[UPDATED AGAIN!] SOUTHLANDS HEROES - New Character Options for D&D From The Folks Who Made TYRANNY O

Strange...there is no 5E Southland Campaign Setting (only Pathfinder), but a pdf for 5E?

 

[Morrus]

I can't really blame them. There's not a new OGL, so it's not worth it to have a 5e expert on staff or on call. They likely rely on the same dependable staff that does Pathfinder, people they know who have experience with a product they can reliable release books for. That means asking people to design and edit a product for a system they're less comfortable with, which is going to cause problems.

They produced Tyranny of Dragons for WotC.

 

[Jester David]

They produced Tyranny of Dragons for WotC.

Yes, and the people they tapped to write the big, hardcover adventure for D&D in the Forgotten Realms are not the same people they tapped to write the small softcover accessory for the Southlands.
(There's no overlap in design credit in the books.)

They could either ask people familiar with the Southlands and those options/content to make races and backgrounds or ask the few 5e people they have to familiarize themselves with the Southlands.

 

[Morrus]

Yes, and the people they tapped to write the big, hardcover adventure for D&D in the Forgotten Realms are not the same people they tapped to write the small softcover accessory for the Southlands.
(There's no overlap in design credit in the books.)

They could either ask people familiar with the Southlands and those options/content to make races and backgrounds or ask the few 5e people they have to familiarize themselves with the Southlands.

I've no insight into the workings of the company or how they choose to credit people, but there's no way Wolfgang Baur wasn't involved in everything. It's a very small outift!

 

[tsadkiel]

Maybe, for the PDF people. I must have a real book in my hands.

It is available in print, too.

 

[Morrus]

It is available in print, too.

Wow. And dated July 2nd. This is a total stealth release!

 

[Jester David]

I've no insight into the workings of the company or how they choose to credit people, but there's no way Wolfgang Baur wasn't involved in everything. It's a very small outift!

I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt. I would hope Mr. Baur would know better that to release a product like this.

 

[Magistus71]

My review is up: http://www.5mwd.com/archives/2904

Thank you for the review.

 

[mach1.9pants]

It does seem bad having direct copied text!

 

[CapnZapp]

Balace/powercreep check:

So there are races, backgrounds and subclasses.

The races aren't overpowered except for the werelions which are "Close enough". Could you expand on what is or isn't unbalanced?

Backgrounds: check (it would be really hard to make OP backgrounds if you're a reasonably serious designer, so glossing over it shouldn't be an issue)

The real concern is in the subclasses. Here the risk of powercreep is acute. No real details are given however (as the review finds plenty of other stuff to highlight).

My take of your review: I'll stick with official WotC supplements.

Thank you.

 

[turkeygiant]

My review is up: http://www.5mwd.com/archives/2904

I totally agree, it's nice we are getting some more 5e player options, these ones in particular though just don't have enough polish and consistent formatting to set any sort of standard for what these third party player options should look like.