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.

 

[Kramodlog]

If the baby's still screamin' 6 months after popping out, it ain't a stillbirth.

It sounds more like it is loosing momentum and goodwill.

Look at PotA. It is behind the core rule books in rank and it just got out. http://www.amazon.com/Best-Sellers-Books-Fantasy-Gaming/zgbs/books/16211/ref=zg_bs_nav_b_2_25 According to novelrank, it is #468 on amazon and sold 226 books. http://www.novelrank.com/asin/0786965789 Considering it just launched and it is their only product released in the last 4 months and probably their last until GenCon, I do not see this as encouraging.

The PHB is ranked #189 and sold 600 copies. http://www.novelrank.com/asin/0786965606

Compared to january were 4,000 PHB were sold, 5,000 the first month it launched, it doesn't look like the train is gathering momentum.

Maybe those numbers are irrelevant if you do not plan to support the RPG and just want to sell video games. A shame when you just like RPGs.

 

[Halivar]

I fully agree. It's all about THEIR story, but they're not giving us the tools for OUR stories.

With the exception of the Manual of the Planes and Campaign Setting guides, I'm hard pressed to see how previous edition crunch books beyond the core supplied tools for any stories. I see a lot of player-oriented power creep, but not a lot of story.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Yep, he is saying that franchise is no longer table top only after Baldur's Gate release.

I think you meant to say "after Intellivision's D&D game"

Or at the very least the Gold Box series

 

[DongMaster]

With the exception of the Manual of the Planes and Campaign Setting guides, I'm hard pressed to see how previous edition crunch books beyond the core supplied tools for any stories. I see a lot of player-oriented power creep, but not a lot of story.

Who are you to deny the repetitive internet negativity with such a reasonable post?

 

[I'm A Banana]

I am a little puzzled by the tabletop game remark. Not sure what he is saying there.

Read it through the filter of the High Church of Marketing (he is, after all, the Brand Manager), and the meaning is clearer: D&D isn't a tabletop game, it's a brand. The tabletop game is one expression of that brand - it's "spiritual core," in the interview. But the tabletop game isn't all of D&D - that would imply that people who play the D&D videogames or who enjoy a D&D movie or a D&D TV show aren't "part of D&D," and they would be, when you look at the world through Brand-colored glasses, because they're spending money on D&D things.

I do like that he mentioned that he wants digital tools to help enhance the tabletop experience, that was an interesting statement. And from the biz perspective, "the best launch we've ever had" speaks pretty highly of 5e's success.

But Nathan Stewart is a brand dude, so he'll see the thing through those glasses. Those are the glasses he is paid to wear.

 

[Tony Vargas]

Well, obviously not, psionics are only in one PH, and as an optional appendix, no psionic races or classes, and warlord has only been in one PHB.

The Arcane Trickster, Eldritch Knight, Shadow & Elemental Monks, Chaos Sorcerers, and Valor Bard were never in a PH. The Warlock, Sorcerer, and even Barbarian were each in a PH1 for only one edition, they're full classes. Every class that was a full class in a PH1 in at least 1 edition is in the 5e PH - except the Warlord. That's a glaring omission.

And, Psionics have been in every edition. Even if it has always been in an appendix or supplement, they deserve to be an option in 5e for those who want them, even though there are others who feel they don't fit the fantasy genre. Maybe it's not exactly 'glaring,' because it's so often been in a later supplement, but it'll start to glare eventually... ;P

 

[Agamon]

I am a little puzzled by the tabletop game remark. Not sure what he is saying there.

Looks like he meant to say that it's not "just" a tabletop game anymore.

 

[Halivar]

And, Psionics have been in every edition.

Yep. But always on a delay.

 

[Sunseeker]

I don't have any problem with this attitude is so long as it doesn't cause them to lose focus. I feel like we're being told that they are both interested in staying focused (by staying in a single setting with a connected narrative moving through it) but at the same time not focused on the genre. Video games are great, but as Paizo and GoblinWorks is finding out, incredibly expensive and people's standards now are incredibly high. 5E needs to be a standing success for a while before they can reasonably start investing in video games.

I would like to see some more tertiary support for the game though, T-shirts, mugs, gaming dice, even if not directly from Wizards, but licensed through someone. Wouldn't mind some animated entertainment either, the market is certainly going to be more friendly towards swords and sorcerery cartoons while shows like Game of Thrones are popular. I would be concerned that it might be too "childish" though and equally that it would be too dark and not get aired at good times.

Still, I agree that there is more to D&D than what you're doing at the table and any good product knows this too. What really needs to happen is Wizards needs to get that 3PP license out.

Oh, it's nice to see they're not completely ignorant to the state of their digital...state.

 

[Mirtek]

and Campaign Setting guides

And that's what I crave. The last FRCS is a decade ingame time out of date. That itself wouldn't be that much of an issue if the world didn't just go through a cataclysm supposed to give it a total overhaul. Nobody has a real picture about the state of things. I want to know how the slate looks right now.