D&D General Which of these should be core classes for D&D?

[Micah Sweet]

I think they kind of have. There is no fully realized setting, because I wont grant them Eberron. They want something less defined, more free form, and they dont want to be tied down.

Over the last few weeks I've been hilariously busy, and increasingly frustrated at the discourse here (not with you) and people continuing to appeal to or refer to old editions as if they are relevant today, in the year of our lord 2023.

It really isnt anymore. "Oh you have your old 2e lore in old books." Who cares? 5e is going to be 10 years old. It is the defacto definition of D&D for the largest 'generation' of gamers, and is unless WotC throws a massive curve ball next year, pretty much going to be exactly what it is in a post Tashas world. "Oh it was like this in 1e." "Oh 4e fixed everything and is gods gift." It just doesnt matter.

5e is shaping up to be evergreen, and is going to be the definition of D&D, for a TON of people, for decades.

Probably the saddest thing I've ever heard about gaming. Picture WotC 5e squeezing the industry tighter and tighter.

 

[Scribe]

Probably the saddest thing I've ever heard about gaming. Picture WotC 5e squeezing the industry tighter and tighter.

Thing is, they wanted to (and lets please not debate this here again folks) but they didnt.

So instead we get things like this.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dndshorts/ryokos-guide-to-the-yokai-realms-a-5e-tome

And I'm fine with that. I dont need Wizards to do anything beyond NOT screwing up 5e/D&D further. BG3 shows the way, D&D can still be the D&D some of us want, and the core 'truth' of 5e doesnt do anything to screw that up.

Yet.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Thing is, they wanted to (and lets please not debate this here again folks) but they didnt.

So instead we get things like this.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dndshorts/ryokos-guide-to-the-yokai-realms-a-5e-tome

And I'm fine with that. I dont need Wizards to do anything beyond NOT screwing up 5e/D&D further. BG3 shows the way, D&D can still be the D&D some of us want, and the core 'truth' of 5e doesnt do anything to screw that up.

Yet.

Yeah, I will never forgive them for the OGL disaster. It was no less than corporate tyranny, an attempt at "Now all restaurants are Taco Bell".

 

[Vaalingrade]

I'm the exact opposite. I want few main classes and I want them to have subclasses and a lot of customisation.

The current subclass system is too throttled to allow a lot of customization. Just look at how hard Fighter chugs to be terrible enough to allow the Champion to exist while also trying to allow classes that deserve to exist also be there.

 

[Remathilis]

I think they kind of have. There is no fully realized setting, because I wont grant them Eberron. They want something less defined, more free form, and they dont want to be tied down.

D&D is treating settings as backgrounds for adventures, not living, breathing worlds. Consider:

SCAG specifically goes out of its way to provide unreliable narrators and a "its your Faerun" sidebar.
Eberron, Ravnica and Theros provide one area in detail, but much of the setting is barely sketched out beyond a few paragraphs. Eberron is specific barely gives any details beyond Sharn, and places beyond Khorvaire are summed up in a paragraph or two each.
Ravenloft is treated as a dozen micro-settings with some over-arching connective tissue, with plenty of "decide your own answers" sections and a whole slew of "domain ideas" that amount to one-paragraph descriptions.
Strixhaven, Spelljammer, Dragonlance, Greyhawk (via Saltmarsh) and I presume Planescape is giving us enough setting info to run the attached modules.

WotC's settings have been DIY, we're giving you the inspiration but not the answers. This has been consistent since day one. We all balked when WotC declared there is no cannon, but WotC has been pushing DMs to use their setting info as springboards rather than Bibles for a while now.

 

[Remathilis]

Yeah, I will never forgive them for the OGL disaster. It was no less than corporate tyranny, an attempt at "Now all restaurants are Taco Bell".

It was exactly what Unity tried a few weeks back with their crazy scheme to exploit game designers for using the Unity Engine. They were trying to collect money back from people using their "engine" to make popular games. The fact that WotC walked it back (much like how Unity is trying to do now) shows it wasn't a one-off hairbrained idea by some WotC/Hasbro suit but an idea that exists in multiple companies and products. Its something that is going to appear in other companies, and each time they will refine the trick to try to make it more palatable.

In that regard, I'm glad WotC tried it early and ham-fistedly. We're probably safe for a while now.

 

[Mind of tempest]

The current subclass system is too throttled to allow a lot of customization. Just look at how hard Fighter chugs to be terrible enough to allow the Champion to exist while also trying to allow classes that deserve to exist also be there.

I have no issue with a sort of default vanilla flour but it is better when they use real vanilla rather than fortified styrofoam.

It was exactly what Unity tried a few weeks back with their crazy scheme to exploit game designers for using the Unity Engine. They were trying to collect money back from people using their "engine" to make popular games. The fact that WotC walked it back (much like how Unity is trying to do now) shows it wasn't a one-off hairbrained idea by some WotC/Hasbro suit but an idea that exists in multiple companies and products. Its something that is going to appear in other companies, and each time they will refine the trick to try to make it more palatable.

In that regard, I'm glad WotC tried it early and ham-fistedly. We're probably safe for a while now.

I give it two years

 

[Frozen_Heart]

5e is shaping up to be evergreen, and is going to be the definition of D&D, for a TON of people, for decades.

Evergreen? As in constantly dropping pine needles and poisoning the forest floor for any other life trying to spring up, leading to a barren environment beyond that one species?

 

[Minigiant]

5e isn't going to be evergreen no matter what WOTC says.

There will be a 6e as the sales will slow and the designer run out ofnew ideas they are passionate about.

Plus there are barely any old settings yet to rerelease

 

[Mind of tempest]

5e isn't going to be evergreen no matter what WOTC says.

There will be a 6e as the sales will slow and the designer run out ofnew ideas they are passionate about.

Plus there are barely any old settings yet to rerelease

yeah they might have to innovate the horror