Bullshit

This morning's post on the newly released 5th Edition of Dungeons & Dragons AKA D&D Next AKA The Basic Rules for D&D drew a lot of interest and at least a little ire. Here's the gist: I said that the free PDF ain't a game, despite what WotC is marketing. People who commented felt that I'm off-base, that WotC is not marketing the Basic Rules as a complete game, that they have been forthcoming that it is a work in progress, that there is no impetus to mislead folks about the fact that you require other products in order to make use of the game.

Sorry, folks...I'm going to have to call bullshit.

Here are the news items I found for Wizards of the Coast since the release July 3rd:

Kotaku Australia

Tech Times

io9

GameSided

The Mary Sue

The Escapist

Gamenguide

The Outhouse

Of these, only The Escapist mentions that additional material is needed to actually play the game of Dungeons & Dragons using "The Basic Rules."

[The Outhouse does say, "Sadly, no monsters" but fails to mention everything else that is missing]

But maybe WotC didn't actually release any kind of press release on the thing. Maybe these are just fanboys posting to web pages and forgetting to mention the missing bits in the slobberyness of their enthusiasm.  So what does WotC itself say?

Here's what their latest news posting (7/3) states:

As Mike Mearls explained in Legends & Lore: The Basic Rules for Dungeons & Dragons is a PDF (over 100 pages, in fact) that covers the core of the game. 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; in addition, the rules contain 120 spells, 5 backgrounds, and character sheets. 

But the best part? The Basic Rules 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.

This tells me it covers "the core" of the game. It references Mike Mearls earlier post (5/27) in which he writes the following, specifically with regard to Basic D&D:

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.

See, the way I read that is Basic D&D covers the core of the game, the equivalent of the D&D Rules Cyclopedia (for those who missed this back in the day, the RC was a standalone game that compiled the BECM of Mentzer's BECMI series into a single book, plus additional material from the Mystarra Gazeteers, including "skills," plus appendixes like the Mystarra world setting and "how to convert characters between D&D and AD&D). The way I read this, I'd expect the soon-to-be-forthcoming core rulebooks (the Player's Handbook, Monster Manual, and Dungeon Master's Guide) to be the equivalent of the AD&D (1st and 2nd edition) game which was mainly compiled into three books with similar titles. The way I read this, the "Basic D&D" rules does not require any of these core books (just as the RC did not require AD&D books) because it is the true heard of the game and has the potential to easily provide a lifetime of gaming...just without a detailed setting like Mystarra.

The reason I infer this is because that's what it fucking well says.

But let's just look at the WotC web site. Oh look...here's a button marked "New to D&D." Let's pretend I am because, you know, maybe someone who's never played will have heard of this thing and want to try it out. It has four sections: 

• What is D&D?
• What to Buy?
• Learn to Play
• Find a Game

Great! Let's get started!

The first section gives a nice paragraph or two on what is role-playing. Okay, since I'm new I'll just sign off on the assumption they know what they're talking about. Clear and concise.

The second section (what to buy) lists Basic Rules for Dungeons & Dragons (with the exact same press release) as its first product. Hell, if I didn't know better, I'd think Basic Rules for D&D is the core of the game and everything you need for a new DM "to jump into tabletop RPG play." Because that's what Mearls says it is:

Basic D&D makes it easier than ever for new players and DMs to jump into tabletop RPG play. We’re involved in the greatest gaming hobby ever invented. It’s time to bring that hobby to everyone who wants to take part.

Yes, there's a bit that says:

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 & Dragonsrules, you can play D&D for years.

But that makes it sound like Tyranny of Dragons is going to have rules and stats that are missing from Basic D&D...things like monsters unique to the storyline, unique treasures, etc that are needed to run adventures tied to the story. Not the basic rules needed for creating and running adventures in general. I infer from Mearls post that you can play D&D for years with just the Basic Dungeons & Dragons rules. Probably because that's what he says.

Finally I come to the REAL section I need: the Learn to Play section. 'Cause, you know, right now I'm stuck in Asuncion for a year and the only people I'm going to be playing with are American ex-pats who don't know how to play (in other words, the "Find a Game" section's not going to help). Here's what it says:

To play the D&D Roleplaying Game, you need a Dungeon Master (DM) to present challenges, adjudicate the rules, and narrate the adventure. 

You also need players to run heroic characters, an adventure (one you may have created on your own, or a premade adventure), and dice. 

A character is a player’s interface with the world of D&D. Like the hero of a novel or the star of a movie, the player characters (PCs) are at the center of the action. But there’s no script to follow—the course of every adventure is determined through the actions the players take. And each character grows and improves as the game goes on. 

Basic Rules for Dungeons & Dragons 

The Basic Rules for Dungeons & Dragons is a PDF that covers the core of the game. 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; in addition, the rules contain 120 spells, 5 backgrounds, and character sheets. 

But the best part? The Basic Rules 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.

It then includes a link to the exact same section first referenced above.

It does not say you need additional material. It does not say the thing is incomplete. WotC tries to pass off Basic D&D as all you need to learn to play the game...a complete game, in other words, and one that is available for free! How can you beat that?

Well, half a game is just as good as no game, folks. At least if you're "new to D&D." 

So, hey, sorry to piss all over your Basic D&D Rules that everyone is loving (I guess it's a good thing I'm not going to Montevideo with my wife next week; The RPG Pundit will never let me into his game now!). I realize that D&D...in any form...isn't a "new" thing to MY readers. But as a game designer, I've chosen to write my games in a way that's accessible to even folks from "outside the fold" of the gaming community. Newbies and such. And 5E is a jab in the eye to people without an assumed amount of gaming experience. Despite saying they want to bring new folks into the D&D fold, I can't help but see this as WotC trying nothing more than to "win back" once-loyal customers who've turned away from their brand. The same aging, dwindling community.

Pretty lame, in my opinion.

Okay, that's all the time I really want to devote to this subject. I really, really doubt that I'll be paying $$ for the D&D Starter set (or any of the new, "core" books) anytime soon, but I'll probably follow the future developments of 5E...if only to see if anyone else is willing to call the Emperor on his nakedness.

In the meantime, I'm starting to think I really need to offer a free product or two to people myself. Seriously...I almost considered knocking down the cost of the 5AK PDFs, but I didn't think that would be fair to the folks who already paid full price (maybe offer them a discount on a soon-to-be-released PDF? If only I could figure out how to do "coupons" on Drive-Thru RPG).