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Message: <blockquote data-quote="The-Magic-Sword" data-source="post: 7000639" data-attributes="member: 6801252">I don't think so, i think we're seeing the baby step transition from 5e as the "simple" edition, to 5e as the inclusive "scaling modular complexity" edition. The Player's handbook and such have elements of that already- feats are optional, multiclassing is optional, different class options offer variously complex playstyles ranging from simple as the champion fighter to as complex as a druid or wizard. Going forward, they have the base game, all the way down to it's simplest form (the basic rules as found online with no rule variants in play)- this is the point where we start to see some of that modular content that let's folks tailor campaigns to their tastes. Many of the UA options play with ideas that aren't universal, the knight's marking mechanic, the "niche-mixing" subclasses like the scout, Mearls has a big section on crafting/downtime activities coming up, some of the options (like the planar ranger?) really wouldn't fit very well into every genre of game, the class options coming soon are the artificer (the magitech engineer!) and the psionic (the borderline sci-fi psychic!) both of which are controversial to purists but are important components in many games (eberron and dark sun, for instance.) We're expanding, not contracting, the Designers are even playing with new ideas to go further in the future mechanically.The slow release schedule seems to have people under the impression that the edition is done, and that 5e's claim to fame is being stripped-down, mass market, pure DND. But the design, ever since we were reading legend and lore columns at the end of 4e's life span- was the have a basic, durable core to the game, and then branch out with all sorts of options for Parties to tailor their game styles. Mearls called the book currently in the works "the first-major-rules-expansion" to 5e, which marks it's release as the end of an era, we're shifting up to second gear. It's time to see what 5e is really like once the foundation is established. As a homebrewer I know a lot can be done with this system- ranging from a huge multitude of new character options, and neat mechanics, to expanded variant subsystems for folks that like character building, the publication of new settings, rules to enhance different genres. They evidently have a 10 year plan (subject to change of course) for this edition, and I find it hard to imagine that they're running out of gas not even halfway through. I think every few years, the season setting will change- moving from forgotten realms to eberron, and onwards. Each of these will be major expansion points, with adventures built specifically to go with them, AL support, and a whole to-do not dissimilar to an MMORPG expansion. The slow release schedule means each of these books will be getting love as folks will have had time to recover (they've discussed the impact of fatigue on sales). If each is presented in a relatively isolated way, we'll never have the sales-killing "numbered sequel drain." New players will have a wide variety of products for optional use their their core DND game, and feel that they can determine to pick-and-choose or collect at their discretion, as each setting rotates out of "standard." The magic reference of course is intentional.Some of us will be playing DND "modern" with all of the 5e options at our fingertips as they come out and mixing it all together freely- artificers, defilers, and wizards of high sorcery. Some of us will be following with AL, focusing on DND "Standard" and focusing on each new setup as it comes out, others will probably be focusing on the products that satisfy our niche interest- playing DND "Eberron" or DND "Dark Sun" or whatever specifically long after it's made it's way through standard. This is all speculation of course, but I hope that I'm right, I really don't want another edition transition any time soon, and this model would actually be really satisfying.</blockquote>

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