D&D 5E What official 5E content do you want to see more of?

[humble minion]

Definitely player options. I understand that they're being extraordinarily cautious on this front because 'more options' generally means 'spellcasters benefit much more than anyone else' and the option bloat and rampant min-maxing of 3e is something they're trying to avoid, but there's still some gaping conceptual holes that have actually meant I've shelved PC ideas because I haven't been able to build them in a way I'm satisfied with. A warlord of some sort, a psionics system of some sort, some coverage of the glaringly lacking cleric domains - things like earth, justice, ancestors, darkness, love, agriculture. And yeah, there's some holes in the wizard/sorcerer spell lists that could really do to be filled too, acid/poison/cold spells etc to even out elements a bit, and a couple of extra in-combat options for abjurers wouldn't go astray either. A mechanical device-based tinkerer rogue would be nice. An iron-skin monk centred around on resisting damage. A sha'ir warlock. While we're talking completely unrealistic wishlisting, I'd really like them to retrofit in one more skill that covers politics/law/commerce etc, and have a way for warlocks to substitute a stat other than charisma for spells & class features, but that definitely won't happen, alas.

Settings, yes. I really find myself uninterested in the MtG books or the CR setting books, just not really my thing, but I'd do all sorts of horrible things for a deep 300+ page 5e treatment of Dark Sun (base it off the 4e reboot where Kalak is dead but the Prism Pentad hasn't happened, please). And if we get Athas we get psionics and elemental cleric domains, so I'm happy on both fronts there. My favourite iteration of Ravenloft is the 3e version that belongs to White Wolf, so I can't see much hope for that, but I'd buy Al-Qadim like a shot if it came along, or Spelljammer, or Planescape, or something along the lines of Kara-Tur. Something very non-standard, that stretches the definition of D&D away form the conventional quasi-European-medieval a bit.

The completist in me wants magic item and spell creation rules, but I can't see it happening. 5e's entire release philosophy seems to be 'if you don't give them hammers they can't smash the system' and they're keeping player options very firmly under control so far. So it seems unlikely.

 

[dave2008]

Spent some time checking DotMM: there are new magic items, embedded in the text: the book is too packed for an Appendix.

I thought that might be the case. It was the one adventure I assumed would be packed with them and I was surprised there were not any in an appendix.

 

[Bitbrain]

I want to know how the metaplot of Ravenloft and Dark Sun will continue.

If you ask me, it should be like how Ghosts of Saltmarsh handled Greyhawk, and Rising from the Last War handled Eberron: The metaplot shouldn’t really progress at all.

Instead, present a number of problems/adventure hooks in the source book, then let the individual tables advance the timeline however they see fit.

 

[Lem23]

If you ask me, it should be like how Ghosts of Saltmarsh handled Greyhawk, and Rising from the Last War handled Eberron: The metaplot shouldn’t really progress at all.

Instead, present a number of problems/adventure hooks in the source book, then let the individual tables advance the timeline however they see fit.

That's my preference too. You can still have big plots, lots of factions (and their aims and ambitions) in a sourcebook, but you don;t need to keep making huge changes to settings just for the sake of having a metaplot. Let the players and GMs do that at their own tables.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

The metaplot will not continue in this phase, but in FR. Maybe in the next phase, after the first D&D movie. My theory is the plans for the brand are multimedia, not only the board RPG, but also videogames, comics, novels, cartoons, toys and even action-live productions. This last one is an important detail because it means to can hire the best scripters to continue the metaplot of all the lines.

Maybe they are working in a future event like a multiverse secret crisis war with chronomancers and time dragons, and reboots of some franchises.

 

[aco175]

I would buy 5 smaller $10 adventures over a single $50 adventure. Not sure why, other than a whole AP gets long-winded and most of my group start to get bored and antsy. An earlier poster talked about a town with several smaller spin-off adventures. This would work. The Essentials box does some of this, but lacks most of the town of Phandalin. LMoP has more town and I have both, so not as big of a problem but for some it may be.

I could go for a box set like LMoP for levels 1-5 and another follow up for levels 6-10 or even 6-8. Maybe a 3rd box option for another few levels.

 

[Parmandur]

I would buy 5 smaller $10 adventures over a single $50 adventure. Not sure why, other than a whole AP gets long-winded and most of my group start to get bored and antsy. An earlier poster talked about a town with several smaller spin-off adventures. This would work. The Essentials box does some of this, but lacks most of the town of Phandalin. LMoP has more town and I have both, so not as big of a problem but for some it may be.

I could go for a box set like LMoP for levels 1-5 and another follow up for levels 6-10 or even 6-8. Maybe a 3rd box option for another few levels.

Two points:

First, smaller Adventures at WotC production values would not be $20, but at least $20 (as with the Phandelver material, or see Goodman Games small modules), so the value proposition would be significantly harmed.

Second, the WotC books are not "AP" really, but collections of smaller modular Adventures with a built-in theme, so it's effectively the same thing.

 

[Jeff Carlsen]

Isn't that what the starter box and essentials box provide?

Yes, and I like them very much. I'm imagining something similar, but with a larger scope, more adventures, and over a larger range of levels.

 

[MNblockhead]

My ideal would be for them to publish books at some regular interval that collected at least the best of the player options, magic items, spells, whatever, from at least the published adventures, if not the settings. I don't (can't) run published adventures, so I don't buy them. I don't (can't) run published settings, so I buy them reluctantly, if there's other stuff in them I can use. While there's little-to-no incentive for them to serve people like me, it seems as though they'd have a market for AL and AL-adjacent folks who are doing PHB+1.

DnD Beyond already fills this purpose. You can buy just monsters or magic items from adventurs if that's all you want. If they were to compile all the magic items from multiple adventures into one book, I can't see them bothering until after several years of adventures.

Personally, I like that adventures have custom monsters and magic items in them. They shouldn't have to stick to those published in the DMG or in some Magic Item compilation.

 

[prabe]

DnD Beyond already fills this purpose. You can buy just monsters or magic items from adventurs if that's all you want. If they were to compile all the magic items from multiple adventures into one book, I can't see them bothering until after several years of adventures.

Personally, I like that adventures have custom monsters and magic items in them. They shouldn't have to stick to those published in the DMG or in some Magic Item compilation.

I do not have and would strongly prefer not to purchase a subscription to D&D Beyond. I would prefer to have something either on my own bookshelves or my own hard drive. Part of the appeal of 5E for me is that I don't need a computer to keep track of my character sheet--the need to do so is a large part of why I am through with 3-dot-Pathfinder. I have a strong preference for gaming pen(cil)-and-paper, even now while I'm temporarily (inshallah) running on Discord.

I don't mind new stuff showing up in adventures. I just want them to eventually be available in a hardcover, or at least a download, or something else that I can buy that's not an adventure I will not run.