Uniting the [Publisher] Fanbase?

[MatthewJHanson]

I think a lot of the publishers you mention are excited about doing their own thing, though it's possible that they might support 5e in addition to what they are doing.

 

[Nylanfs]

Well we at PCGen will still be here to support 3pp if the 5e version of the DDI doesn't

 

[IanB]

How important has DDI really been?

For the character builder? I would say "tremendously important" from the 4e groups I know.

 

[Aeolius]

And for whatever reason, its a huge success. Bigger than imagined. It unites players from across the generations, streamlines and simplifies gameplay, cures devil chills, whatever.

It "will help put an end to war and poverty. It will align the planets and bring them into universal harmony allowing meaningful contact with all forms of life from extraterrestrial beings to common household pets, and . . . it’s excellent for dancing."

 

[marleykat]

I would say if Wotc is successful at making 5e decently compatible with older dnd games the support will come even if not directly. Because the product they are already producing will be easily ported in regardless. John Goodman of Goodman Games said much in the DCC thread.

 

[Mark CMG]

Allow me some wild, rampant speculation.

Flash forward to 2013 and D&Dnext is out. And for whatever reason, its a huge success. Bigger than imagined. It unites players from across the generations, streamlines and simplifies gameplay, cures devil chills, whatever. People love the game.

The game also has a fairly robust OGL/third party contract, at least better than the GSL was.

I wonder, would any of the classic 3pp come back to support D&D? Would Paizo (having their own successful 3e clone), or Goodman (who just made their own retro), or Necro/Frog God or Kenzer or Mongoose or Green Ronin?

Even if Next sold gangbusters, would it be enough to entice any of these companies to rejoin with WotC, or is the 3pp fanbase too hopelessly fractured across too many side-games (Pathfinder, DCC, etc) to ever see these companies support a new D&D again? Has the 4e/GSL debacle soured them to ever trust WotC?

I think if there is money to be made, the terms of the contract are not in some way onerous, the DDI included ways to add 3PP OGC, and the game design is good (I think this last part and the first, are almost a given), 3PP of repute that have moved on would probably jump on board even if they had to temporarily expand manpower during the 5E edition cycle to ensure not compromising their own non-related projects.

 

[grimslade]

An OGL/GSL might be largely moot if 5E is sufficiently flexible. People will buy Pathfinder mods and run them in 5e. They will update BECMI mods and the AD&D classics. If WotC can fulfill a basic modular system that appeals no one needs to do different. The only benefit to having a GSL is to have D&D Next compatible on your product. I don't know what the draw would be.
Hasbro wants D&D to succeed for the spin off licensing, the TTRPG is small fry in that scenario.
The hobby niche is getting smaller and fracturing into fiefdoms will only shrink it more. D&D is crpg and mmorpg fodder for the future, unfortunately.

 

[Jeff Carlsen]

If it's successful enough, then most third party publishers will make material again. D&D is the brand.

The real question is Paizo. Will they support? Will players leave the Pathfinder rules for D&D?

Paizo has built a very solid ecosystem around Golarion and the Pathfinder rules. I think it would take significant player demand for them to switch.

It's the very reason that D&D Next has to be more than good. It has to be phenomenal if it's going to unify us again.

 

[SlyDoubt]

I do not understand why people think everyone who plays Pathfinder is some sycophant. I don't understand what player demand is maybe.

We like the way paizo handles things. We like the communication. We like the people involved. The production values, the (usual) attention to detail, and the playtesting.

These are all things wotc can do, easily. Some of them they do already. Some stuff comes down to edition differences, sure. But most 3E players recognize the problems 3E has and want a game that fixes those. PFRPG does that to an extent but I do want to see D&D as a brand succeed. I think many other PFRPG players feel the same way. We are D&D players, we're just playing something with a different name right now.

 

[Dornam]

...We like the way paizo handles things...We are D&D players, we're just playing something with a different name right now.

QFT!

Pathfinder IS D&D for me more than 4e is.

That was WotCs fault, to design not a sucessor but an entirely new game AND literally forced 3PP to still support 3.5

So if 5e "only" manages to be an awesome system, I still don't care because I already have an awesome system at my fingertips AND it is awesomely supported with great adventures and a really nice and dedicated crew intimately in touch with their fanbase.

But if 5e is an awesome system AND a real sucessor to 3.5 (and maybe even 4e) then I could see myself playing Paizo APs under 5e rules.