D&D General The Double-Edged Sword: Is The New D&D Edition a Cash Grab in Disguise?

[GrimCo]

I don't think this is cash grab.

Cash grab, at least how i see it, is when company cobbles together subpar product just to fill some trendy niche and then proceeds to sell as much as possible until hype train dies out.

On the other hand, new editions in ttrpgs are generally good thing. They are either natural evolution with some improvements ( 3 to 3.5) or radical revolution (3 to 4th). This is evolution, still same old 5e, just updated with some new stuff. 10 years is more than enough for single cycle.

I don't see anything wrong. Nobody forces anyone to buy new stuff. And old timers playing with newbs isn't really an issue. New people will play any rules you use since they don't really know better. Friend of mine started couple of months ago PF1 game with 4 newbs ( as in, never played any ttrpg ever before that), Other option is, for joining newb group as an veteran, if newbie group is using new edition, you don't really need to buy anything, since someone from group probably has bought all the books, so you can borrow book, look up SRD, or, get this, use smartphone and just take photos of pages with things that are interesting to you as a player ( class, race, etc).

Personally, i judge product on it's own merit. If i find it offers me good value for money, i'll buy. If it doesn't i wont. As a customer, i have ultimate power over my wallet.

 

[MichaelSomething]

Money was not THE factor but it was certainly A factor.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

I think pretty much everyone agrees that the DMG can be improved. That doesn't mean complex, concrete, spelled out exploration rules would be better for the game.

No but i would love to actually see them.

 

[Oofta]

No but i would love to actually see them.

If anyone has ever come up with any, I'd like to see them too. Well, at least any that I think would be worthwhile and not narrowly focused on a specific style of play.

 

[Mirrorrorrim]

I do not regard it as a cash grab. It's been 10 years and 5E has various issues that would be nice to have them fixed.

Agreed. Plans that are both profit-driven and community-focused for long-term growth are not the same as short-term cash-grabs.

 

[Autumnal]

But I am looking at it before I buy it! If other people like it and adopt it, how is that a scam? Was 5e a scam?

Is life real? Am I a hologram? What is the sound of one hand clapping? Was New Coke an intentional failure? Are hot dogs really made of dogs?

Very easily but in a way too long to include in this margin, no, yes, no unless the whole universe is, whiff whiff whiff, no, that depends on what you mean by “dog”. Is there anything else you need help with?

 

[Mirrorrorrim]

Why do you feel like it isn't? Do you feel that rebuying the whole game is just "the way it is" and accept it?

I'm not re-buying the whole game because I have to. If the revised books give me value, they've earned my business.

But we can all still play 5E with our current 2014 books. And every new adventure going forward will still be able to be played using the 2014 books as well.

Sure, new generations will be mostly buying 2024 books, but that's nothing weird. If they just kept running more print runs of the 2014 books, new and recurring customers still be buying more recently manufactured books. They'd just have that decade-old design.

Books are a tool. Old tools wear out and can be replaced. If you find nothing wrong with your current version of the books, there is no harm done to you. You will always be able to find used books if yours falls apart.

But a refresh can be inspiring to the imagination. The game occurs in our minds, not in the books. How many people here say that they are bored with the 2014 options? Fresh ideas can be a boon. I see so many people excited about the entire monk refresh, the Archfey warlock redesign, and more. They are getting high marks compared to the marks given for the 2014 options.

 

[Mirrorrorrim]

See, and that's again going to be a problem, that makes your old books will be completely obsoleted as the rules would no longer apply to them. Why not keep both SRDs?

Who is to say that they won't have the old SRD still up because it is a reference document that supports the older products created with that old SRD? Do you know something we don't? Or just saying that the sky is falling?

 

[Mirrorrorrim]

I'm not saying they don't. I'm saying put that creative use into making great content for the base and not forcing a change to the core rules.

They are creating great content for the base. An even larger base than an adventure can touch.

I think the UA showcased a lot to be excited for. No adventure excites me as much as this project to refine the core rules. Because I like to make/adapt adventures to my own stories.

 

[Mirrorrorrim]

D&D Converse Sneakers
D&D Mugs
D&D Toaster Burn-ins
D&D Plates

But no, an actual D&D game product? That's the real cash grab.

Um. I want D&D swag. D&D is my thing. I like my Tiamat coasters. I like my mimic dice pouch. I like the grins strangers give me when they see me wearing my D&D t-shirts.

I like to collect my geek stuff! And so do most people. They may just have different geek passions.