Post date: Aug 22, 2014 12:59:30 AM
I'm going to hold off from 5E until I see whether, come springtime, it will be released as a Public Domain open game or not.
Why?
If you read my Third Golden Age of Roleplay essay, you'll see why. I wrote that a few days ago. Then I saw the prices for the upcoming D&D products: $50 per adventure, above and beyond the $150 for the core rules! Hasbro and I live in a different economy. (And no, I don't see many films either.)
I've resolved to refrain from buying a single Hasbro product until D&D is freed into the public domain of Free Culture.
August 23 edit: After a lively conversation (here) with my EN World fellows, I clarified and amended my resolve to this:
"I refrain from buying a single Hasbro product until the degree of Openness of the rules system is revealed in early 2015. My decision then will hinge on whether it is Open enough for me to invest my interest and coin in this system. Public Domain is the most unequivocably Open."
This is what I'm going to do: I'm going to make a D&D campaign that uses only three resources:
1) The few rpg books I already own.
2) Free downloads. That includes the 5E D&D Basic Rules.
3) My own homebrewed imagination.
I'll patch together my own set of rules. Here's a complete list of my rpg library:
Blue Rose RPG and Blue Rose Companion by Green Ronin
Dragon Age RPG by Green Ronin
Dungeon Crawl Classics RPG by Goodman Games
The One Ring RPG by Cubicle 7
Pathfinder Beginner Box by Paizo
True20 Revised Edition by Green Ronin
That's plenty!
I have one player already, and we're set to embark next Sunday.