WotC WotC in a small decline as revenue drops by 16% as Hasbro shares hit a new 52-week low

[MonsterEnvy]

I have to admit I haven't bought much from WotC lately, not because I'm mad at them but they just haven't released anything worth buying.

The Wild Beyond The Witchlight - Sounds cool, but is a campaign, so no sale.
Fizban's Treasury of Dragons - Maybe I'm playing the wrong game, but I've never been keen on dragons, and nothing in it seemed exciting. I think that's first sourcebook I've skipped in 5E (rather than a setting book or adventure).
Strixhaven - Is a campaign with a relatively sketched-out setting that has a massive tonal conflict with the much edgier/cool MtG take on the same setting. Again not buying campaigns.
Call of the Netherdeep - Sounds cool, but it's a campaign, so no sale.
Journeys Through The Radiant Citadel - Cute but I need a bunch of short but extremely heavily themed and location-specific adventures like I need a hole in the head.
Spelljammer - A wildly underdetailed, overpriced very straight take on a setting I was only ever moderately keen on. Custom designed to avoid me buying it!

I did get MotM though, but that's it. Normally I'd have spent a lot more. What's interesting to me is, via Beyond, I can see the purchases of the other DMs I play with via Beyond/Roll 20, and one of them bought The Wild Beyond the Witchlight, and another one bought MotM, but that's it. That's unusual for those three. One of them habitually buys virtually every setting and adventure book, and the other buys most settings, but neither bought anything.

I might buy Dragonlance, but like, every time the designer does an interview they seem to manage to make it slightly less attractive. I wasn't expecting some hardline trad Dragonlance, but it sounds awfully like they're going for generic fantasy with a vague DL motif (even by DL's low standards!), which is honestly a bit weird. So I'm very much awaiting reviews from people who aren't the kind of fan-reviewers who only give WotC print products between 3.5 and 5 stars lol.

So basically you are against buying adventures period not even to mine ideas. You missed out on Fizban's I would say.

 

[MGibster]

It was front page when it was announced in 2019.

It's hard to keep up with everything. If the game had been successful, I probably would have remembere

I miss honest to god sourcebooks. Millions of ideas for adventures and fun reads to boot.

I kind of miss good sourcebooks too. But while they were entertaining, I'm not sure how often I used them for gaming.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

I feel the same. Netherlight was a gift I barely cracked. Fizban's was ultimately an error in judgement on my part, and the rest managed to un-sell me one way or another.

Wait you didn't even like Fizban's, no wonder I can't agree with you on nearly anything. What did you find so wrong about it?

 

[MonsterEnvy]

I stopped buying 5th Ed books because I find them to be poor products.

I miss honest to god sourcebooks. Millions of ideas for adventures and fun reads to boot.

Now you get 10 pages of basic lore and a half asses adventure that need ed a rewrite or 2.

I mean I was excited for the Icewind Dale adventure and that was like 2 adventures spliced together and each made by a committee that never talked to each other.

Most of the published adventures they put out just fall apart about halfway to 2/3rds through.

I feel you have not actually looked at lots of the books.

 

[Zardnaar]

Didn't pick up Netherlight (no interest in CR, it's actually a turn-off) and I agree on Fizban's. I got it as a Christmas present and haven't used it once. However, I think Tasha's was the book that started making me reconsider my D&D purchases.

Spelljammer was something I was definitely looking forward to, but it's anemic content now has me somewhat leery of getting more campaign settings. I have to admit I am picking up Dragonlance (I just couldn't resist a 5E version, and the Soth cover couldn't be passed up), but beyond that it's a very "wait and see" prospect, especially with what I'm seeing them do with OneD&D.

I suspect I'm not alone in watching all this going forward. With the pandemic out of the way and people starting to turn back to their old ways, I suspect they'll see a flat-lining ahead.

Tasha's was a hmmn for me due to the power creep. Xanathars was really good.

And the other hooks have either been weak or rehash.

 

[Stormonu]

So basically you are against buying adventures period not even to mine ideas. You missed out on Fizban's I would say.

As you apparently seem to like Fizban's, I have to ask - what about it do you like? I'd like a reason to use it, but really only the Draconians and Dragonne interested me and I think the former are going to reprinted in DL.

 

[MonsterEnvy]

As you apparently seem to like Fizban's, I have to ask - what about it do you like? I'd like a reason to use it, but really only the Draconians and Dragonne interested me and I think the former are going to reprinted in DL.

I like Dragons. I found the ideas about Dragons interesting to use for games along with the personality and adventure ideas, the Dragon Lairs and extra lair actions were nice too. I also enjoyed all the Dragon Monsters. Last year for example I used the Dragon Flesh Grafters for a Halloween session. Animated Breaths and the Hoard Mimic served as good minions for a Black Dragon I used.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Wait you didn't even like Fizban's, no wonder I can't agree with you on nearly anything. What did you find so wrong about it?

Dragons don't excite me, and I don't like the idea of the First World. Some of the statblocks were cool, but not cooler than Level Up's Monstrous Menagerie or Nixlord's Monster Manual Expanded series.

I will admit I liked the draconian statblocks and the animated breath.

 

[Stormonu]

I like Dragons. I found the ideas about Dragons interesting to use for games along with the personality and adventure ideas, the Dragon Lairs and extra lair actions were nice too. I also enjoyed all the Dragon Monsters. Last year for example I used the Dragon Flesh Grafters for a Halloween session. Animated Breaths and the Hoard Mimic served as good minions for a Black Dragon I used.

I have to agree with @Micah Sweet about the 1st world, but I'll take another look at the book. The Lairs and actions sound like something I can use, at the least. But I have to admit, this book has an uphill battle against the background & such in 3E's Draconomicon.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

Magic was never my cup of tea, or "saint of my devotion".

I would rather to await the translated editions to be published. And when I buy I want races/lineages, classes (but not subclasses or prestige classes) and monsters. The part of the crunch about feats, spells and magic item is not my main interest.

Some times players stop buying when there are news about a new edition where rules are changed.

If you read about the real life you could guess 2023 may be a year of "thin cows" ( = year with a bad economy. Don't you remember pharaon's dream about seven fat and thin cows in Joseph's story from the Bible?).

Hasbro is a megacorporation, and they hire people to guess when is the best to invest or when risks should be avoided. If Hasbro plays well its cards and they get ready for the economic challenges in the next year, but Mattel don't... then later the merger, or the acquisition of this by Hasbro could happen.