D&D General The Crab Bucket Fallacy

[Pedantic]

Not the 4e fantasies unless they could pretend they were from earlier editions.

• Warlock pacts are pure unfiltered 4e (the 3.5 warlock explicitly did not make pacts)

Point of order, that was arguably imported flavor from late 3.5 other classes, including the Binder and Hexblade.

• Subclasses for sorcerers is pure 4e as is them having more fluff than "I guess they might have been descended from dragons? Maybe" and instead being casters that get their power from weirdness

Sorcerer as "magic from bloodline" also predates 4e, and we're just seeing a similar sharpening like we did with the warlock over time. If anything, Pathfinder 1e did the most to push it.

 

[Oofta]

It's more than 4e.

Where is the mystic swordsman... the pro wrestler.. plant race.. the aberrant race... the giant swords... the pet class... the magic mutant... the chaos knight...tiny race in the magic mecha suit... playable werewolves.

Where's urban fantasy... spaceship science fantasy...

5e is tame.

Can't even be a werewolf.

No game can be for everyone. If you want those things I'm sure there are 3PP out there. WotC is no longer doing the book-a-month club so there's less content.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Technically, the Sword of Sharpness still exists.

Already covered.

 

[Azzy]

The fighter is the most chosen class. That means that people like it. They, to borrow phrase, can smell what the Rock is cooking. This is what they want.

Maybe? In fantasy media, the warrior is the most common(?) heroic character archetype. People want to play that. Whether or not 5e gives them the experience they want is another matter (especially with both Wuxia and anime since becoming influential). I know I'm a fan of the Fighter class (conceptually), but I find the execution of said class lacking.

 

[Micah Sweet]

So if people don't want edition wars about 4E ... how about not bringing 4E into the conversation constantly? Maybe not telling people that it was replaced because it was "sabotaged" or other unprovable accusations? Because based on my experience if I state my opinion it will just be slammed as edition wars no matter what I say if it's not 100% positive.

I wish that weren't true, but more often than not...

 

[Micah Sweet]

It's more than 4e.

Where is the mystic swordsman... the pro wrestler.. plant race.. the aberrant race... the giant swords... the pet class... the magic mutant... the chaos knight...tiny race in the magic mecha suit... playable werewolves.

Where's urban fantasy... spaceship science fantasy...

5e is tame.

Can't even be a werewolf.

I have a great 3pp that let's you play all sorts of lycanthtopes!

It's all out there people.

 

[Minigiant]

No game can be for everyone. If you want those things I'm sure there are 3PP out there. WotC is no longer doing the book-a-month club so there's less content.

WOTC wants everyone's money and dreams of being the ONLY source of fantasy RPGs.

If WOTC desires everyone's money, they need to provide content for every.

 

[Oofta]

WOTC wants everyone's money and dreams of being the ONLY source of fantasy RPGs.

Do they? That's quite the unsubstantiated claim, especially with them putting core game in CC.

If WOTC desires everyone's money, they need to provide content for every.

That's why they allow 3PP. So if players want it, it's there. Meanwhile they take minimal risk while getting a cut of the profits.

Seems it has also had the knock-on effect of limiting competition. After all the TTRPG industry is brutal and you might get enough exposure to have a brand new game be successful but if you write a 3PP supplement for D&D you have big coattails to hang on to.

 

[Crimson Longinus]

I think they've tried to roll the Warden into the Barbarian.

Yes. Warden really had no identity beyond a barbarian, except a defender, and as 5e doesn't put classes into such rigid mechanical categories it makes perfect sense to combine them. And having run a campaign with a bear totem barbarian, they can be plenty tanky!

 

[Scribe]

Sorcerer as "magic from bloodline" also predates 4e, and we're just seeing a similar sharpening like we did with the warlock over time. If anything, Pathfinder 1e did the most to push it.

Pathfinder 1e does many things better. If it lifted them from 4e I don't know.

If 4e is the root of at will cantrips, well that's damning enough.