Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Giltonio_Santos" data-source="post: 6615639" data-attributes="member: 36874">I think it's a bit more complicated. If I understand WotC's current vision correctly, it's not just a matter of thinking that splatbooks won't make them the intended profit, it's also a matter of thinking that splatbooks poison the game and make it not viable in the long run. If this is really what they're thinking, I must say I agree with them.The 2E model: after 5 years, players don't feel like D&D players anymore. They're Dark Sun players, Forgotten Realms players and Planescape players. They lose contact with the core identity of the game and vanilla D&D is not an interesting product anymore.The 3E/4E model: after 5 years, new players don't even know what they have to buy if they want to start with the game. Old players had so much of Martial This and Arcane That that they start new campaigns by deciding which books are allowed and which are not. Different people don't even feel like they are playing the same game anymore.The 5E model: give players a toolbox, but try to keep it small. Grow organically, so you can keep growing for a longer time. I'd even call it a 1E model, but their storyline model is very different from the way 1E approached adventure publishing. In fact, my only problem with WotC's model right now is that I miss some solid short adventures. Still, 3rd party is moving quickly to fill that niche.So, things as I see them: it's ok to ask for products that are within their publishing model. I think, for example, that we really need to move somewhere else after "Rage of Demons". I'll soon start Elemental Evil, but I'm not sure I'll be able to convince my players to save the Sword Coast again after that, and I'm pretty certain that if we end up playing RoD they won't want to see the Forgotten Realms again for two or three years. At that point, WotC's focus in a specific setting would start to damage their own business plan, in my opinion.Splatbooks, on the other hand, effectively damage the storyline model by pushing the rules farther than intended and generating a huge amount of disconnect that affects both organized and home play. No amount of focus placed in "designing an experience" - and no amount of adventure playtest - can cope with five years of "Complete Stuff". An Oriental Adventures or Psionics Handbook once in a while, just to keep things fresh, would be good, but I'm afraid anything beyond that is prone to mess with their plans of making an "evergreen D&D".Obviously, this is just how I see things. WotC actual plans can be something entirely different, and we'll have to wait before we get to see them in practice.</blockquote>

Verification