Finally, after 11 months, maybe people will chill on this "5.5 is a dog-whistle" non-sense given that now it is the official term. I have straight up heard someone call someone else a bigot when the statement said was "This is the good-stuff, like 3.0 to 3.5 this 5E to 5.5 is the prime cuts." All because they used the wrong term.
Now let's just enjoy the game.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
He/Him. Loooooooooong time Player. The Dark days of the THAC0 system are behind us.
"Hope is a fire that burns in us all If only an ember, awaiting your call To rise up in triumph should we all unite The spark for change is yours to ignite." Kalandra - The State of the World
Funny how these old threads some as old as 2019 aren't locked. 5.5 puts a nail in the coffin of doubters who couldn't come to terms that these are the new rules, if any old ones were brought over or revised, then they don't exist.
Funny how these old threads some as old as 2019 aren't locked. 5.5 puts a nail in the coffin of doubters who couldn't come to terms that these are the new rules, if any old ones were brought over or revised, then they don't exist.
This thread is from June 2024, and no one was doubting these are the new rules. And the 5e rules do still exist, which is why DDB is adopting the 5e/5.5 designation system in the first place
Funny how these old threads some as old as 2019 aren't locked. 5.5 puts a nail in the coffin of doubters who couldn't come to terms that these are the new rules, if any old ones were brought over or revised, then they don't exist.
and no one was doubting these are the new rules.
Except they were. And it's in many threads on here, Reditt and Discord.
When WOTC specifically said "It is not 5.5" on a number of interviews, posts, and the rest, the people claiming it was 5.5 were incorrect.
Now that WOTC has decided to bow to public pressure because they couldn't convince people that it wasn't 5.5, crowing about "See I was always right" is just petty.
The real situation is just that WOTC had no idea how to call it without having similar complaints from 3.0-3.5 so they just refused to call it anything. They got the EXACT SAME complaints, possibly worse, despite being a dramatically smaller shift than 3.5 was, so they gave up fighting the wave.
The Community called it 5.5 because it made sense to, and we recognized what it meant, even if the scope of the changes were smaller. '5th Edition Revised 2024' was a mouthful, 5ER2024 was also cumbersome, 5.24 was better, but still could be mistaken for 5.14 the 2014 version, sooooo.... 5.5 was just the clearest.
WoTC changed it, because people kept calling it that. They kept calling it that because it was clear communication. It wasn't being contrarian, it wasn't some secret sabotage or dog-whistle, it was just clear communication within a group who has a bit of a distinct linguistic culture. In a sense, the 'always 5.5' crowd was right in the sense that that was what a lot of people called it from the jump. The Company just tried to get them to call it something else.
Hells smells, one of the players at my current table still calls it 'D&D one" because he isn't on the boards and we started integrating stuff into our game during the playtests and that was its codename. He to this very day will call it 'D&D one' when he is making sure that a spell of his is working the way he thinks it did, because some stuff that was bad got fixed, and he is trying those out now. Like Witchbolt. So i have been kinda playing 5.5/5.24 since before it released.
The fact that people were so venomous about what it was called was the stupid part. If we all knew what it meant, what was the problem what term people used? The brand confusion came from the "It's not a new edition," but then it systemically gets treated like one by the site. You really gotta ask yourself "why am I upset about what people call it" and come up with an answer while the people (Like me) who are bitter because we were Lambasted for daring to use a term that makes sense, were excoriated in the first place.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
He/Him. Loooooooooong time Player. The Dark days of the THAC0 system are behind us.
"Hope is a fire that burns in us all If only an ember, awaiting your call To rise up in triumph should we all unite The spark for change is yours to ignite." Kalandra - The State of the World
WotC wanted the best of both worlds. They wanted the boost in sales that comes with a new edition, and so made comments that compared it to one. On the other hand they were afraid to lose players and so didn't want to say that it was even a .5 kind of change. The stubborn ambiguity inevitably lead to speculation and people filling the gaps.
It would have been better for WotC to have pulled the rug on that, to have pre-empted it by just calling it 5.5e in the first place. Or if they wanted to highlight that it was a small step, they could have called it "5.1e". Either would have gone down well better with an audience that has a higher proportion of autistic people than the general population.
But I have to agree with Gnoll. It got pretty toxic on these boards over this issue. The attitudes and behaviour here got pretty toxic almost pushed me away from D&D altogether - and while I'm still playing, I'm sure there are those who saw it and actually did leave, which is really sad.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
I agree, a 5.x from the start would have been a better move. And they copped all the negatives from a new edition anyway. After the original wrangling I just used 5.14 / 5.24 because we needed something, plenty used 5.5 anyway, but yeah, what it's called is the least of the issues.
WotC wanted the best of both worlds. They wanted the boost in sales that comes with a new edition, and so made comments that compared it to one. On the other hand they were afraid to lose players and so didn't want to say that it was even a .5 kind of change. The stubborn ambiguity inevitably lead to speculation and people filling the gaps.
It would have been better for WotC to have pulled the rug on that, to have pre-empted it by just calling it 5.5e in the first place. Or if they wanted to highlight that it was a small step, they could have called it "5.1e". Either would have gone down well better with an audience that has a higher proportion of autistic people than the general population.
But I have to agree with Gnoll. It got pretty toxic on these boards over this issue. The attitudes and behaviour here got pretty toxic almost pushed me away from D&D altogether - and while I'm still playing, I'm sure there are those who saw it and actually did leave, which is really sad.
Everyone always knew it was a bunch of silly marketing non-sense, this is a new edition of the game. It's how it goes. The last edition was around for 10+ years, and it was time for a new edition. They made it, they should have just called it 6th edition and be done with the whole thing.
What is the big deal? Does Wizards of the Coast seriously think they can publish the rules, change pretty much every class, cut major elements out of the game and add a bunch of stuff and somehow people aren't going to notice? Did they think they needed to trick D&D fans into buying a new edition?
I mean the way it works is that if you play D&D, a new edition comes out, you buy it, you play it and you decide if you like it. It means jack what you call it or what gaslighting you do, its a new edition.. period. People will either like it or they won't. Thats it.
I don't understand why people think we can be "tricked" into buying and playing a game. Thats ... not how it works. You buy, you play and you decide. There is nothing WotC can do to alter that result other than making sure its a good game.
WotC wanted the best of both worlds. They wanted the boost in sales that comes with a new edition, and so made comments that compared it to one. On the other hand they were afraid to lose players and so didn't want to say that it was even a .5 kind of change. The stubborn ambiguity inevitably lead to speculation and people filling the gaps.
It would have been better for WotC to have pulled the rug on that, to have pre-empted it by just calling it 5.5e in the first place. Or if they wanted to highlight that it was a small step, they could have called it "5.1e". Either would have gone down well better with an audience that has a higher proportion of autistic people than the general population.
But I have to agree with Gnoll. It got pretty toxic on these boards over this issue. The attitudes and behaviour here got pretty toxic almost pushed me away from D&D altogether - and while I'm still playing, I'm sure there are those who saw it and actually did leave, which is really sad.
To be honest, the DDB forums have always struck me as the most toxic and needlessly critical D&D community. I actually wonder if anyone here actually likes D&D.
Every release and every decision is a no-win scenario for WotC. They designed the 2024 update to be back-compatible with everything previously released in 2014 and took pains to clarify it wasn't a new edition. Result? People angrily insist it's a new edition and WotC should call it 5.5. Fast-forward, WotC starts calling it 5.5 and the community is mad about it. There's no winning.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
Finally, after 11 months, maybe people will chill on this "5.5 is a dog-whistle" non-sense given that now it is the official term.
I have straight up heard someone call someone else a bigot when the statement said was "This is the good-stuff, like 3.0 to 3.5 this 5E to 5.5 is the prime cuts." All because they used the wrong term.
Now let's just enjoy the game.
He/Him. Loooooooooong time Player.
The Dark days of the THAC0 system are behind us.
"Hope is a fire that burns in us all If only an ember, awaiting your call
To rise up in triumph should we all unite
The spark for change is yours to ignite."
Kalandra - The State of the World
Funny how these old threads some as old as 2019 aren't locked. 5.5 puts a nail in the coffin of doubters who couldn't come to terms that these are the new rules, if any old ones were brought over or revised, then they don't exist.
This thread is from June 2024, and no one was doubting these are the new rules. And the 5e rules do still exist, which is why DDB is adopting the 5e/5.5 designation system in the first place
Find my D&D Beyond articles here
Except they were. And it's in many threads on here, Reditt and Discord.
There was someone visiting old threads and trying out their necromancy skills on them across the board.
When WOTC specifically said "It is not 5.5" on a number of interviews, posts, and the rest, the people claiming it was 5.5 were incorrect.
Now that WOTC has decided to bow to public pressure because they couldn't convince people that it wasn't 5.5, crowing about "See I was always right" is just petty.
The real situation is just that WOTC had no idea how to call it without having similar complaints from 3.0-3.5 so they just refused to call it anything. They got the EXACT SAME complaints, possibly worse, despite being a dramatically smaller shift than 3.5 was, so they gave up fighting the wave.
The Community called it 5.5 because it made sense to, and we recognized what it meant, even if the scope of the changes were smaller. '5th Edition Revised 2024' was a mouthful, 5ER2024 was also cumbersome, 5.24 was better, but still could be mistaken for 5.14 the 2014 version, sooooo.... 5.5 was just the clearest.
WoTC changed it, because people kept calling it that. They kept calling it that because it was clear communication. It wasn't being contrarian, it wasn't some secret sabotage or dog-whistle, it was just clear communication within a group who has a bit of a distinct linguistic culture. In a sense, the 'always 5.5' crowd was right in the sense that that was what a lot of people called it from the jump. The Company just tried to get them to call it something else.
Hells smells, one of the players at my current table still calls it 'D&D one" because he isn't on the boards and we started integrating stuff into our game during the playtests and that was its codename. He to this very day will call it 'D&D one' when he is making sure that a spell of his is working the way he thinks it did, because some stuff that was bad got fixed, and he is trying those out now. Like Witchbolt.
So i have been kinda playing 5.5/5.24 since before it released.
The fact that people were so venomous about what it was called was the stupid part. If we all knew what it meant, what was the problem what term people used? The brand confusion came from the "It's not a new edition," but then it systemically gets treated like one by the site.
You really gotta ask yourself "why am I upset about what people call it" and come up with an answer while the people (Like me) who are bitter because we were Lambasted for daring to use a term that makes sense, were excoriated in the first place.
He/Him. Loooooooooong time Player.
The Dark days of the THAC0 system are behind us.
"Hope is a fire that burns in us all If only an ember, awaiting your call
To rise up in triumph should we all unite
The spark for change is yours to ignite."
Kalandra - The State of the World
Except it's still clearly not a new edition, and the people who insisted it be treated like one all along are still wrong.
Except when you go down to "editions" on the official site they refer to the 2024 rules as "5.5"
https://www.dungeonsanddragons.com/
It was a new edition. Their backwards compatibility is limited, and on D&D Beyond it's even more limited.
That site was launched precisely when WOTC changed their branding. Before this they said it explicitly was NOT a new edition.
WotC wanted the best of both worlds. They wanted the boost in sales that comes with a new edition, and so made comments that compared it to one. On the other hand they were afraid to lose players and so didn't want to say that it was even a .5 kind of change. The stubborn ambiguity inevitably lead to speculation and people filling the gaps.
It would have been better for WotC to have pulled the rug on that, to have pre-empted it by just calling it 5.5e in the first place. Or if they wanted to highlight that it was a small step, they could have called it "5.1e". Either would have gone down well better with an audience that has a higher proportion of autistic people than the general population.
But I have to agree with Gnoll. It got pretty toxic on these boards over this issue. The attitudes and behaviour here got pretty toxic almost pushed me away from D&D altogether - and while I'm still playing, I'm sure there are those who saw it and actually did leave, which is really sad.
If you're not willing or able to to discuss in good faith, then don't be surprised if I don't respond, there are better things in life for me to do than humour you. This signature is that response.
I agree, a 5.x from the start would have been a better move. And they copped all the negatives from a new edition anyway. After the original wrangling I just used 5.14 / 5.24 because we needed something, plenty used 5.5 anyway, but yeah, what it's called is the least of the issues.
Everyone always knew it was a bunch of silly marketing non-sense, this is a new edition of the game. It's how it goes. The last edition was around for 10+ years, and it was time for a new edition. They made it, they should have just called it 6th edition and be done with the whole thing.
What is the big deal? Does Wizards of the Coast seriously think they can publish the rules, change pretty much every class, cut major elements out of the game and add a bunch of stuff and somehow people aren't going to notice? Did they think they needed to trick D&D fans into buying a new edition?
I mean the way it works is that if you play D&D, a new edition comes out, you buy it, you play it and you decide if you like it. It means jack what you call it or what gaslighting you do, its a new edition.. period. People will either like it or they won't. Thats it.
I don't understand why people think we can be "tricked" into buying and playing a game. Thats ... not how it works. You buy, you play and you decide. There is nothing WotC can do to alter that result other than making sure its a good game.
To be honest, the DDB forums have always struck me as the most toxic and needlessly critical D&D community. I actually wonder if anyone here actually likes D&D.
Every release and every decision is a no-win scenario for WotC. They designed the 2024 update to be back-compatible with everything previously released in 2014 and took pains to clarify it wasn't a new edition. Result? People angrily insist it's a new edition and WotC should call it 5.5. Fast-forward, WotC starts calling it 5.5 and the community is mad about it. There's no winning.