D&D 5E Why such little content (books) for Dnd 5e?

[Nostromo]

I just checked the Wizards Catalog and there really isn't anything more coming out for 5e this year.

Obviously, there could be a bunch of stuff in the works but not announced...but publicly there is nothing really coming/announced other than that chaos/abyss thing later in the year.

Is there another site/location that outlines their roadmap?

I just bought all 3 core books and am excited for more. Anything, really: campaigns, options books, splat books etc....but at this point it looks like 5e RPG table top is dead....

They will probably milk the license cash cow for awhile and the board game angle...but looks like the classic RPG is deader than .... dead...

Hope I am wrong.

 

[Sunseeker]

Not sure if serious.

 

[mlund]

Morgan's Maxim from Poe's Law?

Marty Lund

 

[The Crimson Binome]

Is there another site/location that outlines their roadmap?

I just bought all 3 core books and am excited for more. Anything, really: campaigns, options books, splat books etc....but at this point it looks like 5e RPG table top is dead....

Assuming you are serious...

This is the intent for this edition. The reasons why 3.5 and 4E had to end was, in part, because they put out so many options that the game became unwieldy and too difficult to actually play. With 5E, they're trying as hard as possible to not put out endless splat books and campaign options.

The focus is on keeping the core books relevant, so it will still be playable in ten years, and the main product for continuing revenue will be the published adventures.

 

[Talmek]

Assuming you are serious...

This is the intent for this edition. The reasons why 3.5 and 4E had to end was, in part, because they put out so many options that the game became unwieldy and too difficult to actually play. With 5E, they're trying as hard as possible to not put out endless splat books and campaign options.

The focus is on keeping the core books relevant, so it will still be playable in ten years, and the main product for continuing revenue will be the published adventures.

Has this strategy been confirmed in any way? Just curious to know if a representative from WotC had made a statement that this is the direction of the game in general with regards to release schedules. I know this would answer a lot of people's questions regarding why there's only been AP's released in the year since the core rule books have been published.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

Has this strategy been confirmed in any way? Just curious to know if a representative from WotC had made a statement that this is the direction of the game in general with regards to release schedules. I know this would answer a lot of people's questions regarding why there's only been AP's released in the year since the core rule books have been published.

I'm fairly certain that it has been confirmed, numerous times. They said that they don't want to end up with a DMG2 or PHB3, this time around.

That's not to say it won't happen, of course - those books would be huge sellers, if they wanted to make them - but it's a profit in the short term at the expense of longevity for the whole game.

 

[DaveDash]

It's not that too many books makes an edition unwieldy. No one forces you to buy books. For 3.5 I bought maybe 5 books.

It's that they can't make money out of printing endless books, and in fact, probably start to lose money after a while, as the cost of the book outweighs what they make on it. D&Ds business model of expensive books with expensive artwork is very front loaded.

They tried to go "all in" with 4e, and couldn't come up with a sustainable business model, even with trying to include subscription based services, so they've basically decided that old business model won't work long term.

As much as I want more stuff for 5e, this business model makes sense. Just hurry up with the damn conversions documents already (yeah yeah jury duty, whatever).

 

[Prism]

There is also a bunch of free stuff on their website under Unearthed Arcana

Eberron - additional character options
When armies clash - mass combat rules
Modifying classes - advice on building custom classes
Waterborne adventures - swashbuckling options

And several articles under behind the screens about playing the game

I know its not in a nice glossy book but its still content coming out relatively frequently

 

[Li Shenron]

I just bought all 3 core books and am excited for more. Anything, really: campaigns, options books, splat books etc....but at this point it looks like 5e RPG table top is dead....

Maybe it's the hobby of buying RPG stuff and never play the game which is dead.

 

[teitan]

Most RPGs these days do not have a supplement grind, it is a model that has fallen aside, even supplement heavy lines like the World of Darkness aren't as splat heavy as they were in the old days. Pathfinder is an exception to the new rule. It really isn't a sustainable model. Now they could do more than they are and that might change around the anniversary of the release with some new product but not a lot like 2-4e. Maybe two of those a year would be adequate plus a monster book. And maybe some small paperbacks like some of the odd 4e products.

The model seems to be similar to 1e, with the core rules driving sales and supplemented by adventures and the magazines. I like that model very much myself and feel the guidelines in the DMG for creating new races etc are more than adequate for designing your own stuff like new backgrounds and races, subclasses and the like. Use your imagination! Don't rely on WOTC.