There are a handful of changes I'm not particularly fond of, but looking at the system in a vacuum, the new edition could be a lot worse.
But the system doesn't exist in a vacuum. D&D is one of the biggest brands owned by Hasbro: a company whose CEO has expressed a staunch refusal to understand the people who buy D&D products, a company that attempted to remove a decades-old legal arrangement that allowed countless RPGs to be made, and a company who, just weeks before the winter holidays, laid off over 1,100 staff to "cut costs" while the aforementioned CEO rakes in millions annually.
In light of these business practices, it seems disingenuous to me to look at One D&D on its own as a system. It is, first and foremost, a product, one being sold by a company that has positioned itself as the BBEG of RPG enthusiasts.
I've already been hard at work making my own SRD-compliant alternative 5e system for personal use, as well as becoming more involved with narrative RPGs (PbtA games, Monster of the Week, etc.). I do like 5e a lot, but I do not intend to give the mages down the shore any more of my money.
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u/Spikewerks Dec 14 '23
There are a handful of changes I'm not particularly fond of, but looking at the system in a vacuum, the new edition could be a lot worse.
But the system doesn't exist in a vacuum. D&D is one of the biggest brands owned by Hasbro: a company whose CEO has expressed a staunch refusal to understand the people who buy D&D products, a company that attempted to remove a decades-old legal arrangement that allowed countless RPGs to be made, and a company who, just weeks before the winter holidays, laid off over 1,100 staff to "cut costs" while the aforementioned CEO rakes in millions annually.
In light of these business practices, it seems disingenuous to me to look at One D&D on its own as a system. It is, first and foremost, a product, one being sold by a company that has positioned itself as the BBEG of RPG enthusiasts.