D&D 5E Where are the options?

[AaronOfBarbaria]

Why make it so difficult?

Make what so difficult?

It's far from impossible to please these people, just restart the bloat bandwagon.

...what does that have to do with anything?

There really is nothing else to say. These people want something WotC isn't prepared to give them. You prefer the new direction.

This statement has nothing to do with anything I was talking about. Yes, I prefer the new direction - it gives as many people what they want as is actually reasonable to expect being done. I also offered my assistance to anyone who could possibly be pleased but currently isn't... not sure why you seem to have taken that as some kind of attack.

Full stop. Why argue?

...about what? I've not argued anything in this thread except that when someone says "I want to make up some stuff" and their answer to "what do you want to make up?" is "I don't know" that they don't, in fact, want to make something up.

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

Wonderfully slippery definition of "expert" we're using now. First the neighbor counted as a non-expert whom one should heed and hearken to, then one's parents count as experts in whom one placed totally inappropriate faith, despite being exactly goddamn equivalent. I mean, when compared to, say, somebody who has actually worked as a cook and/or been educated as one.

Yes, good job. You've proven that any analogy only works if both sides of the discussion that it is being used in understand context.

There is no slippage - you've crossed the wires.

"Expected to be an expert" is to "dismissed out of hand, assumed not as competent"
as Diner cook is to Neighbor
as Parents are to child

 

[Maxperson]

Hiya!



Short answer? Nope.

Long answer? Probably nope.

They have stated many times that they are not going to go down the "splat book a month" route that 3.x/PF/4e did/does. IIRC, they basically said "we don't want to pump out rules upon rules upon rules...we want the individual DM's and Players to use the core rules to create their own stuff...we want them to make the game their own...make rulings that make sense for them and their game". They have (mostly) been sticking to this.

They have also stated they want a MUCH reduced product release speed; as I said, no more "splat book a week/month" craziness that basically destroyed 3.x and 4e (again, IMO).

The mantra of 5e is: "Rulings...not rules".

^_^

Paul L. Ming

The problem is that there is a middle ground between a book a month and no books at all. WotC has a history of knee jerk reactions to issues that result in overcompensation that ruins games. 4e is a prime example. Lots of good ideas there that got carried away and turned people off to the game. This lack of official support for 5e is very likely going to do the same.

 

[ExploderWizard]

Good to see that my prediction--that the Standard 5th Edition Response for advice/help threads will show up on the first page--continues to hold true. *sigh* Do either of you realize how useless this answer is? "Make up whatever you want!" isn't helpful when someone is looking for help on WHAT to make up or HOW to do it, still less for those who, for whatever reason, lack the time/interest/energy to make their own things and would like to make use of "vetted" things.

What are forums like these for if not to get feedback and help on what stuff to make or how to go about it? If you can't even identify what it is that is supposedly missing how do you know its missing?

I am happy that those who just want published lists of rules exploits aren't getting a steady stream of them. The player base will be better off leaving that in the past. DMs in search of additional material for their games can still get it from the DM Guild and places such as this very site.

"Vetted" simply means a corporate stamp has been slapped on something. Given the sheer amount of game breaking "vetted" material produced in the past, players should appreciate that WOTC is no longer churning out reams of unbalanced official bloat just to sell a few books. Everyone's game is different. Now that the OGL for 5E has opened up opportunity for unlimited support material the better chance we have for a wider variety of products to cater to our many different styles. This is better than having a steady stream of "official" products designed for a more narrow scope of play.

I can't wait to see how much cool stuff will start flowing out in the future. If there is a market for unbalanced character splat rest assured that someone will fill it. The days of "official RAW" being in charge of what sees play at the table is over. Each group gets to decide what stuff they want to include and who produced it doesn't matter.

 

[Jester David]

Now that you're saying what you really think, instead of using absurd arguments, I have an easier time relating.

I know they won't want a 5.5. The fixes will have to arrive as new options, lightly disguised.

That's still problematic, as they're adding new options that do what existing options do. So it doesn't really add more choices and character options to the game. And, since it's presenting a more powerful version of an existing option, it's pure power creep. And it does nothing to remove the poor options from play, which remain potential traps.

There's no real good solution for dealing with underpowered options. Even free DMsGuild PDFs with optional revisions wouldn't do the trick, since it'd be easy to miss.

 

[cmad1977]

Good to see that my prediction--that the Standard 5th Edition Response for advice/help threads will show up on the first page--continues to hold true. *sigh* Do either of you realize how useless this answer is? "Make up whatever you want!" isn't helpful when someone is looking for help on WHAT to make up or HOW to do it, still less for those who, for whatever reason, lack the time/interest/energy to make their own things and would like to make use of "vetted" things.



This, however, is a good answer because of the second paragraph. "DM's Guild is meant to replace official support. If you don't like unofficial support, and aren't happy with the rate of publication, 5e may not be the game for you." Which, of course, sucks if you LIKE 5e, but better to face the (potential) fact that it is never going to do what you want it to do than to wait for something that won't happen, frustrated all the while.

The answer is as useless as the question.

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

The problem is that there is a middle ground between a book a month and no books at all.

WotC is currently in said middle ground, and appears intent upon staying there.

 

[Kite474]

WotC is currently in said middle ground, and appears intent upon staying there.

So a book a year? And said book barely filled with anything useful? I feel that a little weak. Hell even if you count AP's two of the good ones have been retreads!

 

[AaronOfBarbaria]

So a book a year? And said book barely filled with anything useful? I feel that a little weak. Hell even if you count AP's two of the good ones have been retreads!

Unearthed Arcana, the SRD, and the DM's Guild are all support for the game, and are all officially endorsed as such by WotC.

 

[Kite474]

Unearthed Arcana, the SRD, and the DM's Guild are all support for the game, and are all officially endorsed as such by WotC.

So we have: A site thats currently an utter mess with no real quality products, the SRD that is pretty useless, and Merals sloppy seconds.... Not exactly pillars of confidence. Hell they all have the same problem: No real production value or much care. Hell even the disaster that was Complete Warrior had the former.