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Thursday, May 22, 2014

DMG to Offer Sidebars on Emulating Earlier Editions - 15% of the 5e Player's Handbook to be Available for Free Online


Psst!

Kid!

I'd like to sell you a bridge!

No, not the Brooklyn Bridge. A bridge between the new D&D Starter Set and the Player's Handbook. Here's the Kicker! It's free! Yep, about 15% of the new D&D Player's Handbook will be free for the taking so you can create characters with the Starter Set. How can you beat that? Right, you can't! Now, how about a Rolex? ;)

Interesting that part of the Player's Handbook will be available online for free to create characters. Not a PDF, (according to Mike it IS a PDF) not an SRD but an actual part of the Player's Handbook. Morrus over on EnWorld estimates about 48 pages.

And look, there's more!

Sidebars in the DMG to customize the game to match past editions of D&D. Color me intrigued. I really thought this aspect was too big a project and put to the wayside when Monte left, but if they can pull this off, it could turn 5e into a bridge between the OSR and the present AND open up 5e to a shit ton of OSR (and other earlier edition) adventures and adventuring.

Lot's of potential.

The Player's Handbook is already down to $30 on Amazon and the DMG and MM are hovering around $40.

It seems that I will now be anxiously awaiting the DMG (oh, early release dates for Wizards Play Network stores - so Amazon Discount versus early release at certain brick and mortar. Well played)

11 comments:

  1. I like that "character gen" part of the PHB being online. It will make player buy-in that much easier for me. Also seeing this clear announcement is very nice since it shows that either A: we're all a bunch of impatient bastards who judge Mike harshly with his enigmatic tweets, or B: they noticed the frustration and decided to make this announce public to alleviate the tension. Probably though it was something planned and Mike wanted to say something but couldn't spoil the surprise at the Trade Show.

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  2. Curious. I wonder why they didn't just print those pages and put them in the starter set? Then again, it's better for bringing in new players if they can get the first hit for free.

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    Replies
    1. To drive people to the website, and whatever awaits us there. ..

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  3. It just doesn't sound right -- and TheRPGpundit has already hinted at it being a 'bigger' thing then just making the character generation bts available on line. I still am guessing at a completely free pdf release of the core rules, possibly with a creative commons/OGL release.

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  4. I'm still betting on online browser based/phone apps to create your character -- linked to a tactical, Fighting Fantasy Gamebook-like online game you can use to learn to play the game. After that, you can print that character in a standard sheet and go game with whoever bought the Starter Set to DM!

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  5. Mearls had said that what was said at BGGCon was true, but not the full picture. I'm putting money on getting pays off the DMG and MM online, too. Plus something else because RPGPundit seems to think that there something cooler than this in the pipeline.

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  6. Mearls had said that what was said at BGGCon was true, but not the full picture. I'm putting money on getting pays off the DMG and MM online, too. Plus something else because RPGPundit seems to think that there something cooler than this in the pipeline.

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  7. They have online character generation with an integratted figure designer that uses 3d printing to sned you a figure of you new PC with an intgrated virtual reality phone app that letks you actually see the dungeon on your phone as you play... yeah, that's the ticket.

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  8. I'm definitely interested at this point. Plus a mass combat/tactical system that is carrying the Battlesystem name? I'm VERY curious about 5E.

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  9. All I want to say is that I don't buy vidya gaemz from Electronic Arts any more and based on WoTC's handling of D&D, this release will be a make or break product for me for this company.

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    Replies
    1. They haven't manged to get a dime from me since some time between 3.5 and 4e and I spent a few bucks on gaming over the past few decades.

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