D&D 5E (2014) WotC to increase releases per year?

[teitan]

Who are these going to sell to? Even at one per year there is no time to run them all. I think a collection of smaller adventures per year is a good idea, though.

Or just publish them as... smaller, cheap saddle stitched adventures.

 

[LuisCarlos17f]

I am thinking their plans are about something what couldn't be published by 3PPs or fandom in DMGuild: the rebooted lore/background/fluff/metaplot. These titles wouldn't be only for players, but also fans of the brand who also buy other products (videogames, toys, novels).

The risk is how to add the new elements (classes with special game mechanic, for example the psionic manifesters, the ki martial adepts or even the incarnum soulmelders) and PC races (oficially the orcs aren't wellcome in the Krynnsphere). What if anybody says the order of the seekers from Dragonlance discovered the psionic powers? Or to add the martial adepts, the shamans, wardens and seekers (primal spellcasters) and the wilders(humanoids with plant traits) into Dark Sun.

 

[GM Lent]

While I do want more monster books, and I'd be pretty happy with a "Monster Manual II" . . . . I'd rather a new monster book be more in the style of Volo's & Mordenkainen's, where we get new monsters, new stat-blocks, but also articles that expand on the mythology and in-game uses of monsters.

This approach can be a two-edged sword, though. The Volo's chapter on gnolls, where they doubled down on the ludicrous demon-being angle, should have been taken out back and shot well before it saw the light of day. And they've already backtracked on much of the material and specifically said they will avoid similar takes in the future.

I'm cool with new monsters appearing in more setting-focused books (like what it seems were getting with the new Ravenloft book). If you want to take a creature and reduce it to a demon-puppeteered automaton, tie it to a setting where that makes sense. Including monsters in the setting books given them room the breathe, too, and might entice people to buy such a book who normally wouldn't - just to get the monsters.

 

[Reynard]

Or just publish them as... smaller, cheap saddle stitched adventures.

I think that ship has long since sailed.

 

[Dire Bare]

This approach can be a two-edged sword, though. The Volo's chapter on gnolls, where they doubled down on the ludicrous demon-being angle, should have been taken out back and shot well before it saw the light of day. And they've already backtracked on much of the material and specifically said they will avoid similar takes in the future.

I'm cool with new monsters appearing in more setting-focused books (like what it seems were getting with the new Ravenloft book). If you want to take a creature and reduce it to a demon-puppeteered automaton, tie it to a setting where that makes sense. Including monsters in the setting books given them room the breathe, too, and might entice people to buy such a book who normally wouldn't - just to get the monsters.

Disagree. I like the demon-worshipping gnolls story.

 

[Emerikol]

I really miss the level of DM design books we got in 3E: Cityscape, Heroes of Horror/Valor, Sandstorm/Frostburn/Stormwrack, Manual of the Planes/Deities and Demigods. I still use these books to this day. But selling books to just DMs is harder, I suppose.

Agree. If a book is good I buy it regardless of system. Something like CItyscape can be independent of system. I am a DM though so that influences my preferences.

 

[Oofta]

Disagree. I like the demon-worshipping gnolls story.

I agree. I thought the origin story was interesting and used it (with a slight twist) for my home compaign.

 

[ART!]

The other parts of Faerun: Kara Tur, Al Qidam, Maztica, the Hordelands, whatever. With lots of cultural consultants, please.

A guide to the Shadowfell, Feywild, and Far Realms assuming those aren't brought into Manual of the Planes/Planescape.

Yes, YES, Yes, Yes, and yes please.
Also YES, YES, and yes!

What I want to know is how many of these new D&D releases will be books, and how many will be accessories for new books, like the Rime of the Frostmaiden dice set thingy. Dice, maps, minis, adventure/setting-themed DM's screens, etc.

 

[TwoSix]

I agree. I thought the origin story was interesting and used it (with a slight twist) for my home compaign.

Thirded. We already have plenty of "We live in a society!" groups of so-called monstrous humanoids.

 

[the Jester]

Agreed. One of the problems in pretty much every edition after the first is that the first MM is expected to include all the iconic monsters, and yet monster design tends to improve over time. This means that, a few years in, the iconic monsters are almost inevitably the least interesting (mechanically) in the game.

When 4e did the "Monster Vault", cleaning up and reissuing all those existing monsters, it made for a very significant improvement, and 5e would benefit from much the same thing, IMO.

There's a world of difference between how gold-awful, mechanically inept, flavorless, and drab the 4e MM was and the quality of the 5e MM.

I would find books re-issued but with tweaks to be extremely alienating and discouraging. Far better (for me) would be a Monster Manual Expanded kind of book, with new options for the classics that don't overwrite, but rather expand, monster options. Better still would be a straight up MM2.