I've said this many times and I'm sure I'll say it more - one of the greatest strengths of 5e is the flexibility and extensibility that is baked into it. It is easy to homebrew within the edition and add/subtract new rules without breaking it. I don't believe a new edition will be coming out for quite some time and my hope is that when a 6e comes out someday, it's more an extension of 5e rather than a complete rewrite.
I think the current pace of printing is fine - it's manageable for a DM and because they've taken their time with putting out new splat books, everything seems to be pretty balanced in my opinion. I think going to the 3.5 model of an avalanche of splat books would be a mistake.
What I would really like is a straight crunch book that is setting agnostic. Someone else mentioned the "Complete" books from 3.5 making an appearance and that is specifically what I would love. I'm talking all of the "Complete" books and the Arms & Equipment Guide from 3.0 in one book for 5e - all the fun adventuring gear, equipment, weapons, armor, mundane items, etc. in one place. This could be a nice place for the traps, downtime activities, and crafting mechanisms they have been putting out in UA, along with the new feats.
I almost jokingly think the Critical Role setting is going to become the new default (a shame Matt had to alter the deities names, or at least a lot of them) as I think it is actually going to be the first major campaign setting produced for 5th edition.
I would think his world would be another GreyHawk/Realms. (or something WotC could throw on the Sword Coast! lol!)
Seriously though - Matt, as a voice actor, is entertaining and bringing many people to D&D... Personally, I stopped watching with his giant campaign - was totally railroaded, no true player choice, and you could feel it.
I feel there are other equally talented, if not more so, DMs, that just haven't had the spotlight put on them. Drunkens and Dragons is a favorite, ol' Hankerin'. He just released a new game system, ICRPG CORE, based on how his group played 5e. Already #1 on drivethru. The guy is fun to watch, and his ICRPG games aren't scripted... it shows what D&D could be at the table... :)
I'm not saying Matt can't create a world, but I have been amazed at how Keith Baker can talk about any point of Eberron at any given moment, fill in detail - yet leave it open so that you can still do what you want... and it all makes sense. Don't feel this is something that is necessarily easy to do...
While mostly true, his Campaign Setting book is actually coming out I believe around Gen Con and is produced by Green Ronin, I think. The show itself did become a lot more railroaded, but a lot of this I think has to do with high level play and the fact that he started using the nice terrain he got from Dwarven Forge. The last story arc, was I think only railroaded in the sense that the PCs did what PCs tend to do and they could have gone about things differently. So I think the PCs made it railroaded more so than it had to be.
While Mearls has said if 6th did come out, he hoped it would be backward compatible with 5th. What several people have mentioned however, is that all it really takes is for new designers to show up in WotC and Mearls to leave. In other words, the chance 6th will be similar to 5th and how long it takes before we see 6th is really dependent on how long Mearls stays at WotC.
You really don't need a book of weapons and armor, because they are all the same stats over and over and over and over again. Essentially the PHB has every weapon and armor you could ever want and need because the stats don't change, the description does. With that said, I'm a fan of equipment books that have pictures and descriptions even if the stats are the same.
The "complete" books probably won't appear any time soon as character options seems to be very rarely put out.
While you may feel that the CR games are railroaded, Matt and the rest of the players comment regularly about the number of maps and notes that never get used because the players go in a different direction than Matt planned for. Though I think that the last few weeks have seemed more railroaded, but I think that is because Matt is tying up loose story threads as the game is coming to an end. However, that is irrelevant to the topic of the thread.
I believe NightsLastHero and others are correct, 6th edition will happen, it is just of matter of when. It sucks, but that is just business.
You really don't need a book of weapons and armor, because they are all the same stats over and over and over and over again. Essentially the PHB has every weapon and armor you could ever want and need because the stats don't change, the description does. With that said, I'm a fan of equipment books that have pictures and descriptions even if the stats are the same.
The "complete" books probably won't appear any time soon as character options seems to be very rarely put out.
Sorry, I should have been more clear with regard to the "Complete" books - I'm talking about the fun options and modifications they put in for weapons, accessories, armor, etc., not the extra classes/archetypes, though they could easily add those in to the book as there are clearly a few more coming based on UA.
There are some interesting things spread throughout the books.Things like adding a blade to an instrument and weapon capsules that could be attached, hidden pockets in clothing/backpacks, secret compartments in footwear, hidden scabbards in a quiver, false teeth, etc.
Then you have all the cool adventuring gear like the collapsible grappling hook, heartfire, bolt cutters, winch, small magnet, sashling, sprayer, and a million other things. I love adventuring gear. There are also various poisons that could be added.
Weapons are sometimes simple reskins, like the iron flute, but there are weapons with special properties, like the quickblade rapier, that added the ability to customize somewhat. Even if it is just a bunch of pictures, I'm OK with that because I too like looking at them. =)
Armor wise, some of the books added in different materials that could be used to add certain properties to it and I would love to see this officially added. Think expanding on mithral and adamantine.
I believe NightsLastHero and others are correct, 6th edition will happen, it is just of matter of when. It sucks, but that is just business.
6e will definitely come out. I don't believe it will be for awhile and the hope is that it will be compatible with 5e, which seems possible given the extensible nature of the current edition. Tying this all back to the original topic - I think the current edition can sustain itself for several years more before the well starts to dry up and a new edition is rolled out.
It would be nice to have another campaign book though, I hear you on that.
Not another adventure module, but a campaign book for the Forgotten Realms, containing all of the lore, details on cities, major npcs, details on the Gods & their follows (more than the default paragraph in the current books).
Maybe accompanying slim book for the DM only, containing a whole load of adventure hooks for them to build off.
I guess I'm thinking back to how much I loved the original D&D Gazetteers and how useful they were when the campaign headed to one of the major towns/cities or another place on the map.
Based off of this link, I don't think we're going to see another Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting.
Which, if true, is a bloody shame.
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Hmmm...may be not a full on book, but maybe something like the old campaign modules? Some 20 page handout with updated material? So for Dragonlance, something that goes into the events after, "Dragons of Summer Flame"?
Although I would suppose you could just pull that material from the novels....Hmm.....
Maybe they are right. It wouldn't make a lot of sense to retread old ground. So they are going to try something new?
My original hope, when 5E came out and WotC implied/said they weren't going to do setting books, was that they'd just rotate through the different settings and produce adventure paths that would really showcase each one. Dark Sun is pretty hard to convert adventures to/from generic D&D (FR, Greyhawk) and I don't think I'd want to focus on it, but it's always interested me and I'd sure as heck take a 6-12 month guided tour through it. I've never been a big fan of either the Realms or Planescape, but I'd sign on for a well-written adventure that was part of a rotation. I'm sure I'd be sad that Eberron only got one, but it'd be better than nothing and a reasonable trade-off for getting that "guided tour of the settings" feel.
On the other hand, I realized several years ago that Greyhawk is something that should probably be left alone because no one can really capture the feel that Gygax put into it and all the attempts have even fallen flat or divided the base. In that light, I'd be willing to give a totally new setting a shot. The most compelling part of 4E was the Nentir Vale setting, which I never really explored because the system didn't work for my group.
Whatever happens, my biggest wish for 5E, at this point, is to get off the "all the Realms, all the time" train. It's not deep enough to really please the hardcore fans and (speaking for myself), it's causing fatigue in the sameness for non-fans. Those who aren't either are, by definition, indifferent.
If they are going to avoid setting books, I wish they would just go completely setting neutral so it would be easier to place the material in the setting you want.
If they are going to avoid setting books, I wish they would just go completely setting neutral so it would be easier to place the material in the setting you want.
Amen. Someone asked at EN World Why FR is Hated? There are a number of long posts, there. Some may even have been written by me.
If they are going to avoid setting books, I wish they would just go completely setting neutral so it would be easier to place the material in the setting you want.
I'm with you. If you are going to publish adventures in a setting it makes no sense to not have setting books available.
It's a bad assumption that new players and the like even know what the Dm guild is and the awkwardness of needing a book from a previous edition.
Well they did exactly say that they want to avoid setting books. Mearls said that they want the books to be both adventure but also a setting sourcebook, like Out of the Abyss ( a source book for the Underground) and Storm King's Thunder ( sourcebook for the northern Sword Coast). If the DM so desire, he/she can use the book without caring of the main quest and simply use it for the setting.
I REALLY want to see an official 5e version of the Oriental Adventures book.
After all...if the Forgotten Realms is an acknowledged setting for 5e, then you have Kara-Tur on the other side of the world. They'll need a 5e version of the rules(and yes, I know about the adaptations available on the Dungeon Master's Guild. I downloaded all of them. But I'd prefer something a little more...official! :) )
My own homebrew world has an oriental adventures realm on the other side as well.
I hope we at least see an announcement of such a resource sometime in 2020.
I've said this many times and I'm sure I'll say it more - one of the greatest strengths of 5e is the flexibility and extensibility that is baked into it. It is easy to homebrew within the edition and add/subtract new rules without breaking it. I don't believe a new edition will be coming out for quite some time and my hope is that when a 6e comes out someday, it's more an extension of 5e rather than a complete rewrite.
I think the current pace of printing is fine - it's manageable for a DM and because they've taken their time with putting out new splat books, everything seems to be pretty balanced in my opinion. I think going to the 3.5 model of an avalanche of splat books would be a mistake.
What I would really like is a straight crunch book that is setting agnostic. Someone else mentioned the "Complete" books from 3.5 making an appearance and that is specifically what I would love. I'm talking all of the "Complete" books and the Arms & Equipment Guide from 3.0 in one book for 5e - all the fun adventuring gear, equipment, weapons, armor, mundane items, etc. in one place. This could be a nice place for the traps, downtime activities, and crafting mechanisms they have been putting out in UA, along with the new feats.
While Mearls has said if 6th did come out, he hoped it would be backward compatible with 5th. What several people have mentioned however, is that all it really takes is for new designers to show up in WotC and Mearls to leave. In other words, the chance 6th will be similar to 5th and how long it takes before we see 6th is really dependent on how long Mearls stays at WotC.
You really don't need a book of weapons and armor, because they are all the same stats over and over and over and over again. Essentially the PHB has every weapon and armor you could ever want and need because the stats don't change, the description does. With that said, I'm a fan of equipment books that have pictures and descriptions even if the stats are the same.
The "complete" books probably won't appear any time soon as character options seems to be very rarely put out.
While you may feel that the CR games are railroaded, Matt and the rest of the players comment regularly about the number of maps and notes that never get used because the players go in a different direction than Matt planned for. Though I think that the last few weeks have seemed more railroaded, but I think that is because Matt is tying up loose story threads as the game is coming to an end. However, that is irrelevant to the topic of the thread.
I believe NightsLastHero and others are correct, 6th edition will happen, it is just of matter of when. It sucks, but that is just business.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
Sadly, with each small tidbit of information that comes out about the new "book", the more disappointed I become.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
Which, if true, is a bloody shame.
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Hmmm...may be not a full on book, but maybe something like the old campaign modules? Some 20 page handout with updated material? So for Dragonlance, something that goes into the events after, "Dragons of Summer Flame"?
Although I would suppose you could just pull that material from the novels....Hmm.....
Maybe they are right. It wouldn't make a lot of sense to retread old ground. So they are going to try something new?
My original hope, when 5E came out and WotC implied/said they weren't going to do setting books, was that they'd just rotate through the different settings and produce adventure paths that would really showcase each one. Dark Sun is pretty hard to convert adventures to/from generic D&D (FR, Greyhawk) and I don't think I'd want to focus on it, but it's always interested me and I'd sure as heck take a 6-12 month guided tour through it. I've never been a big fan of either the Realms or Planescape, but I'd sign on for a well-written adventure that was part of a rotation. I'm sure I'd be sad that Eberron only got one, but it'd be better than nothing and a reasonable trade-off for getting that "guided tour of the settings" feel.
On the other hand, I realized several years ago that Greyhawk is something that should probably be left alone because no one can really capture the feel that Gygax put into it and all the attempts have even fallen flat or divided the base. In that light, I'd be willing to give a totally new setting a shot. The most compelling part of 4E was the Nentir Vale setting, which I never really explored because the system didn't work for my group.
Whatever happens, my biggest wish for 5E, at this point, is to get off the "all the Realms, all the time" train. It's not deep enough to really please the hardcore fans and (speaking for myself), it's causing fatigue in the sameness for non-fans. Those who aren't either are, by definition, indifferent.
If they are going to avoid setting books, I wish they would just go completely setting neutral so it would be easier to place the material in the setting you want.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
Well they did exactly say that they want to avoid setting books. Mearls said that they want the books to be both adventure but also a setting sourcebook, like Out of the Abyss ( a source book for the Underground) and Storm King's Thunder ( sourcebook for the northern Sword Coast). If the DM so desire, he/she can use the book without caring of the main quest and simply use it for the setting.
The problem is paying $50 for the 15-20% of a book that is useful, thus the reason I don't own any of the adventures.
She/Her Player and Dungeon Master
I REALLY want to see an official 5e version of the Oriental Adventures book.
After all...if the Forgotten Realms is an acknowledged setting for 5e, then you have Kara-Tur on the other side of the world. They'll need a 5e version of the rules(and yes, I know about the adaptations available on the Dungeon Master's Guild. I downloaded all of them. But I'd prefer something a little more...official! :) )
My own homebrew world has an oriental adventures realm on the other side as well.
I hope we at least see an announcement of such a resource sometime in 2020.
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