Xaeyruudh's Index

In the Nick of Time, or Too Little Too Late?

Advertisements

This is a summary of my thoughts/suggestions regarding the upcoming fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons (5e D&D). Relevant news items: nytimes and wizards.

I don’t know the answer to the question asked in the title. I guess we’ll all see, when 5e hits the shelves. In the meantime, though, I’m seeing a lot of mixed feelings on forums. Very strong opinions, in complete opposition to each other. Several people come at it from a business standpoint, but that’s a boring approach… plus, their savvy is very open to question. Others are saying “no matter what you do, YOU HAVE TO *insert personal wish list here!!!one” Some DMs and players just don’t care what’s coming out anymore; they’re playing Pathfinder, or even first or second edition, and sharing their campaigns in various communities both online and in person, and they’re not planning on buying anything from WotC in the future. Others are sitting in the back of the theater with some popcorn, waiting to see what comes next. I guess I have a lot of each of those viewpoints, rolled up into a giant ball of “MEH, Zeusdammit!”

So I’m gonna break it down, or try to. This is more for me than for you. I have a lot of thoughts in my head, with more piling on continuously, and without some organization I go steadily more bonkers.

The Philosophy

One point that I don’t think has been made sufficiently clear to WotC/Hasbro up to this point, and I think it’s important to get this out in the open up front because it’s a foundation for the new direction of thought that the Powers That Be need to find is: we don’t need you. We really don’t. It’s great having somebody publishing gaming books, but what we need is the creativity, without the chain-jerking and big price tags. If WotC goes belly-up, we will continue playing. Some of us will migrate to different game systems, but others will start new publishing labels and keep D&D alive in substance even if not in name. The game is far more durable than the company. So the future depends on players.

Ed Greenwood seems to be pretty excited about what’s coming, and that counts for a lot with me, but from where I’m sitting —without the benefit of knowing even whatever Ed knows about what WotC has up its sleeve— it seems foolish to not be cynical about this. Here’s one cynic’s opinion.

The Testing

I think looking for more customer input is a good thing. I just don’t know if it will be enough. It’s up to the folks in charge, to prove that they’re sincere about not simply paying lip service to fans but actually taking the feedback to heart.

The Rules

Personally, I’m not worried about the 5e rules. I’ve played every edition of the game, and each one has been playable and enjoyable. I haven’t necessarily liked every single nuance of the rules, but I’ve found plenty to like. I have faith, based on 30 years of reading and playing, that the designers will come up with something cool, yet again. I also have faith that they will screw up the Forgotten Realms, but I’m getting ahead of myself.

There are a couple of priorities I would focus on, if I were in charge. First, as regards the D&D rules, reinstate 1e through 3.5e rules, and retain 4e rules. Introduce 5e rules as an option rather than a replacement. All six rulesets should be valid.

A New Setting

Debut the array of ruleset options in a “new” setting. By “new” I mean either a completely new setting or a previously published setting that has been gathering dust for a while. A brand-spanking-new setting is obviously a good option, but revamping one you already own offers the opportunity to reacquire fans you lost when you made the misguided decision (at least in their minds) to stop developing their favorite alternate reality. I suggest Planescape or Mystara. Mystara might be a more risky option, but one that’s probably worth looking into. It would need to be handled properly to avoid competition with the Realms and Eberron, but done right it would be a brilliant “new” setting. Put out the fires and develop this chosen setting a bit before you write the 5e Forgotten Realms or Eberron campaign settings. Regardless of it being the first setting you retool, it’s not the official setting. Don’t declare anything to be “the official setting” of any ruleset.

Regarding the Forgotten Realms and other settings…

A great way to stop pissing everybody off would be to treat each setting like it belongs to the fans. Give us the benefit of the designers’ creativity, since that’s what we’re paying for when we buy the products, but actively seek our feedback —and act on it— so that you avoid screwing stuff up.

Case in point: No more RSE. Big events are the demesne of individual DMs. Your role as the producer of a setting is to provide a complete and usable foundation upon which thousands of different campaigns will rest. The more unstable you cause the foundation to be, the more the setting suffers. Can I get a “DUH”?

In the Realms, Rewind to 1357 DR, and turn the Post-Apocalyptic Realms into an Arcane Age setting. This can be done without a retcon, at least to the same extent that you’ve declined to describe past changes as retcons. This would mean that the 2e through 4e Realms were exploring the future, or a possible path for the future to take. This is the simple and elegant solution; there are other solutions, which don’t include rewinding to 1357, but they’re more complicated. Also, Stop screwing around with the maps.

Regarding Product Design…

You corporate types who are only concerned with the bottom line: accept that when the creative department argues with you, you’re wrong and they’re right. One exception to this rule of thumb: if the creative people want to incorporate more RSE into the official timeline… then they’re wrong, and you should let them know that their paycheck depends on them growing a brain, and quick.

Regardless of what anyone tells you, what we actually need in this area is organization. The cerebral folks want fluff, and the pithy folks want crunch. So give us both, but do it in a way that enables each of us to access what we want. This means campaign setting books are for campaign material… and rule books are for rules. Crunch and fluff do not belong in the same book. Basically never-ever.

Other Concerns

Lower prices. Do it now.

No more interior art.

No more retconning.

Nipples… not a big deal. Stupidity… big deal.

Ideas from other sources…

More thoughts are probably coming soon.

Advertisements

Advertisements