WotC's Nathan Stewart: "Story, Story, Story"; and IS D&D a Tabletop Game?

Forbes spoke to WotC's Brand Director & Executive Producer for Dungeons & Dragons, who talked about the 5th Edition launch and his vision for D&D's future. The interview is fairly interesting - it confirms or repeats some information we already know, and also delves a little into the topic of D&D as a wider brand, rather than as a tabletop roleplaying game.

In the interview, he reiterates previous statements that this is the biggest D&D launch ever, in terms of both money and units sold.

[lq]We are story, story, story. The story drives everything.[/lq]

He repeats WoTC's emphasis on storylines, confirming the 1-2 stories per year philosphy. "We are story, story, story. The story drives everything. The need for new rules, the new races, new classes is just based on what’s going to really make this adventure, this story, this kind kind of theme happen." He goes on to say that "We’re not interested in putting out more books for books’ sake... there’s zero plans for a Player’s Handbook 2 any time on the horizon."

As for settings, he confirms that "we’re going to stay in the Forgotten Realms for the foreseeable future." That'll disappoint some folks, I'm sure, but it is their biggest setting, commercially.

Stewart is not "a hundred percent comfortable" with the status of digital tools because he felt like "we took a great step backwards."

[lq]Dungeons and Dragons stopped being a tabletop game years or decades ago. [/lq]

His thoughts on D&D's identity are interesting, too. He mentions that "Dungeons and Dragons stopped being a tabletop game years or decades ago". I'm not sure what that means. His view for the future of the brand includes video games, movies, action figures, and more: "This is no secret for anyone here, but the big thing I want to see is just a triple-A RPG video game. I want to see Baldur’s Gate 3, I want to see a huge open-world RPG. I would love movies about Dungeons and Dragons, or better yet, serialized entertainment where we’re doing seasons of D&D stories and things like Forgotten Realms action figures… of course I’d love that, I’m the biggest geek there is. But at the end of the day, the game’s what we’re missing in the portfolio."

You can read the full interview here.

 

[JackOfAllTirades]

Dungeons and Dragons stopped being a tabletop game years or decades ago.

This man has had a psychotic break.
​

 

[MoonSong]

I understand that feeling, it's why I stuck with AD&D for so long. But, 5e is a lot more amenable to homebrewing than 3.x - it's not just that it openly encourages it while 3.x has the whole RAW thing going, it's that the design of 5e is just 'lose,' and there's less to it. You change a bit, and every other bit doesn't explode in a hail of broken combos. I can't say that's a reason to learn 5e over 2e, if you're that comfortable with 2e, it shouldn't be that much harder to whip into whatever shape you want. But compared to hacking 3.x, learning 5e and then hacking it sounds easier.
JMHO.

Well, it depends. Actually 5e looks like it could break fairly easily, it lacks the familiarity of 3.x and the 4e transparency and I'm not sure of many of the design choices. Are they merely the designers limited view of the classes or are they balance related? And one thing, There's a ton of content for 2e and 3.x so much I don't need to homebrew that much. The only thing is it is harder to teach, and that I would need to homebrew.

 

[ronaldsf]

This is an interview with Forbes magazine. Isn't his audience here potential investors and potential "partners"? Keep in mind that 80% of this is spin and that you can't take it all at face value. He's speaking to the suits, not to gamers.

 

[Tony Vargas]

Well, it depends. Actually 5e looks like it could break fairly easily, it lacks the familiarity of 3.x and the 4e transparency and I'm not sure of many of the design choices. Are they merely the designers limited view of the classes or are they balance related?

When it comes to breaking editions, think of 3.x as a jar of nitroglycerin (it's a powerful system), 4e as a pane of glass ('transparency' yes), and 5e as a pile of sand (hard to say why it was piled up there). Play around with any of the three, and you'll have only fragments of silica left when you're done - but you won't get cut up or blown to bits by the pile of sand. Wet it down, mold it into some new shapes, stomp on it. It'll still be a perfectly good pile of sand.

And one thing, There's a ton of content for 2e and 3.x so much I don't need to homebrew that much. The only thing is it is harder to teach, and that I would need to homebrew.

Yes, if there's a 2e or 3.x - 4e or 1e or Spawn of Fshawn - resource that's already exactly what you want, just use it, no need to homebrew. But, if you're going to homebrew, 5e's a pretty good choice. It shouldn't really even be that un-familiar if you've been around the block with both 2e and 3.5 enough times.

Are they merely the designers limited view of the classes or are they balance related?

Proceed on the assumption it's the former - I doubt you'll notice balance getting any worse. Balance in 5e, like in 1e, is primarily provided situationally, by the DM. If you notice one PC miserably 'behind' the others in some sense, you highlight his specialty or even just up and give him a nice magic item to make him 'just better.'

 

[JEB]

Better product placement.

Can I buy the D&D books in a WalMart? No.
Can I buy D&D minis are Toys'R'Us? No.

Indeed. I'm particularly baffled at the lack of D&D Starter Sets in circulation outside toy/game specialists. Great introduction, perfect price point, packaged perfectly for board game shelves... and STILL missing from most big-box retail shelves.

 

[Queer Venger]

"Stay in the Forgotten Realms". This is the best news EVER!! The rest is sugar on top.

 

[Kramodlog]

I'm curious, where are you getting your sales information from? I highly doubt Monte Cook games is doing anywhere in the realm of how well 5E is doing.

ICv2 rankings. And I'm not talking about sells, but support. By stillbirth I ment the support the edition gets, not sells, althought they are tied. D&D came back from the dead with the launch of the 5e core books. The launch wasn't perfect, but it had lots of goodwill and momentum. Gamers were looking forward to it, there wasn't any notable division. Then came the cancellation of the Adventurer's Handbook and a bunch of interviews from designers.

People are realizing that D&D, the RPG, won't get much support. This lack of support is not a sign of an edition that is alive and kicking, that maintains the initial enthusiasm. Seems more like a legacy product. If gamers aren't enthusiastic with an edition, they won't play/buy much of it. Those who do seem happy with the current release schedule are those who say they are tired of books being published. Not that there is anything wrong with it. I doubt they would have bought much products in the first place. So, WotC is cattering to gamers who wouldn't of bought its books in the first place. Weird.

 

[Queer Venger]

Well, that's it for me and 5e/WotC then. Pity, I found 5e as a system to be excellent (still do), but if this is their idea of supporting a new edition, then count me out. 4e shoved me into Pathfinder's arms, WotC direction with 5e has ensured I'll stay there.

At least WotC made it an easy decision for me.

Then good news for you: they just released 2 new PF books about things you can do with their already published core book ;-P

 

[Kramodlog]

This is an interview with Forbes magazine. Isn't his audience here potential investors and potential "partners"? Keep in mind that 80% of this is spin and that you can't take it all at face value. He's speaking to the suits, not to gamers.

So true. 4e was supposed to have out performed 3e when it came to sells. But this has been said:

I think if you would have told us –or anyone– that before launch, they would’ve said, “Really? You’re gonna do bigger than third edition or 3.5?” and the answer is, undoubtedly, yes.

Sounds like 4e never broke 3e's record. They also said that they re-printed the core books after 4e's release.

I'm not calling the guy a liar. It is just that metrics can be spinned and interprated in various ways to create a desired perception.

 

[MechaPilot]

If he meant to add 'only' that makes way more sense. I was sitting there scratching my head thinking he must have some bigger point I was missing.

He may not have omitted a word, but omitted an entire phrase/sentence. I could easily see someone saying "D&D isn't a tabletop game and hasn't been for years or decades" if it were followed with "it's a franchise" or "it's a brand."