So, okay. I've seen some people on forums that didn't like Xanathar's Guide. Fine. I personally think that it's an excellent book, and I will explain a few things:
1) The first pages have a very good collection of clarifications of the rules that have come up a number of times with new players in my groups - in particular the new explanation about casting multiple spells in one round. The restatement in XgtE isn't at all new, but it has instantly cleared up the issue for one of my players - someone totally new to tabletop RPGs - who wasn't getting the slightly scattered explanation in the PHB.
2) The new subclass material is full of things to make people think about their character roleplay and origin, and is yet another move by 5e to truly foster and support roleplaying at the table. I've read through all but a couple of the new subclasses in detail (and done chargen of a number of them with members of my gaming groups) and they're full of great ideas and interesting mechanics, but I've also seen nothing that I consider to be a balance worry as yet.
3) The racial feats look nicely balanced, and the released version of the Prodigy feat for humans, half-elves and half orcs is exceptional. Variant human with the prodigy feat is likely to be my go-to baseline from now on (and I wouldn't call that at all overpowered, either. It's just very good and opens up thematically appropriate options for a human or half-human character)
4) The spells contain some lovely things for players and DMs alike. If you can read Power Word: Pain or Soul Cage and not think of ways to use those against a player party, then you are a very different type of DM to me
But the thing that actually gives me pause is the tool proficiencies section.
It contains a large number of new player-focused options for how to handle tool proficiencies. It suggests new things that the players can do, and has a long list of what each specific tool proficiency can be used to do. Almost every option in the list is thematically good and an attractive thing to add to a campaign. Taken all together, the new set of things players can do using the material in this book is a clear improvement over the PHB and Basic. While it's certainly nothing like a new edition or even a .5 release, I would go as far as to say 5e+XgtE is effectively something like a 5.1e. What's more, I would prefer to play and run that 5.1e, because it has interesting and flavourful new things that I can use as a player and GM that I wouldn't get running with just the basic rules.
Now, I'm not complaining about that. This is not new for D&D in any way - we've had effectively different options for running games back to at least first edition. There are plenty of optional things in 3e and pathfinder that effectively create slightly different games if you use them. But XgtE is selling so well that, effectively, I suspect that many of us are going to end up playing a patch release version of 5e without really appreciating it. On the upside, I think it's a clear improvement to the game. On the downside, you can't now actually play the version of the game I like best with only the Basic rules any more.
It seems that WotC have worked out how to update 5e, though, and they're doing it in the most sensible way they can. I can't imagine things would have gone well for them if they released a new version of the PHB with the new material included, for instance. It's also not exactly fair to expect them to release new player non-character mechanics¹ without charging
something for the time they took to develop it. It would be nice if, after it's been out for a while, the new player non-chargen options were added to Basic and the SRD. But that's quite possibly too much to expect
¹ What
is the best term for this stuff? Non chargen player options? Gameplay options?
