Monday, May 19, 2014

5e Rolling Out

Above is a copy of the D&D Starter Set, which is going to be the first release of the new D&D line, followed by a Players Handbook, Monster Manual, and DM Guide, each a month or two apart. I haven't been keeping up with the playtest versions of the rules, so I don't really have any opinions on the new edition other than the artwork. Which so far I like. They appear to have ceded the crisp, Vallejo-like detail to Pathfinder, and gone with a more raw look.

One of the real outstanding issues is what the third-party publisher agreement (if there even is one) will look like. I think that's going to shape the success of this edition a great deal.

4 comments:

  1. I know many of my Grognard friends will disagree with my on principle, but I've been playing the beta for some time, and I have to say it is my favorite edition of them all. Just about anything you might not like is imminently house-rule-able (such as healing; they even will mention this as part of the rules). The battlemat isn't needed. Very easy to learn. I do hope people will give it a chance. And I do hope WOTC comes out with a generous 3rd party license.

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  2. I'm not impressed with the art. Looking at the examples provided today, one would come to the conclusion that the game was exclusively about combat.

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  3. I have Swords & Wizardry. What more could I possibly want?

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  4. At this point, the new D&D line would have to be phenomenally fantastic, and phenomenally adopted by players for me to jump back in under the D&D label. "Dungeons and Dragons" as a brand has no particular attraction to me.

    Having said that, I'm not sure what "phenomenally fantastic" would even look like. I'm happy as a lark with Swords and Wizardry. It does everything I need for my base ruleset.

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