaining about the price tag would balk at spending that much money on other forms of entertainment, though.

I'm pretty sure the people who can afford to buy three $50 video games on a whim aren't the people complaining about D&D's price tag.

I'm pretty sure most of those people (including me) will read this thread and say "Yeah, those things you mention are expensive too. That's why I don't spend money on them either."

I'm with you. Movie prices are ridiculous such that I go about twice a year. I never buy games when they first come out.

You want me to play, give me a $50 single book for hardcover+electronic format that I can start running a campaign with, and then add on from there IF I feel I need more material. That's what Pathfinder did, that's what 13th Age did, two modern RPGs very close to D&D in market segment.

At this rate, a DM needs to shell out $150 to start a game to see if we like it. That's a heavy barrier to entry. To back to the price examples, for me that would be skipping four years of movies. Is it four years of movies better than the RPGs I have right now?

 

[Dannorn]

$150 to make the game playable is slightly steep, especially considering D&DN is selling to a shrinking niche market. There aren't as many of us as there used to be, and while the Starter Set seems like a great intro the price for the core 3 is going to scare away many, if not most, of the people who might have been drawn into the hobby by it. This is one thing I think Paizo did really well with Pathfinder is that you can buy one book and play the game. Your options are limited (with no monster stats you're restricted to Core Race foes), but everything you need is there for $40. The entry cost is low and the book gives a clear idea of just where the game can go.

D&D has had this problem for a long time (since 3e at least) the sheer number of books you need to play the game is intimidating to a lot of new players (on top of being expensive).

 

[Olgar Shiverstone]

No, in perspective $150 isn't really that much for adult entertainment (not that kind of adult entertainment -- get your mind out of the gutter).

But it sure seems pretty steep to me as a means of attracting new, young players to the game -- teens and college students, who probably don't have the disposable income. IMO the PHB should be priced at a lower price point to bring more players into the game. $90-120 for the set would seem to be a better target.

 

[fjw70]

According to Mearls once you get a PH you will be able to run a game without the MM or DMG. So that barrier to entry seems a lot lower than $150.

 

[delericho]

You want me to play, give me a $50 single book for hardcover+electronic format that I can start running a campaign with, and then add on from there IF I feel I need more material. That's what Pathfinder did, that's what 13th Age did, two modern RPGs very close to D&D in market segment.

Nitpick: the Pathfinder Core Rulebook doesn't include monsters; you need the Bestiary ($40) as well. I don't know about 13th Age.

However, Paizo do three things that are very nice, and WotC may want to at least consider one or all of them:

- A free PDF along with the physical copy, if you're a subscriber to the product line.
- A low-cost ($10) PDF of the Core Rulebook for those people who weren't subscribers to the product line.
- An online SRD that includes pretty much all the rules material. So, in fact, in order to play Pathfinder you actually have a minimum buy-in of $0.

 

[MerricB]

No, in perspective $150 isn't really that much for adult entertainment (not that kind of adult entertainment -- get your mind out of the gutter).

But it sure seems pretty steep to me as a means of attracting new, young players to the game -- teens and college students, who probably don't have the disposable income. IMO the PHB should be priced at a lower price point to bring more players into the game. $90-120 for the set would seem to be a better target.

The lower price point is the starter set. $20 seems like an absolute bargain for that - especially with character creation rules and covering levels 1-5.

We also get a lot of new, young players into the game through store-based events. D&D Encounters being the primary one that we use in Ballarat. My last two Encounters sessions have had 21 players attending each one, our highest ever numbers. Many of the players are playing D&D for the first time, and they're coming back for more.

It's also worth noting the cost of a recent Warhammer Army book, Warriors of Chaos - US$49.50. It's a full-colour hardcover book. The kicker? It is only 96 pages!

Ultimately, I want to see what's in the books before I can really judge whether they are worth it!

 

[delericho]

It's also worth noting the cost of a recent Warhammer Army book, Warriors of Chaos - US$49.50. It's a full-colour hardcover book. The kicker? It is only 96 pages!

Let's not encourage WotC to emulate Games Workshop, please!

(Heck, given their recent performance, Games Workshop really shouldn't be emulating Games Workshop.)