D&D 5E WotC to increase releases per year?

[Parmandur]

I can't speak for anyone else, but that is exactly how I use the setting and adventure books. I use my own setting and I don't use published adventures. I just buy them to mine for interesting bits and bobs.

But I understand wanting it all in one book.

I use them to mine material, too. I appreciate the thematic organization. Want to get some Underdark material? Pick up OotA. Want some arctic material? Pick up Icewind Dale.

 

[Reynard]

I would like a book that covers most of that too, but I've pretty much have all of those categories from other sources. I guess I would probably purchase such a book from WotC, but at this point I definitely don't need it. Maybe the market ship has already sailed for WotC on those fronts.

What I would like to see in a DMG2 (that is really what your asking for) is:

1. Clarification on how to adjust encounters for: number of PCs, PC optimization, PC magic items, etc.
2. Guidelines on making monsters stronger or weaker based on your groups make up (see #1 above)
3. Optional / Variant rules modules for different styles of play: sword & sorcery, horror, high fantasy, superhero, grim-dark, etc.
4. More supernatural gifts and epic boons
5. Advice on DMing high level play
6. Social encounters as combat Optional rules
7. Slower leveling variant
8. E10 variant

1. This would require a functional CR system, which i don't think 5E has.
2. Agreed.
3. A long promised aspect of 5E that never materialized.
4. Meh.
5. We need a high level book all its own, or at least a level 12-20 adventure with a big section on high level campaigning.
6. Not everyone agrees but I would very much like a "social combat" system.
7. I'd like too see a bunch of XP variants, from "treasure as XP" to "personal achievement milestones."
8. Agreed.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

If we look at Amazon Best Sellers, which is only a rough guide due to digital and FLGS purchases, we can see that the player facing books generally outsell the adventure paths, to include SCAG still selling better than newer adventure paths and settings.

Amazon Best Sellers: Best Fantasy Gaming

Discover the best books in Amazon Best Sellers. Find the top 100 most popular Amazon books.

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Speaking as a comic and game retailer (I admit that this is my opinion, but it's based on almost 30 years of experience selling these things): You are correct. Player's options books outsell everything else by a wide margin. It makes sense. Most groups have 4-6 people (and a few that come and go) and 1 or 2 DMs. So it stands to reason that Player's Options outsell other books by at least a factor of 3. (This corresponds well to my store's data, though the PHB has outsold the next highest selling book by a factor of 5, but that makes sense too - you generally can't even try the game without a PHB).

Xanathar's and Tasha's follow this pattern, though Tasha's obviously, being new, does not beat all the other books... yet.

I bought and appreciate SCAG but I’m still surprised it’s sales are still so good.

In my experience, SCAG gets a bump because it is the only book with a lower price point (Well, since Hoard of the Dragon Queen and Rise of Tiamat got fused into one). I have seen many purchasers (mostly people who don't play buying presents for players) who will buy it because it's cheaper. Like they'll pick up a PHB and a SCAG rather than another 2nd book, because 2 books would break the budget. It's not the only reason that SCAG sells, but it's a factor.

 

[bedir than]

In my experience, SCAG gets a bump because it is the only book with a lower price point (Well, since Hoard of the Dragon Queen and Rise of Tiamat got fused into one). I have seen many purchasers (mostly people who don't play buying presents for players) who will buy it because it's cheaper. Like they'll pick up a PHB and a SCAG rather than another 2nd book, because 2 books would break the budget. It's not the only reason that SCAG sells, but it's a factor.

This makes sense to me. My family is still trying re-figure out how to support my return to gaming.

I'll also note that though experienced players don't want SCAG's story focus, nor do they like the mechanics, new players get more from SCAG about the setting than any other book. For the swaths of people who don't have 1e,2e,3e,3.5e,4e books SCAG serves a purpose.

 

[dave2008]

1. This would require a functional CR system, which i don't think 5E has.

I disagree with this. The CR system functions just fine IME, it is just how it interacts with the encounter building that can be an issue. In fact, I think the encounter building guidelines work just fine too (also IME), but just for a narrow band of players/play styles. I've run 2 groups through 5e and with group #1 (my current one) the encounter builder is very accurate to what my PCs can handle. For group #2, it didn't work very well and I had to adjust a lot.

Group #1: long tome players (started with 1e 30+ yrs ago), with a casual style and play to have fun

Group #2: younger players (started with 4e) with a more play to win style.

So what I would like to see in a DMG 2 is advice on how to adjust encounter guidelines for different play styles. I think it can be done relatively easy actually (at least that is what I've found in my limited experience). There should also be an understand that difficulty lessons some as the PCs go up in tiers.

 

[Oofta]

I disagree with this. The CR system functions just fine IME, it is just how it interacts with the encounter building that can be an issue. In fact, I think the encounter building guidelines work just fine too (also IME), but just for a narrow band of players/play styles. I've run 2 groups through 5e and with group #1 (my current one) the encounter builder is very accurate to what my PCs can handle. For group #2, they didn't work to well and I had to adjust a lot.

Group #1: long tome players (started with 1e 30+ yrs ago), with a casual style and play to have fun

Group #2: younger players (started with 4e) with a more play to win style.

So what I would like to see in a DMG 2 is advice on how to adjust encounter guidelines for different play styles. I think it can be done relatively easy actually (at least that is what I've found in my limited experience). There should also be an understand that difficulty lessons some as the PCs go up and tiers.

I've run for 3 groups now and I find I have to adjust for each group. Same assumptions (point buy, roughly same amount of magic items, number of PCs, etc), and the difference can be significant. So I don't see how any encounter or CR calculator could be accurate.

But what we have gets us into the correct ballpark and then I adjust based on the group. Not sure what else could be done. D&D is not a board game with a constricted set of rules, between ability score generation, magic items or lack therein, player expertise, number of encounters, PC builds and number of PCs, DM tactical acumen, there is no way you could have 1 system that works out of the box for everyone. They tried with 4E's "expected wealth and magic", but even then it wasn't perfect.

Suggestions? Sure. Expecting perfection? Ain't no such thing.

 

[dave2008]

So I don't see how any encounter or CR calculator could be accurate.

I agree, but I think it would have been wise for the DMG to acknowledge that fact and then offer some guidance on how to make adjustments based on certain types / styles of play and players.

 

[Maxperson]

My copy of Xanathar's is about 100 pages total of player facing content, 60 pages of DM facing content, and 20 pages of random name generators that are probably more likely used by DMs but not exclusively so.

That's funny. My Xanathar's is about 100 page of player facing content, 60 pages of DM facing content, and 20 pages of wasted space. I wonder what the difference in our books is?

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I agree, but I think it would have been wise for the DMG to acknowledge that fact and then offer some guidance on how to make adjustments based on certain types / styles of play and players.

That would be good. Hopefully not causing any edition oneupmanship... I personally found 4e's monster levels (and minions, regular, elite, and solo monsters) to be a MUCH easier system to balance encounters with. I mean, obviously, it still needed to be tweaked for party make-up, but it was much quicker and easier (for me at least) to tell what I was "looking at" when I put an encounter together.

I've played 5e hardcore (near daily and that's only a bit of an exaggeration) since the playtest, and I still don't get it as well as I did 4e's system.

 

[Maxperson]

I'd call that a primarily DM product, and I don't know any non-DM who has bought it.

Every player in my group bought it. 3 of the 5 of us do DM, but I'm the primary DM and the other 2 just give me a break now and then. They're basically players.