D&D 5E When do you think they will announce the next book?

[bmfrosty]

em·u·late
ˈemyəˌlāt/Valider
verb
match or surpass (a person or achievement), typically by imitation.
"lesser men trying to emulate his greatness"
synonyms: imitate, copy, mirror, echo, follow, model oneself on; More
imitate.
"hers is not a hairstyle I wish to emulate"
COMPUTING
reproduce the function or action of (a different computer, software system, etc.).

I just can't imagine the enormously twisty logic that it takes you to post something like that.

 

[Kramodlog]

I just can't imagine the enormously twisty logic that it takes you to post something like that.

I quoted from an online dictionary. That is twisted logic?

 

[Kramodlog]

Look, you an expect WOTC to send you a pony in the mail now any day too. But they didn't say that either.

Lol. You really like to make me say stuff I didn't say. Can't you actually adress what I said? I never said WotC was the one talking. It is Mike Mearls who is answering a question from a reporter about what we should expect in terms of APs. The nuance is important.

 

[Jester David]

The Adventurers League already runs in that fashion. When you create a character, you also select a Story Origin (currently Tyranny of Dragons or Elemental Evil) and you can only use the options from that season for character advancement.

Cheers!

It's not even really a new change. The later seasons of Encounters during 4e followed the same model, with one key book to use for PCs thematically tied to the season.
Really, the D&D brand is pretty much doing what it was doing in the last couple years of 4e (2011 and 2012) with twice annual storylines that have connections to licensed products and the novels and fewer story-heavy accessories.

 

[Truename]

Look, you an expect WOTC to send you a pony in the mail now any day too.

Lol. You really like to make me say stuff I didn't say.

Would you two knock it off already?

 

[Kramodlog]

The problem is that elephant might actually be pretty small. Yes, they're printing lots of books, but how do their overall sales compare to D&D at its height?

That is an odd comparison as D&D heights is out of reach even for D&D . I am interested in the present and how Paizo and WotC are doing with their RPGs.

It's not that Wizards don't want to release those books at all, but they're allowing people to get more familiar with the system first.

I don't buy it. They had momentum and good will from their relatively successful launch. I'm not saying they should flood the market with products, but you wanna strike the iron while it is hot.

The APs are significant due to the branding crossover, not particularly due to them being the most important RPG products.

Ashame I'm just interested in the RPG.

 

[Jeff Albertson]

I wonder if that could solve "bloat" and "power creep". Release one splatbook with each AP.

Maybe no splatbooks, just APs, which obviously can include splat-crunch (as PotA does).

 

[weldon]

He did. The question the reporter asked was how often can we expect APs: .

Mearls answered two a year. http://www.pundak.co.il/library/roleplaying/638-mike-mearls-interview

It is pretty clear and there is no place for interpretation. Of course, the door is open to change. I do not contest that.

I think it's reasonable to expect 2 APs a year, but I will point out that a storyline is not the same thing as an AP. The reporter asked how often we can expect new storylines. Tyranny of Dragons, which is the specific storyline referenced in the interview, was supported by several different products including expansions to the Neverwinter MMO, minis, DM screens, etc. as well as HotDQ and RoT books which together formed the AP for that story.

There is plenty of room in Mearls statements left for Wizards to bring out 2 storylines a year which are supported by several products, but do not include an AP book in the mix. For example, I think it might be reasonable for them to release a campaign setting and a small module that covered a couple levels in support of a storyline. Mearls statement would still be true, even if there weren't a big AP for that season.

Releasing an AP for the first two storylines does set a strong precedent and establishes certain expectations, but that doesn't necessarily guarantee that the next storyline will be released exactly the same way. I suppose some will still complain that they didn't get a new AP as "promised" but I'm willing to give Wizards some latitude to roll out storylines with a different mix of products in the future.

In light of recent statements by Chris Perkins about trying to shake up expectations and surprise people with the way that setting material is released, I don't think we should jump to the immediate conclusion that every storyline will have a big AP book that covers levels 1-15.

 

[Kramodlog]

I think it's reasonable to expect 2 APs a year, but I will point out that a storyline is not the same thing as an AP. The reporter asked how often we can expect new storylines. Tyranny of Dragons, which is the specific storyline referenced in the interview, was supported by several different products including expansions to the Neverwinter MMO, minis, DM screens, etc. as well as HotDQ and RoT books which together formed the AP for that story.

There is plenty of room in Mearls statements left for Wizards to bring out 2 storylines a year which are supported by several products, but do not include an AP book in the mix. For example, I think it might be reasonable for them to release a campaign setting and a small module that covered a couple levels in support of a storyline. Mearls statement would still be true, even if there weren't a big AP for that season.

Releasing an AP for the first two storylines does set a strong precedent and establishes certain expectations, but that doesn't necessarily guarantee that the next storyline will be released exactly the same way. I suppose some will still complain that they didn't get a new AP as "promised" but I'm willing to give Wizards some latitude to roll out storylines with a different mix of products in the future.

In light of recent statements by Chris Perkins about trying to shake up expectations and surprise people with the way that setting material is released, I don't think we should jump to the immediate conclusion that every storyline will have a big AP book that covers levels 1-15.

I have to agree. We know that there is a D&D video game coming out in 2015 (and yes, it has been announced by WotC, so it can be cancelled). The video game will have a storyline. For example, we know one of the baddies on the cover is a Balor named Belaphoss. There is also a humanoid that looks like a Drow caster.

 

[weldon]

I have to agree. We know that there is a D&D video game coming out in 2015 (and yes, it has been announced by WotC, so it can be cancelled). The video game will have a storyline. For example, we know one of the baddies on the cover is a Balor named Belaphoss. There is also a humanoid that looks like a Drow caster.

I suppose you are just trying to be funny, but suggesting that the plot in a video game is the same thing as the brand storylines might create confusion. Better to think of D&D storylines as periodic marketing campaigns that promote all the various D&D related product lines (RPG, minis, aides, Adventurer's League, Neverwinter MMO, and yes, maybe even an AP book) by using a strong story-based theme, like Dragons, or Elemental Evil.