5e announced!

[Zilfer]

Interesting....

[alhoon]

The release dates have been announced.

Starter Set in July

Player's Handbook in August
Monster Manual in September
Dungeon Master's Guide in November.
320-pages each, $50 MSRP

They have some AWESOME front pages, but I wonder... are these the "Deluxe" versions, or we're supposed to pay 50$/book? Kinda TOO MUCH if you ask me.
I want hard, paper, dead-tree copies, but 150$ just for the basic 3 is too much.

Anyway, bask in the epicness of the covers for D&D (no next, or edition. We just are supposed to know it's the 5th edition):

http://www.wizards.com/DnD/Product.aspx ... starterset

It's the best covers I've seen since Rules Encyclopedia (1992). Especially the DM's book cover.

[Jester of the FoS]

The price is pushing the high end. The 4e books were certainly higher in price than the 3e books and these are higher still. And they're $5-10 more than Pathfinder products of the same size.

It's a bit of a cash grab.

[Bluebomber4evr]

They are at least selling the "Starter Set" with dice for $20.00 USD. That's not bad.

[Zilfer]

Yeah not sure i'll be pulling away from Pathfinder any time soon, however if Ravenloft does come out for it I will definitely grab at it.

[Guardian of Twilight]

Yeah not sure i'll be pulling away from Pathfinder any time soon, however if Ravenloft does come out for it I will definitely grab at it.

I agree, actually. I'm interested to see what all develops with 5E. I'm thoroughly a Pathfinder DM now, even in my Forgotten Realms campaigns, and will stay that way. Pathfinder is just about perfect in my book!

[alhoon]

I'll buy the starter set and based on that, I'll see if I'll buy the hard, dead-tree versions along with the digital versions.
The digital version are a must IMO; I'm playing remotely most of the time using online table software etc.

As for pathfinder, I think it's the reason we will not soon see an SRD and OGL for D&D Next like we did for D&D 3.5.

[Jester of the FoS]

The Starter Set is $20 and mostly aimed at DMs with pre-gen PCs and now character generation rules.

However, they've said that 15% of so of the PHB will be available for free online and include character gen.
They've also said that you'll be able to play at launch (despite the MM and DMG being so much later) so I suspect there might be free content there as well.

[alhoon]

Probably the kind we got in the early 3E books. If you recall, the first print of 3E had several monsters, XP etc in a few extra back pages. It had a CR 14 dragon.
Back then, we haven't seen the required items at those levels. I remember seeing the dragon and going thinking it's waaay too powerful. Then DMG arrived and we figured the party would have about hundreds of thousands gold pieces worth of equipment by the time they face CR 14 monsters.

[Jester of the FoS]

Sounds like more than that:
http://www.wizards.com/DnD/Article.aspx ... l/20140527

There’s a lot to talk about with the new game, but I’d like to take this week to focus on a piece of the puzzle we haven’t talked about yet: Basic Dungeons & Dragons.

Basic D&D is a PDF that covers the core of the game. It’s the equivalent of the old D&D Rules Cyclopedia, though it doesn’t have quite the same scope (for example, it won’t go into detail on a setting). It runs from levels 1 to 20 and covers the cleric, fighter, rogue, and wizard, presenting what we view as the essential subclass for each. It also provides the dwarf, elf, halfling, and human as race options.

But the best part? Basic D&D is a free PDF. Anyone can download it from our website. We want to put D&D in as many hands as possible, and a free, digital file is the best way to do that.

If Basic D&D is the equivalent of the classic Rules Cyclopedia, then the three core rulebooks are analogous to Advanced Dungeons & Dragons. Want more character options? Pick up a Player’s Handbook. Looking for more critters for your campaign? The Monster Manual has you covered. Want to sculpt a unique campaign? Pick up the Dungeon Master’s Guide. Still, Basic D&D is the true heart of the game and could easily provide a lifetime of gaming.

At the launch of the D&D Starter Set, Basic D&D will include the material needed to create characters and advance to 20th level. In August, with the release of the Player’s Handbook, Basic D&D will expand to include the essential monsters, magic items, and DM rules needed to run the game, along with the rules for wilderness, dungeon, and urban adventuring. (The Starter Set already covers the aspects of these rules that you need to run the included campaign.)

As we introduce new storylines like Tyranny of Dragons, we’ll also make available free PDFs that provide all the rules and stats missing from Basic D&D needed to run the adventures tied into the story. The adventures released as part of Tyranny of Dragons are playable without requiring any of the core rulebooks or the Starter Set. With just the Basic Dungeons & Dragons rules, you can play D&D for years.

[alhoon]

GREAT NEWS ! ! !
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Article.aspx ... l/20140527

"Basic D&D is a PDF that covers the core of the game. It’s the equivalent of the old D&D Rules Cyclopedia, though it doesn’t have quite the same scope (for example, it won’t go into detail on a setting). It runs from levels 1 to 20 and covers the cleric, fighter, rogue, and wizard, presenting what we view as the essential subclass for each. It also provides the dwarf, elf, halfling, and human as race options.
But the best part? Basic D&D is a free PDF.
"


THE BASIC WILL BE FREE! ! !

I expect from the talk, it will be more or less like the Test packages. PDFs with stuff.

EDIT: Meh, I'm 2nd.

[Gonzoron of the FoS]

very nice to hear! not as comprehensive as an SRD, but enough to "try before you buy" (or for someone who doesn't plan to play these rules to get the gist so they can back-convert any new material...)

[alhoon]

very nice to hear! not as comprehensive as an SRD, but enough to "try before you buy" (or for someone who doesn't plan to play these rules to get the gist so they can back-convert any new material...)

Obviously, we won't see as comprehensive an SRD as for 3.5 D&D soon. Pathfinder taught WotC to be more mindful of giving out free accesses to their products. The OGL is killing D&D sales, based on an updated version of their own rules.

With the free basic set, WotC gives Core D&D to people for free BUT they keep the rights so that there can't be a product that will steal their sales in the future.

[alhoon]

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Article.aspx ... l/20140529

About the free OGL:
" I wanted to take a moment to address a common question we receive about the Open Gaming License and what it means for the future of D&D."

(Loooooong string of words that can be boiled to "We love D&D and we want you to love it to!" )

Till they reach to:
"While the details are still in flux, we can say that we plan to announce the details of our plans sometime this fall. After that announcement, we plan on launching our program in early 2015."

[Zilfer]

very nice to hear! not as comprehensive as an SRD, but enough to "try before you buy" (or for someone who doesn't plan to play these rules to get the gist so they can back-convert any new material...)

Obviously, we won't see as comprehensive an SRD as for 3.5 D&D soon. Pathfinder taught WotC to be more mindful of giving out free accesses to their products. The OGL is killing D&D sales, based on an updated version of their own rules.

With the free basic set, WotC gives Core D&D to people for free BUT they keep the rights so that there can't be a product that will steal their sales in the future.

I'm curious if it's killing itself however....

Pathfinder that is.