Grim I was a little disappointed you didn’t do a straight up review. I’ve deliberately not read/ watched d$d main stream 2024 ph reviews ( reviews influenced by the WOTC gravy train) as I was holding out for less mainstream d$d reviews such as yours. Still an enjoyable watch sir.
Thanks for your analysis, Without a doubt the common thread in the D&D gestalt is that WotC is lost and fantasy is more anime than Brothers Grimm. Times like these are when it's ideal for third party publishers to make some big noise to attract more of the liminal market share. There is so much uncertainty in the industry now that gamers might be willing to give some nostalgia a chance.
Thank you for a great review of the book! I agree that they really should have included the artificer and that the layout and organization was a great improvement
😢i can't take what has happened. It is worse than lowest common denominator. They are tryinv to gentrify . Saying saying that stuff in the old editions could not fly today is an admission that they want to espouse failure
I somehow agree with you on this. Even though Shadowdark if my favorite "neo OSR", this is by definition not innovative, making it for a game designer perspective not interesting, but for most people that are looking for nostalgia, light rules, and familiarity this fits perfectly that segment. Plus it got better marketing, don't forget that.
One thing they did a decent job of is reducing number of junk subclasses no one would ever play, and the number of 'uber' subclasses. Abilities are fun and varied but less wildly under/overpowered. Similar thing with spell choices.
The de-emphasize of the player race/species isn't surprising considering the move WotC has been going with where the race/species is just humans cosplaying with brightly coloured skin and/or with pointy years because they don't want "bio-essentialism" in the game.
Jim, they only didnt go as far as feared because thats next year with their online/subscription service pushes. They needed a revenue push for this year, thats the only reason for these books. Once they have people buying digital books (and ones where they have signaled their eagerness to modify on the fly) thats when it will really stagnate. As for the staggered release I believe it is because they wanted to test the waters to see how well a 2024 edition would sell. After getting some numbers for the PHB they know how to scale the others. They can no longer rely on fanbase getting all three core books at once anymore.
My group loves 2024 D&D. So much so in fact that the one player who said he wouldn't use the new PHB, went out and bought one the day after the game. A lot of the rough edges of 2014 D&D have been filed off and the new Weapon Mastery system adds some tactical meat to the game. I personally give the 2024 PHB 8.5/10 (the 2014 PHB was 6/10) The staggered release is due to the lack of printers that can handle the massive print runs - this was explained by WotC.
The cover art is absolutely gorgeous. Alluding to an alternative timeline, where D&D didn't end up in the clutches of a soulless company. Sadly it stops there and the art inside is the same soulless slop we've gotten used to. Pass.
I'm at a point in my life/gaming career where I'm sure I can get by just fine without playing any D&D again. There are plenty of great games out there that don't require dungeons, dragons, d20s, or anything else medieval fantasy.
Have a click. That's as much as WizBro as I can stand, this contemporary D&D feels like a neutered Smilodon and yes, I have read the book at my local store. Needed, not welcomed.
... does this mean we(*) ought to expect a 2025, 2026, 2027 edition...? (*) Me personally, I super don't care. I saw this in the sidebar after seeing your Edgerunner's Mission Kit review. ... hey wait a minute, the copyright page view issue... have they released an OGL or other source licence version? Never mind, I just say, "SRD 5.2" will be released "within weeks of the release of the 2025 Monster Manual!" in February 2025. I am so incredibly glad I don't personally care anymore. > AI art exactly I think it has its place it has its uses but those places and uses are not in books by the market leader, the largest company that's trying to chase a billion dollars of of turnover Yes it is. How else are they going to fire staff every Christmas and still maintain output? > there were not as many wheelchairs as you might have expected in a new edition I expect as many as there were in the novel that gave Mustangsart the excuse to release her unbalanced abomination upon the world: ONE, in the royal court in Gauntlgrym. You're right, mediævalism really has just gone right out the translucent waxed linen covered window. ... what's your take on Free League's "The One Ring" or the 5e version of that, please? And now the Dreamworks smirk will haunt me. Ugh. Now I believe in content warnings.
I think we should get more and more of a toss about these things when it comes to the Big W word. Because even though a lot of people don't understand what it is and a lot of people that came in at the late stages of against the woke don't seem to understand it. It's still very much a toxic thing that has been happening for decades. Something toxic even to its own goals of trying to establish a quality and equity because of the w we have more bigotry that would not have been have they not shot first. You can tell this because people are still reluctant to identify themselves as politically correct because they know that there's so many ways it becomes a parody of itself. No one talks enough about how political correctness is a more dangerous and Insidious form of totalitarianism under the radar in a way that manipulates our guilt with emotional blackmail. This is far worse than the Box standard totalitarian. Neither totalitarian is good but at least the Box standard one tells you you're terrible and then just hurts you. This new kind is one that uses emotional manipulation on a society-wide scale in a way that the gas light would be a small candle in a field
Yeah, feels like the evolution of dnd, flavor wise, is just more and more diluted iterations of itself, mixed with modern corporate fiction trends. Its a bit what happened with magic the gathering, now its mostly a game system and the identity of the multiverse is whatever trends and tropes the survey says will be profitable to emulate. Mtg still has colors like dnd still has races and classes, but i play mtg for the games mechanics mainly, so i don't mind that stuff that much. For a ttrpg, well, what are races and classes in a sanitized vacuum? How much sense does it make for a whole multiverse to be forever stuck in pish posh and bleached out versions of medieval societies with the same fighters and wizards everywhere? I don't really understand the point of dnd anymore. Dnd emulated dnd over and over and now we're pretty close to stage four as i can't really find anything in this but dnd as its own pure simulacrum.
I don't understand why ttrpgs have been so infiltrated by wokeness when this doesn't happen as much on triple A games of movies. Like, it feels as if most dnd fans are leftists but not so much gaming fans. Wonder why.
@@PostmortemVideo fair but I get @krishollow point too. Theres a huge variety of OSR and non AD&D flavored games out there. If you have to koudge, tweak, or ignore a bunch just to get the mechanics to work, then just use those mechanics. A setting is literary and by itself mechanics neutral. Thats what I have done, and after Tashas Cauldron I have decided no more WOTC products.
'Dreamworks smirk'
Never heard of that but now you mention it; I see it writ times a thousand. Subbed
I appreciate the neutrality of this review but it still feels like flavorless slop to me.
Eat your gruel and come back for more gruel!
It's Wizbro, slop is expected
Grim I was a little disappointed you didn’t do a straight up review. I’ve deliberately not read/ watched d$d main stream 2024 ph reviews ( reviews influenced by the WOTC gravy train) as I was holding out for less mainstream d$d reviews such as yours. Still an enjoyable watch sir.
Thanks for your analysis, Without a doubt the common thread in the D&D gestalt is that WotC is lost and fantasy is more anime than Brothers Grimm.
Times like these are when it's ideal for third party publishers to make some big noise to attract more of the liminal market share. There is so much uncertainty in the industry now that gamers might be willing to give some nostalgia a chance.
I like anime high fantasy , high technology kitchen sink settings .
@@robblumenberg5965 I do too.
Thank you for a great review of the book! I agree that they really should have included the artificer and that the layout and organization was a great improvement
I'll never give WotC another red cent of mine. If I want 5e, I'll just play Tales of the Valiant.
The cutesy artwork for the tracking sheets in the 5.5E DMG is something that indicates the type of audience WotC/Hasbro is aiming for now...
😢i can't take what has happened. It is worse than lowest common denominator. They are tryinv to gentrify . Saying saying that stuff in the old editions could not fly today is an admission that they want to espouse failure
I somehow agree with you on this. Even though Shadowdark if my favorite "neo OSR", this is by definition not innovative, making it for a game designer perspective not interesting, but for most people that are looking for nostalgia, light rules, and familiarity this fits perfectly that segment. Plus it got better marketing, don't forget that.
Yeah I agree
One thing they did a decent job of is reducing number of junk subclasses no one would ever play, and the number of 'uber' subclasses. Abilities are fun and varied but less wildly under/overpowered. Similar thing with spell choices.
The de-emphasize of the player race/species isn't surprising considering the move WotC has been going with where the race/species is just humans cosplaying with brightly coloured skin and/or with pointy years because they don't want "bio-essentialism" in the game.
Jim, they only didnt go as far as feared because thats next year with their online/subscription service pushes. They needed a revenue push for this year, thats the only reason for these books.
Once they have people buying digital books (and ones where they have signaled their eagerness to modify on the fly) thats when it will really stagnate.
As for the staggered release I believe it is because they wanted to test the waters to see how well a 2024 edition would sell. After getting some numbers for the PHB they know how to scale the others. They can no longer rely on fanbase getting all three core books at once anymore.
Probably rght.
@@PostmortemVideoyour videos as always are great...tho when it comes to WOTC I always feel a twinge of sadness.
Gay dwarve bakers was enough for me to tap out. Im a dork, but im not a baguette
My group loves 2024 D&D. So much so in fact that the one player who said he wouldn't use the new PHB, went out and bought one the day after the game.
A lot of the rough edges of 2014 D&D have been filed off and the new Weapon Mastery system adds some tactical meat to the game.
I personally give the 2024 PHB 8.5/10 (the 2014 PHB was 6/10)
The staggered release is due to the lack of printers that can handle the massive print runs - this was explained by WotC.
Funny how those big print runs are only possible during profit quarters.
The cover art is absolutely gorgeous. Alluding to an alternative timeline, where D&D didn't end up in the clutches of a soulless company. Sadly it stops there and the art inside is the same soulless slop we've gotten used to.
Pass.
A lot of AI generated or tweaked art, and in many cases you can see how they have filed off the edges or anything someone might Twitter whinge about.
I'm at a point in my life/gaming career where I'm sure I can get by just fine without playing any D&D again. There are plenty of great games out there that don't require dungeons, dragons, d20s, or anything else medieval fantasy.
Maybe. But those games don't bring in the players.
Ah, 5.5 Slop. Thanks for looking so we don't have to.
Have a click.
That's as much as WizBro as I can stand, this contemporary D&D feels like a neutered Smilodon and yes, I have read the book at my local store. Needed, not welcomed.
... does this mean we(*) ought to expect a 2025, 2026, 2027 edition...?
(*) Me personally, I super don't care. I saw this in the sidebar after seeing your Edgerunner's Mission Kit review.
... hey wait a minute, the copyright page view issue... have they released an OGL or other source licence version? Never mind, I just say, "SRD 5.2" will be released "within weeks of the release of the 2025 Monster Manual!" in February 2025.
I am so incredibly glad I don't personally care anymore.
> AI art exactly I think it has its place it has its uses but those places and uses are not in books by the market leader, the largest company that's trying to chase a billion dollars of of turnover
Yes it is. How else are they going to fire staff every Christmas and still maintain output?
> there were not as many wheelchairs as you might have expected in a new edition
I expect as many as there were in the novel that gave Mustangsart the excuse to release her unbalanced abomination upon the world: ONE, in the royal court in Gauntlgrym. You're right, mediævalism really has just gone right out the translucent waxed linen covered window.
... what's your take on Free League's "The One Ring" or the 5e version of that, please?
And now the Dreamworks smirk will haunt me. Ugh. Now I believe in content warnings.
I think we should get more and more of a toss about these things when it comes to the Big W word. Because even though a lot of people don't understand what it is and a lot of people that came in at the late stages of against the woke don't seem to understand it. It's still very much a toxic thing that has been happening for decades. Something toxic even to its own goals of trying to establish a quality and equity because of the w we have more bigotry that would not have been have they not shot first. You can tell this because people are still reluctant to identify themselves as politically correct because they know that there's so many ways it becomes a parody of itself. No one talks enough about how political correctness is a more dangerous and Insidious form of totalitarianism under the radar in a way that manipulates our guilt with emotional blackmail. This is far worse than the Box standard totalitarian. Neither totalitarian is good but at least the Box standard one tells you you're terrible and then just hurts you. This new kind is one that uses emotional manipulation on a society-wide scale in a way that the gas light would be a small candle in a field
Yeah, feels like the evolution of dnd, flavor wise, is just more and more diluted iterations of itself, mixed with modern corporate fiction trends. Its a bit what happened with magic the gathering, now its mostly a game system and the identity of the multiverse is whatever trends and tropes the survey says will be profitable to emulate. Mtg still has colors like dnd still has races and classes, but i play mtg for the games mechanics mainly, so i don't mind that stuff that much.
For a ttrpg, well, what are races and classes in a sanitized vacuum? How much sense does it make for a whole multiverse to be forever stuck in pish posh and bleached out versions of medieval societies with the same fighters and wizards everywhere? I don't really understand the point of dnd anymore. Dnd emulated dnd over and over and now we're pretty close to stage four as i can't really find anything in this but dnd as its own pure simulacrum.
I don't understand why ttrpgs have been so infiltrated by wokeness when this doesn't happen as much on triple A games of movies. Like, it feels as if most dnd fans are leftists but not so much gaming fans. Wonder why.
Leftists tend to be more creative types.
I see so many videos talking about "fixing it"
Why are you fixing their product? It's weird.
People are wedded to D&D and what to make it better and more usable. Not that hard to grok.
@@PostmortemVideo fair but I get @krishollow point too. Theres a huge variety of OSR and non AD&D flavored games out there. If you have to koudge, tweak, or ignore a bunch just to get the mechanics to work, then just use those mechanics. A setting is literary and by itself mechanics neutral.
Thats what I have done, and after Tashas Cauldron I have decided no more WOTC products.
MYFAROG is my favourite RPG
2:25 one of the reasons i keep comming back, good sir. I assume im not alone in that.