Sup guys. I've been away from the forums for a while, and however much I would like to say I will return, this site simply does not hold as much joy for me as it once did.
I've grown somewhat older and my life has gotten busier. Siiiigh. All the D&D games I was in fell through, so I haven't been much playing much at all. However, I recently managed to DM a fun one shot over Zoom, which got me thinking about the game and the forums.
I just wanted to poke my head in here and say hi, and that I hope ya'll are doing well. It's really cool that this thread is still at least somewhat active! :)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
BoringBard's long and tedious posts somehow manage to enrapture audiences. How? Because he used Charm Person, the #1 bard spell!
He/him pronouns. Call me Bard. PROUD NERD!
Ever wanted to talk about your parties' worst mistakes? Do so HERE. What's your favorite class, why? Share & explainHERE.
Sup guys. I've been away from the forums for a while, and however much I would like to say I will return, this site simply does not hold as much joy for me as it once did.
I've grown somewhat older and my life has gotten busier. Siiiigh. All the D&D games I was in fell through, so I haven't been much playing much at all. However, I recently managed to DM a fun one shot over Zoom, which got me thinking about the game and the forums.
I just wanted to poke my head in here and say hi, and that I hope ya'll are doing well. It's really cool that this thread is still at least somewhat active! :)
Almost no one from the "glory days" of this thread posts here anymore. :)
I took a 3 week break from DMing my weekly (remote) D&D game. One of my players in an in person game passed away, the day after we'd played. And that hit hard.
And then my wife had back surgery, with complications. So I've been her care taker (again).
I finally DM'ed a remote session this past Saturday, and it felt good to feel creative and laugh. I realize how much DMing is therapy for me. It's me being able to tell a story and hear reactions from my players immediately. For that moment, I am able to step away from reality and share stories and laugh. It's a pivotal escape for my life, before the requirements of the real world return.
The play by post Lord of the Rings 5e I run - it's fun but dreadfully slow, especially combat. So this won't last much longer, I am afraid. I have a good ending for it, a nice "end with a cliff hanger" type thing. But probably will be bringing this to an end in the very neat future. In the meantime, anyone who has been keeping up with my write ups from those sessions, here's session 16, the latest one (posted today)...
Sup guys. I've been away from the forums for a while, and however much I would like to say I will return, this site simply does not hold as much joy for me as it once did.
I've grown somewhat older and my life has gotten busier. Siiiigh. All the D&D games I was in fell through, so I haven't been much playing much at all. However, I recently managed to DM a fun one shot over Zoom, which got me thinking about the game and the forums.
I just wanted to poke my head in here and say hi, and that I hope ya'll are doing well. It's really cool that this thread is still at least somewhat active! :)
Almost no one from the "glory days" of this thread posts here anymore. :)
I took a 3 week break from DMing my weekly (remote) D&D game. One of my players in an in person game passed away, the day after we'd played. And that hit hard.
And then my wife had back surgery, with complications. So I've been her care taker (again).
I finally DM'ed a remote session this past Saturday, and it felt good to feel creative and laugh. I realize how much DMing is therapy for me. It's me being able to tell a story and hear reactions from my players immediately. For that moment, I am able to step away from reality and share stories and laugh. It's a pivotal escape for my life, before the requirements of the real world return.
The play by post Lord of the Rings 5e I run - it's fun but dreadfully slow, especially combat. So this won't last much longer, I am afraid. I have a good ending for it, a nice "end with a cliff hanger" type thing. But probably will be bringing this to an end in the very neat future. In the meantime, anyone who has been keeping up with my write ups from those sessions, here's session 16, the latest one (posted today)...
It's sad that most of the people who used to be active have stopped posting here. Everyone from the "glory days" of this thread is awesome and valuable, so it's startling to see how everything goes on much the same (at least on the forums in general) without them. But that's life, I guess.
I'm sorry to hear that one of the people you play with has passed away. And I hope your wife has the best possible recovery from her surgery.
I haven't played D&D consistently for a while, but my recent session absolutely made me remember what I've been missing. So I'm glad you've had a similar experience as well. DMing is always wonderful.
And yeah, PBP is notoriously slow. Many of us on this thread had a PBP game a while back, but people just stopped posting and it ended ages ago. ):
Anyways, it's great to see that you're still posting! :)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
BoringBard's long and tedious posts somehow manage to enrapture audiences. How? Because he used Charm Person, the #1 bard spell!
He/him pronouns. Call me Bard. PROUD NERD!
Ever wanted to talk about your parties' worst mistakes? Do so HERE. What's your favorite class, why? Share & explainHERE.
It's sad that most of the people who used to be active have stopped posting here. Everyone from the "glory days" of this thread is awesome and valuable, so it's startling to see how everything goes on much the same (at least on the forums in general) without them. But that's life, I guess.
I'm sorry to hear that one of the people you play with has passed away. And I hope your wife has the best possible recovery from her surgery.
I haven't played D&D consistently for a while, but my recent session absolutely made me remember what I've been missing. So I'm glad you've had a similar experience as well. DMing is always wonderful.
And yeah, PBP is notoriously slow. Many of us on this thread had a PBP game a while back, but people just stopped posting and it ended ages ago. ):
Anyways, it's great to see that you're still posting! :)
Yeah, this thread was a lot of fun back in the day. I enjoyed, for example, making up that ongoing story about the people in the thread on their "adventure." That was a lot of fun.
Yeah, yesterday was the first day we played again (that game is monthly and in person) since Rickie's death - we put his chair there, put his dice there, and his dice holder, in honor of him.
And yes, was good to DM again, and even yesterday to play in person (Dragonlance) - I had the party slay three young white dragons at the end of that session, which was great, because previously three (different) young white dragons had really got the best of them. So it was a nice revenge story and great to see the party end on a high note. I always have the party roll to see if the dragon's breath recharges - first encounter, they seemed to consistently roll a 5 or 6 - this time, not a single one - so each dragon had their first initial breath - but after that it never recharged each time it was their turn. So that was incredibly fun as well.
And yeah, the PBP game, is probably gonna come to an end. One of the other players recently left (life is too busy) - so I took over their character this session - since this session was pretty much a big story moment for their character (see my note in the link if you're bored)...
It's sad that most of the people who used to be active have stopped posting here. Everyone from the "glory days" of this thread is awesome and valuable, so it's startling to see how everything goes on much the same (at least on the forums in general) without them. But that's life, I guess.
I'm sorry to hear that one of the people you play with has passed away. And I hope your wife has the best possible recovery from her surgery.
I haven't played D&D consistently for a while, but my recent session absolutely made me remember what I've been missing. So I'm glad you've had a similar experience as well. DMing is always wonderful.
And yeah, PBP is notoriously slow. Many of us on this thread had a PBP game a while back, but people just stopped posting and it ended ages ago. ):
Anyways, it's great to see that you're still posting! :)
Yeah, this thread was a lot of fun back in the day. I enjoyed, for example, making up that ongoing story about the people in the thread on their "adventure." That was a lot of fun.
Yeah, yesterday was the first day we played again (that game is monthly and in person) since Rickie's death - we put his chair there, put his dice there, and his dice holder, in honor of him.
And yes, was good to DM again, and even yesterday to play in person (Dragonlance) - I had the party slay three young white dragons at the end of that session, which was great, because previously three (different) young white dragons had really got the best of them. So it was a nice revenge story and great to see the party end on a high note. I always have the party roll to see if the dragon's breath recharges - first encounter, they seemed to consistently roll a 5 or 6 - this time, not a single one - so each dragon had their first initial breath - but after that it never recharged each time it was their turn. So that was incredibly fun as well.
And yeah, the PBP game, is probably gonna come to an end. One of the other players recently left (life is too busy) - so I took over their character this session - since this session was pretty much a big story moment for their character (see my note in the link if you're bored)...
And a big fight against dragons is always a great way to wrap things up. :)
Ditto! Nice to see familiar faces! And yes, a fight against dragons was fun to do - but now to somehow find a way to match that excitement for the next session! :D
And should anyone be interested -
Next session of my play by post Lord of the Rings 5e... Session 18.
It's sad that most of the people who used to be active have stopped posting here. Everyone from the "glory days" of this thread is awesome and valuable, so it's startling to see how everything goes on much the same (at least on the forums in general) without them. But that's life, I guess.
I’m one of the few who still feels this way. But lately D&D has started to feel a bit stale for me. I’m not alone in saying that my excitement for yet another Forgotten Realms or Eberron book is practically nonexistent—those releases add very little value for me personally. I can already play as an artificer or bladesinger, and there are whole volumes of setting lore floating around the internet for those worlds. To a large extent, my participation in these forums has been a way to shape ideas and express my creativity, but there’s really not much about 5e that inspires me anymore.
I once thought Dark Sun might be worth revisiting, but it’s the same old story. We first saw it in AD&D 2e, got a soft reboot in Dragon magazine for 3e, and then a hard reboot in 4e. That’s more than enough. Now I’m craving something truly fresh and inventive. Radiant Citadel was a high‑water mark for me—a stunningly rich setting created through a collaborative effort that drew on a broad swath of cultural knowledge. I was really excited when Radiant Citadel was released because I thought it signaled that WotC was serious about investing in new stories. I was wrong. If it were up to me, Justice Arman, Ajit George, and everybody else who contributed to Radiant Citadel would be made creative leads and given free rein to write new and experimental stories.
I’ve also been exploring other systems. I invested a chunk in the Cypher System reboot from Monte Cook, and I’ve found Numenera and Invisible Sun to be among the most creative RPG products I’ve encountered. Aside from Monte Cook himself, Bruce Cordell and Shanna Germain are also some of the most talented designers in the history of the hobby.
On the business side, Wizards of the Coast (WotC) continues to frustrate me. The OGL controversy left a lasting dent in my enthusiasm. While the new SRD being released under Creative Commons is a big win for players, I’m increasingly exhausted always wondering whether the next decision WotC leadership makes will be yet another face-slap. WotC isn’t a pure monopoly, but it is the dominant player, and that level of power makes me nervous.
Because of this uncertainty, I’ve essentially stopped buying anything on D&D Beyond. There’s no guarantee we’ll retain access to those materials in the future. If WotC decided to shut down D&D Beyond tomorrow, everything would disappear and we’d have no recourse. Developers keep assuring us that D&D Beyond isn’t going anywhere soon, but realistically it will eventually end.
WotC does have alternatives—they could release watermarked PDFs or DRM‑locked ePubs, as many other publishers already do. They could also create a desktop application for Beyond with offline functionality. But they haven’t.
So yeah, I may pop on to these forums from time to time when something major happens, but it's not going to be a frequent thing. Such is life!
Also, I think Sposta's gone for good. On their profile, it says they haven't been on in months. I do not know Sposta personally, but they were one of the most positive influences on the forum, having essentially donated what must be months of time helping out other users. If you're seeing this, Sposta, I hope you're well.
Yeah, yesterday was the first day we played again (that game is monthly and in person) since Rickie's death - we put his chair there, put his dice there, and his dice holder, in honor of him.
It's sad that most of the people who used to be active have stopped posting here. Everyone from the "glory days" of this thread is awesome and valuable, so it's startling to see how everything goes on much the same (at least on the forums in general) without them. But that's life, I guess.
I’m one of the few who still feels this way. But lately D&D has started to feel a bit stale for me. I’m not alone in saying that my excitement for yet another Forgotten Realms or Eberron book is practically nonexistent—those releases add very little value for me personally. I can already play as an artificer or bladesinger, and there are whole volumes of setting lore floating around the internet for those worlds. To a large extent, my participation in these forums has been a way to shape ideas and express my creativity, but there’s really not much about 5e that inspires me anymore.
I once thought Dark Sun might be worth revisiting, but it’s the same old story. We first saw it in AD&D 2e, got a soft reboot in Dragon magazine for 3e, and then a hard reboot in 4e. That’s more than enough. Now I’m craving something truly fresh and inventive. Radiant Citadel was a high‑water mark for me—a stunningly rich setting created through a collaborative effort that drew on a broad swath of cultural knowledge. I was really excited when Radiant Citadel was released because I thought it signaled that WotC was serious about investing in new stories. I was wrong. If it were up to me, Justice Arman, Ajit George, and everybody else who contributed to Radiant Citadel would be made creative leads and given free rein to write new and experimental stories.
I’ve also been exploring other systems. I invested a chunk in the Cypher System reboot from Monte Cook, and I’ve found Numenera and Invisible Sun to be among the most creative RPG products I’ve encountered. Aside from Monte Cook himself, Bruce Cordell and Shanna Germain are also some of the most talented designers in the history of the hobby.
On the business side, Wizards of the Coast (WotC) continues to frustrate me. The OGL controversy left a lasting dent in my enthusiasm. While the new SRD being released under Creative Commons is a big win for players, I’m increasingly exhausted always wondering whether the next decision WotC leadership makes will be yet another face-slap. WotC isn’t a pure monopoly, but it is the dominant player, and that level of power makes me nervous.
Because of this uncertainty, I’ve essentially stopped buying anything on D&D Beyond. There’s no guarantee we’ll retain access to those materials in the future. If WotC decided to shut down D&D Beyond tomorrow, everything would disappear and we’d have no recourse. Developers keep assuring us that D&D Beyond isn’t going anywhere soon, but realistically it will eventually end.
WotC does have alternatives—they could release watermarked PDFs or DRM‑locked ePubs, as many other publishers already do. They could also create a desktop application for Beyond with offline functionality. But they haven’t.
So yeah, I may pop on to these forums from time to time when something major happens, but it's not going to be a frequent thing. Such is life!
Also, I think Sposta's gone for good. On their profile, it says they haven't been on in months. I do not know Sposta personally, but they were one of the most positive influences on the forum, having essentially donated what must be months of time helping out other users. If you're seeing this, Sposta, I hope you're well.
Yeah, yesterday was the first day we played again (that game is monthly and in person) since Rickie's death - we put his chair there, put his dice there, and his dice holder, in honor of him.
I'm so sorry to hear this. My condolences.
I’m not an expert in business, but I don’t think DDB is going anywhere. It’s like the hub of their digital empire. They want it to keep making them lots of money.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
I really like D&D, especially Ravenloft, Exandria and the Upside Down from Stranger Things. My pronouns are she/they (genderfae).
I’m not an expert in business, but I don’t think DDB is going anywhere. It’s like the hub of their digital empire. They want it to keep making them lots of money.
While that optimism is understandable, the reality is that digital services can disappear overnight. D&D Insider survived the 4e era and then vanished; a similar fate could await DDB under a range of plausible scenarios—WotC being acquired, filing for bankruptcy, a catastrophic EMP hitting Seattle, or Hasbro repurposing the servers for cryptocurrency mining or LLM workloads. In any of those cases the site could be shut down instantly, leaving us with no recourse.
Because we can’t back up the material ourselves, we’re entirely dependent on Wizards to preserve it—something they aren’t contractually required to do. By contrast, if we owned a pdf or epub, we could store it offline in a variety of ways: on a hard drive, etched onto a metal plate, or encoded in a frog's DNA or something like that. At the moment, however, we have no means to keep DDB content locally.
So yes, the worry is a bit paranoid, but the scenarios I mention are technically feasible. It’s worth weighing the odds, recognizing that relying solely on a third‑party service carries inherent risk.
I’m not an expert in business, but I don’t think DDB is going anywhere. It’s like the hub of their digital empire. They want it to keep making them lots of money.
While that optimism is understandable, the reality is that digital services can disappear overnight. D&D Insider survived the 4e era and then vanished; a similar fate could await DDB under a range of plausible scenarios—WotC being acquired, filing for bankruptcy, a catastrophic EMP hitting Seattle, or Hasbro repurposing the servers for cryptocurrency mining or LLM workloads. In any of those cases the site could be shut down instantly, leaving us with no recourse.
Because we can’t back up the material ourselves, we’re entirely dependent on Wizards to preserve it—something they aren’t contractually required to do. By contrast, if we owned a pdf or epub, we could store it offline in a variety of ways: on a hard drive, etched onto a metal plate, or encoded in a frog's DNA or something like that. At the moment, however, we have no means to keep DDB content locally.
So yes, the worry is a bit paranoid, but the scenarios I mention are technically feasible. It’s worth weighing the odds, recognizing that relying solely on a third‑party service carries inherent risk.
I mean, you say there's no way for you to back up content you own, but there are ways if you wanted to be really crafty about it.
I, myself, am thankful that they have started offering digital & physical copies/bundles for sale now, and that's the route I've gone since they've started that.
For me (and I want to make this clear, I understand your dismay! But speaking for myself) - as for being (you not being) excited about another "Forgotten Realms" or whatever... none of that matters to me. My game I run is 100% homebrew world I created from the ground up, so these books are just new monsters, classes, etc., for me to use or offer to my players, and not so much a "setting." I've created my own lore and such (even about monsters) - so, for example, in my game, the Githyanki used to be Elves who fell from grace after following a Serpent God (who was quite evil) - thus their Elf-like appearance, and yet monstrous look. And the Yaun-Ti (and their ilk) are all humans that worshipped the same Serpent God. And that came about because I had a player who was playing a High Elf, and I introduced the Githyanki as such, and she really sank her teeth into it (since they were headed for a battle in the Astral Plane). So it evolved from that small tidbit to "Oh, what other snake-people are there? Or snake monsters? This Serpent God has had a hand in all of that."
Not sure if anyone even visits this thread anymore? Bygone are the days of much conversation in here.
But in the event someone is enjoying my Lord of the Rings 5e PBP recaps I do... Session 14 is here.
https://sites.google.com/view/lordoftheringsroleplaying/session-14-eagles-and-brigands
Check out my publication on DMs Guild: https://www.dmsguild.com/browse.php?author=Tawmis%20Logue
Check out my comedy web series - Neverending Nights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wr4-u9-zw0&list=PLbRG7dzFI-u3EJd0usasgDrrFO3mZ1lOZ
Need a character story/background written up? I do it for free (but also take donations!) - https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?591882-Need-a-character-background-written-up
I think everyone just sort of ran out of question of the day ideas, not that they don’t cisit
Where have all the flowers gone?
Oh, no. I have one.
If you could have any mount, meaning a living creature commonly used for transportation, from any form of fiction, which would you choose?
Hi, I’m DrakenBrine, here’s my Sig and characters
I am The Grand Envisioner!
Unicorn
I really like D&D, especially Ravenloft, Exandria and the Upside Down from Stranger Things. My pronouns are she/they (genderfae).
Metallic or gem dragon also works
I really like D&D, especially Ravenloft, Exandria and the Upside Down from Stranger Things. My pronouns are she/they (genderfae).
Agreed - metallic or gem dragon - or maybe a cosmic dragon.
Wisea$$ DM and Player since 1979.
I’d personally go with a Graphorn from the Harry Potter Franchise, but those are good options too.
Hi, I’m DrakenBrine, here’s my Sig and characters
I am The Grand Envisioner!
And Session 15 -
https://sites.google.com/view/lordoftheringsroleplaying/session-15-brigands-and-blood
Check out my publication on DMs Guild: https://www.dmsguild.com/browse.php?author=Tawmis%20Logue
Check out my comedy web series - Neverending Nights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wr4-u9-zw0&list=PLbRG7dzFI-u3EJd0usasgDrrFO3mZ1lOZ
Need a character story/background written up? I do it for free (but also take donations!) - https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?591882-Need-a-character-background-written-up
Sup guys. I've been away from the forums for a while, and however much I would like to say I will return, this site simply does not hold as much joy for me as it once did.
I've grown somewhat older and my life has gotten busier. Siiiigh. All the D&D games I was in fell through, so I haven't been much playing much at all. However, I recently managed to DM a fun one shot over Zoom, which got me thinking about the game and the forums.
I just wanted to poke my head in here and say hi, and that I hope ya'll are doing well. It's really cool that this thread is still at least somewhat active! :)
BoringBard's long and tedious posts somehow manage to enrapture audiences. How? Because he used Charm Person, the #1 bard spell!
He/him pronouns. Call me Bard. PROUD NERD!
Ever wanted to talk about your parties' worst mistakes? Do so HERE. What's your favorite class, why? Share & explain
HERE.Almost no one from the "glory days" of this thread posts here anymore. :)
I took a 3 week break from DMing my weekly (remote) D&D game.
One of my players in an in person game passed away, the day after we'd played. And that hit hard.
And then my wife had back surgery, with complications. So I've been her care taker (again).
I finally DM'ed a remote session this past Saturday, and it felt good to feel creative and laugh. I realize how much DMing is therapy for me. It's me being able to tell a story and hear reactions from my players immediately. For that moment, I am able to step away from reality and share stories and laugh. It's a pivotal escape for my life, before the requirements of the real world return.
The play by post Lord of the Rings 5e I run - it's fun but dreadfully slow, especially combat. So this won't last much longer, I am afraid. I have a good ending for it, a nice "end with a cliff hanger" type thing. But probably will be bringing this to an end in the very neat future. In the meantime, anyone who has been keeping up with my write ups from those sessions, here's session 16, the latest one (posted today)...
https://sites.google.com/view/lordoftheringsroleplaying/session-16-brigands-defeated-and-eagle-message
Check out my publication on DMs Guild: https://www.dmsguild.com/browse.php?author=Tawmis%20Logue
Check out my comedy web series - Neverending Nights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wr4-u9-zw0&list=PLbRG7dzFI-u3EJd0usasgDrrFO3mZ1lOZ
Need a character story/background written up? I do it for free (but also take donations!) - https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?591882-Need-a-character-background-written-up
It's sad that most of the people who used to be active have stopped posting here. Everyone from the "glory days" of this thread is awesome and valuable, so it's startling to see how everything goes on much the same (at least on the forums in general) without them. But that's life, I guess.
I'm sorry to hear that one of the people you play with has passed away. And I hope your wife has the best possible recovery from her surgery.
I haven't played D&D consistently for a while, but my recent session absolutely made me remember what I've been missing. So I'm glad you've had a similar experience as well. DMing is always wonderful.
And yeah, PBP is notoriously slow. Many of us on this thread had a PBP game a while back, but people just stopped posting and it ended ages ago. ):
Anyways, it's great to see that you're still posting! :)
BoringBard's long and tedious posts somehow manage to enrapture audiences. How? Because he used Charm Person, the #1 bard spell!
He/him pronouns. Call me Bard. PROUD NERD!
Ever wanted to talk about your parties' worst mistakes? Do so HERE. What's your favorite class, why? Share & explain
HERE.Yeah, this thread was a lot of fun back in the day. I enjoyed, for example, making up that ongoing story about the people in the thread on their "adventure." That was a lot of fun.
Yeah, yesterday was the first day we played again (that game is monthly and in person) since Rickie's death - we put his chair there, put his dice there, and his dice holder, in honor of him.
And yes, was good to DM again, and even yesterday to play in person (Dragonlance) - I had the party slay three young white dragons at the end of that session, which was great, because previously three (different) young white dragons had really got the best of them. So it was a nice revenge story and great to see the party end on a high note. I always have the party roll to see if the dragon's breath recharges - first encounter, they seemed to consistently roll a 5 or 6 - this time, not a single one - so each dragon had their first initial breath - but after that it never recharged each time it was their turn. So that was incredibly fun as well.
And yeah, the PBP game, is probably gonna come to an end. One of the other players recently left (life is too busy) - so I took over their character this session - since this session was pretty much a big story moment for their character (see my note in the link if you're bored)...
https://sites.google.com/view/lordoftheringsroleplaying/session-17-captives-and-eagles
Check out my publication on DMs Guild: https://www.dmsguild.com/browse.php?author=Tawmis%20Logue
Check out my comedy web series - Neverending Nights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wr4-u9-zw0&list=PLbRG7dzFI-u3EJd0usasgDrrFO3mZ1lOZ
Need a character story/background written up? I do it for free (but also take donations!) - https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?591882-Need-a-character-background-written-up
It was good to catch up with you!
And a big fight against dragons is always a great way to wrap things up. :)
BoringBard's long and tedious posts somehow manage to enrapture audiences. How? Because he used Charm Person, the #1 bard spell!
He/him pronouns. Call me Bard. PROUD NERD!
Ever wanted to talk about your parties' worst mistakes? Do so HERE. What's your favorite class, why? Share & explain
HERE.Ditto! Nice to see familiar faces! And yes, a fight against dragons was fun to do - but now to somehow find a way to match that excitement for the next session! :D
And should anyone be interested -
Next session of my play by post Lord of the Rings 5e... Session 18.
https://sites.google.com/view/lordoftheringsroleplaying/session-18-the-road-and-provisions
Check out my publication on DMs Guild: https://www.dmsguild.com/browse.php?author=Tawmis%20Logue
Check out my comedy web series - Neverending Nights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wr4-u9-zw0&list=PLbRG7dzFI-u3EJd0usasgDrrFO3mZ1lOZ
Need a character story/background written up? I do it for free (but also take donations!) - https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?591882-Need-a-character-background-written-up
Session 19, returns the party to Bree...
https://sites.google.com/view/lordoftheringsroleplaying/session-19-to-bree-and-beyond
Check out my publication on DMs Guild: https://www.dmsguild.com/browse.php?author=Tawmis%20Logue
Check out my comedy web series - Neverending Nights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wr4-u9-zw0&list=PLbRG7dzFI-u3EJd0usasgDrrFO3mZ1lOZ
Need a character story/background written up? I do it for free (but also take donations!) - https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?591882-Need-a-character-background-written-up
Session 20 - the party arrives at Bree and shares what they've uncovered... and now begin their journey, in the chilling rains, to Archet...
https://sites.google.com/view/lordoftheringsroleplaying/session-20-news-and-travel
Check out my publication on DMs Guild: https://www.dmsguild.com/browse.php?author=Tawmis%20Logue
Check out my comedy web series - Neverending Nights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wr4-u9-zw0&list=PLbRG7dzFI-u3EJd0usasgDrrFO3mZ1lOZ
Need a character story/background written up? I do it for free (but also take donations!) - https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?591882-Need-a-character-background-written-up
I’m one of the few who still feels this way. But lately D&D has started to feel a bit stale for me. I’m not alone in saying that my excitement for yet another Forgotten Realms or Eberron book is practically nonexistent—those releases add very little value for me personally. I can already play as an artificer or bladesinger, and there are whole volumes of setting lore floating around the internet for those worlds. To a large extent, my participation in these forums has been a way to shape ideas and express my creativity, but there’s really not much about 5e that inspires me anymore.
I once thought Dark Sun might be worth revisiting, but it’s the same old story. We first saw it in AD&D 2e, got a soft reboot in Dragon magazine for 3e, and then a hard reboot in 4e. That’s more than enough. Now I’m craving something truly fresh and inventive. Radiant Citadel was a high‑water mark for me—a stunningly rich setting created through a collaborative effort that drew on a broad swath of cultural knowledge. I was really excited when Radiant Citadel was released because I thought it signaled that WotC was serious about investing in new stories. I was wrong. If it were up to me, Justice Arman, Ajit George, and everybody else who contributed to Radiant Citadel would be made creative leads and given free rein to write new and experimental stories.
I’ve also been exploring other systems. I invested a chunk in the Cypher System reboot from Monte Cook, and I’ve found Numenera and Invisible Sun to be among the most creative RPG products I’ve encountered. Aside from Monte Cook himself, Bruce Cordell and Shanna Germain are also some of the most talented designers in the history of the hobby.
On the business side, Wizards of the Coast (WotC) continues to frustrate me. The OGL controversy left a lasting dent in my enthusiasm. While the new SRD being released under Creative Commons is a big win for players, I’m increasingly exhausted always wondering whether the next decision WotC leadership makes will be yet another face-slap. WotC isn’t a pure monopoly, but it is the dominant player, and that level of power makes me nervous.
Because of this uncertainty, I’ve essentially stopped buying anything on D&D Beyond. There’s no guarantee we’ll retain access to those materials in the future. If WotC decided to shut down D&D Beyond tomorrow, everything would disappear and we’d have no recourse. Developers keep assuring us that D&D Beyond isn’t going anywhere soon, but realistically it will eventually end.
WotC does have alternatives—they could release watermarked PDFs or DRM‑locked ePubs, as many other publishers already do. They could also create a desktop application for Beyond with offline functionality. But they haven’t.
So yeah, I may pop on to these forums from time to time when something major happens, but it's not going to be a frequent thing. Such is life!
Also, I think Sposta's gone for good. On their profile, it says they haven't been on in months. I do not know Sposta personally, but they were one of the most positive influences on the forum, having essentially donated what must be months of time helping out other users. If you're seeing this, Sposta, I hope you're well.
I'm so sorry to hear this. My condolences.
I’m not an expert in business, but I don’t think DDB is going anywhere. It’s like the hub of their digital empire. They want it to keep making them lots of money.
I really like D&D, especially Ravenloft, Exandria and the Upside Down from Stranger Things. My pronouns are she/they (genderfae).
While that optimism is understandable, the reality is that digital services can disappear overnight. D&D Insider survived the 4e era and then vanished; a similar fate could await DDB under a range of plausible scenarios—WotC being acquired, filing for bankruptcy, a catastrophic EMP hitting Seattle, or Hasbro repurposing the servers for cryptocurrency mining or LLM workloads. In any of those cases the site could be shut down instantly, leaving us with no recourse.
Because we can’t back up the material ourselves, we’re entirely dependent on Wizards to preserve it—something they aren’t contractually required to do. By contrast, if we owned a pdf or epub, we could store it offline in a variety of ways: on a hard drive, etched onto a metal plate, or encoded in a frog's DNA or something like that. At the moment, however, we have no means to keep DDB content locally.
So yes, the worry is a bit paranoid, but the scenarios I mention are technically feasible. It’s worth weighing the odds, recognizing that relying solely on a third‑party service carries inherent risk.
I mean, you say there's no way for you to back up content you own, but there are ways if you wanted to be really crafty about it.
I, myself, am thankful that they have started offering digital & physical copies/bundles for sale now, and that's the route I've gone since they've started that.
For me (and I want to make this clear, I understand your dismay! But speaking for myself) - as for being (you not being) excited about another "Forgotten Realms" or whatever... none of that matters to me. My game I run is 100% homebrew world I created from the ground up, so these books are just new monsters, classes, etc., for me to use or offer to my players, and not so much a "setting." I've created my own lore and such (even about monsters) - so, for example, in my game, the Githyanki used to be Elves who fell from grace after following a Serpent God (who was quite evil) - thus their Elf-like appearance, and yet monstrous look. And the Yaun-Ti (and their ilk) are all humans that worshipped the same Serpent God. And that came about because I had a player who was playing a High Elf, and I introduced the Githyanki as such, and she really sank her teeth into it (since they were headed for a battle in the Astral Plane). So it evolved from that small tidbit to "Oh, what other snake-people are there? Or snake monsters? This Serpent God has had a hand in all of that."
Check out my publication on DMs Guild: https://www.dmsguild.com/browse.php?author=Tawmis%20Logue
Check out my comedy web series - Neverending Nights: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Wr4-u9-zw0&list=PLbRG7dzFI-u3EJd0usasgDrrFO3mZ1lOZ
Need a character story/background written up? I do it for free (but also take donations!) - https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?591882-Need-a-character-background-written-up