From: justisaur@yahoo.com   
      
   On 1/17/2026 7:46 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:   
   > On Fri, 16 Jan 2026 08:55:24 -0800, Justisaur    
   > wrote:   
   >   
   >> On 1/15/2026 2:56 PM, Gottfried Neuner wrote:   
   >>> On 1/15/2026 11:55 PM, Gottfried Neuner wrote:   
   >>>> “We shifted our structure internally and D&D moved to a full franchise   
   >>>> model, meaning everything: books, video games, film, and TV –   
   >>>> everything touching the franchise lives under one roof,” he wrote.   
   >>>> “The impact here cannot be overstated; this is massive for D&D and   
   >>>> will allow a strong, coordinated, and well-funded approach for the   
   >>>> franchise, and most importantly, for us, the fans.”   
   >>>>   
   >>>> Ayoub followed that up with a D&D Beyond blog post outlining his   
   >>>> vision for D&D’s future. Rather than promising bold reveals or radical   
   >>>> reinvention, Ayoub focused on fundamentals: nurturing a collaborative   
   >>>> community and making resources like the Maps VTT easier to access.   
   >>>   
   >>> A lot of marketing fluff that basically comes down to: management told   
   >>> us to do stuff but we don't want to scare away any players.   
   >>   
   >> The community seems mostly positive on 5e 2024 after the initial   
   >> knee-jerk to a new edition.  The changes seem less than 1e-2e or   
   >> 3e-3.5e, or even 4e to Essentials, but more than B/X to BECMI, and   
   >> barely on the 'improved' side with nearly as much 'bad changes.'   
   >>   
   >> Barely any progress on the "5e is far too much work for the DM" side,   
   >> though they acknowledged it's a problem and tried to work on it  Which   
   >> I'll argue 5e is the worst D&D edition in that respect. Of course that's   
   >> mostly my impression from the community, as I've only actually read a   
   >> few spell updates as D&D Beyond defaults to 2024 and I didn't realize   
   >> that at first when I was updating my cleric.   
   >   
   > I'm not going to fault WOTC for its D&D Beyond push, since presumably   
   > they know what they're doing there, but I pretty much /forgot/ about   
   > 5E 2024 because so much of their stuff revolves around the online   
   > experience now. Did they even release hardcopy books of the new rules?   
      
   Yes.  Nothing like paying twice for your rules. Gotta get that profit.   
      
   > I can't remember seeing them the last time I went to the store. And I   
   > totally miss out on all the UA rules clarifications/additions just   
   > because I've no interest in scouring the web for them.   
   >   
      
   Really from 3e on it felt like the editions were too complicated to   
   handle just making characters without a computer.  I'd actually say 3e   
   was worse in that respect as with feats you had to make sure you had the   
   right ability scores.  That's bonus for them of course as electronic   
   publishing is cheaper and more profitable.   
      
   > I guess I'm just too old school. For me tabletop gaming is gaming   
   > around an actual table; it's an escape from the Internet, and while   
   > I'll be the first to admit this attitude may not reflect the bulk of   
   > D&D's current audience, it is why I pay so little attention to the   
   > newer editions. I like my old tomes.   
   I would prefer to do that, but even my local friends don't want to do in   
   person anymore.  Nor do they want to do anything but 5e.  My living   
   conditions suck, so I can't host something even if I could get locals to   
   play AD&D or similar.   
      
   I could play or DM 5e local at the meetup, but of course with people   
   that aren't my friends.  I tried to get my OSR going at one, but people   
   abandoned it as soon as a table of 5e was open.   
      
   --   
   -Justisaur   
      
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