D&D 5E Wanting more content doesn't always equate to wanting tons of splat options so please stop.

[pemerton]

Wotc has no way of knowing exactly what everyone wants

This is true, but it is equally true for you.

But that doesn't mean that WotC's commercial decisions are being made randomly or blindly. Presumably they collect evidence, and try to do the best they can in light of it. Of course their behaviour won't be perfectly rational in light of the evidence - no organisation's is, given the various foibles that institutional decision-making is subject to - but there's no reason at all to think they'd do better by following your advice.

They are not "humans just like us." They are "humans who work at WotC unlike us."

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You, by necessity of not working for WotC, can know only half truths.

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Your incomplete knowledge makes you ill prepared to decide what is best for WotC. That's why I say I trust only them to make decisions on what's best for them. They have all the data you can never have. And they want what's best for themselves.

What if those things only appeal to such a small fraction of the D&D audience that they cost more to produce than they'll make back in sales? Wouldn't it be better for D&D overall to not do that?

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Your personal opinion of the option volume might not reflect the opinion of most D&D players, and more options might not be really what they need.

At the end of the day, I want what's best for D&D, and Wizards is the only entity with enough information to determine what that means.

we may have different definitions of what a "healthy" D&D brand looks like.

Lots of differing views here about what is "best" for D&D.

Presumably, WotC's publishing strategy is best for them as a commercial publisher (or, at least, the best feasible strategy in light of the available evidence).

It may or may not be the best for D&D players (in general), or for a majority of D&D players. This depends heavily on what parameters we set - I mean, what might be even better for D&D players is giving away free books, but obviously that is not feasible. Still, it might be that WotC could suppress its profit margins yet still deliver the books it is delivering, and in that sense could provide something better for D&D players.

Then there is "what is best for the D&D brand". I'm not sure how that relates to the above, but it looks more like something that is commercially important to WotC than something that matters to individual D&D players.

And then we have "what is best for D&D". Whatever exactly that is, I don't think it's necessarily identical to WotC's commercial interests at all. And it mightn't be identical to what the majority of D&D players want, either.

 

[BMaC]

Wizards development philosophy and release schedule is now modeled after a MMORPG: a few DLCs per year (Adventure Paths) and a bit of content patches (splat books). It appears that a large number of their customers are coming to D&D from online gaming/MMORPGs so this model works for them. It's unsatisfactory for a lot of people but sadly I suspect we're the minority.

 

[Warmaster Horus]

I'm pretty happy with what we have thus far. As a DM I can adapt current materials for YEARS.

However as a player I'm starting to run low on options that interest me. I've got something like 9 active PCs and considering starting a 10th. But none of the remaining character options which I haven't played yet thrill me much. Providing more class/race options is about all I'm looking for these days.

 

[delericho]

At this point, I've made my peace with the current WotC schedule. I'd like to see a little more, but I don't see that happening. And, in particular, I'm now inclined to think 5e just isn't a good fit for Eberron anyway, so half of the setting support I would have liked is now largely moot.

Where the OP is right, though, is that asking for a bit more is not the same as wanting a return to the days of bloat.

(And while even a slow rate of hardback releases will inevitably lead to bloat eventually, if that eventually is far enough in the future then it doesn't matter - even this edition will be replaced (or worse) eventually, so if it hasn't bloated by 2024 then it probably never will.)

 

[jasper]

….Giving them (new players) more content could be the best thing since sliced bread……..
Would that be regular white bread, wheat bread, gluten free bread, moldy bread, week old discount bread etc? So too many options or wall of books could turn new players off.
For those wanting more official content. Have you tried contacting WOTC with your finished content to see if they buy it?
Moonsong... But it appears I'm far from the norm, because whenever I want to play, most DMs are extremely cautious, conservative, sticking to RAW, sometimes outright avoiding optional stuff, if not stuck with 4 races 4 classes , and are wary of 3rd party, let alone actual homebrew. Having some more official options that legitimated my character concepts would solve part of it…….
I have been BURNED before with official and semi-official stuff. So I am a “Core or Door” Dm. Now once we both get to know each other. I will allow home brew with the upfront agreement of me nuking your option. Aka Moon laser beam Vulcan elf child with an Uzi was okay up to 10th level. Now it over the top. Bring in a new 10th level pc and I give you x,y, z items.
I have played a wizard which wore 3 piece suits in a dungeon crawl and use a cane as major weapon and magic item. The dm allowed me to reskin (we did have that word back then) staff to cane.
Jester David…The fear of homebrew is something that likely came out of 3e and 4e, where there was enough content for everyone... and then some. Mindsets need to change. The solution to that problem is not for WotC to change their market strategy, it's for you to talk with your DM…….
No it was November 1982 1E for me. When some gamer in another Company handed me a 6 inch binder of house rules because he was smarter than Gary. Back then you could only get a 6 inch binder from stealing from military tech manuals.
….DMs that are cautions of adding that new 3rd Party content to their game might also be cautious of new splat book content as well…… Darn straight seen too many broken for my world pcs coming from TSR/Wotc.
And back to the OP.
What dm tools do you need? A pc generator? A monster generator? A map maker? ETC. Personally I would love one where I could plug in the following. World size/type. Earth add steeping stone islands from east coast America to France. Stepping stone from Australia to Peru. The it would randomize the world and cities and populate them. Second If I enter the Pc class and level it would spit out a monster of x CR.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Corwin]

It is no secret, an utility-focused dumb -if not also feebleminded- but very human-looking sorcerer(ess) who fights with spears has a talking raven familiar and goes everywhere on a floating disk dragged by an unseen servant.

I feel your pain. I'm in the same boat. 5e is equally incapable of letting me play...

HELKBOYRINE!

Stupid 5e. It's tagline should be, "Stifling creativity since 2014!"

 

[jayoungr]

However as a player I'm starting to run low on options that interest me. I've got something like 9 active PCs and considering starting a 10th.

I have a feeling you're in the minority having that many characters, though. How high a level have you played them to? (For comparison, I usually DM, so I've only had the opportunity to create four PCs so far. And most of them have only been played for three or four sessions tops.)

But none of the remaining character options which I haven't played yet thrill me much. Providing more class/race options is about all I'm looking for these days.

A few possible solutions (that you may already have considered):

1. What about trying different subclasses? A diviner wizard should play pretty differently from an evoker, for instance.

2. If you're not in AL, the DM's Guild is your friend. New classes and races galore.

3. Unearthed Arcana also has new subclasses and races, though I don't believe it has any new full classes. As does SCAG. But again, if you're in AL, that may not be an option for you.

4. And of course, Volo's Guide will definitely have some new race options when it comes out. Maybe those will keep you going until the Big Book of Crunch (which I'm hereby abbreviating BBOC) arrives.

 

[jgsugden]

Buy the stuff they make that you want. Don't buy the rest. Talk up the things you want that they have not yet made so they see the interest in it.

We vote with our money. That is how theY determine what gets made, when and what form it takes.

 

[iserith]

All I need is the Basic Rules, a set of dice, and a bottle of Jameson to rock your world.

The rest is just gravy.