The Ravens Nest

Companies, New Editions & Business Tactics

That’s one of the covers to the new D&D Player’s Handbook that is on it’s way at some point this year. Also, there’s an alternate cover that I’ll post now.

On this fine, beautiful Sunday morning, I’m sitting here at my PC and looking at them. Which one will I be buying? Well, honestly, neither. I’ve stated it before and I’ll state it again, I’m buying nothing more for Official Wizards of The Coast D&D. No more adventures, nothing third-party. I know that Greyhawk will even be the official setting and I just don’t care. Your mileage, of course, may vary.

Even Goodman Games announced that a beloved title for AD&D, Caverns of Thracia is slated for an October 2024 release and, though The Dark Tower was excellent and I love the work of Jennell Jacquays, I have serious doubts about buying it.

If you told me years ago that eventually, I’d grow to just straight up not care about official D&D, I would have called you crazy. Considering all that I’d fought for, suffered legit social ostracism for and now carry a bunch of scars and effects from injuries I sustained long ago, yeah, that would be crazy to me but here we are.

The official WoTC Twitter account even showed off their upcoming D&D History book just to show us how big it was.

My counter to this was a simple one.

Fact is, I would like to have that book on the making of OD&D but, I think in six to maybe eight months, you’ll see it on sale at Ollie’s for a far lower price point than the $99.99 that WoTC is asking.

In the meantime, I highly recommend buying and watching Secrets of Blackmoor and reading Slaying The Dragon by Ben Riggs as they’re excellent at giving you more of an inside look without all the revisionist history of D&D.

You can also get a copy of The Lost Dungeons of Tonisborg here if you want a piece of actual D&D history that’s playable. If you get all three, you’ll be already spending less than what Wizards of The Coast is charging.

In comparison, Troll Lord Games has announced that there will be new core books, the 9th Printing, to be exact and we don’t have a cover yet. Will I be purchasing them? It’s a big maybe but that’s only because of the ones I already have.

This is the beauty of Troll Lord Games’ game Castles & Crusades. If you have a first printing, you can bring it to the table and it will be compatible with everyone else’s printings whether they’re first printing or not. Once you’ve purchased, or just downloaded for free, your Player’s Handbook, you don’t actually need another one. This is a similar sentiment expressed for this new “edition” of D&D from WoTC, difference being, they’re not really sure who this edition is aimed at for purchase.

With Troll Lord Games, there’s a legitimate difference. All references to the Open Gaming License by Wizards of The Coast is being removed. This new series of core books does have an intended audience. You. Whether you’re a new player or an older player, it doesn’t matter, if you’re newer to the game, I’d recommend waiting and then buying the newer books. If you have to have them now, get those tribute covers if they’re still available or just download the free Player’s Handbook at the link above. The SIEGE Engine is still the same, nothing about that is changing. In fact, you can get a first printing reprint of the original Player’s Handbook and play at my table without a problem. The rules haven’t changed, only the references and artwork. Also, if you are looking at your 5th Edition adventures and supplements and lamenting a potential loss of the use of them, despair no longer. Yes, they can even be used with Castles & Crusades, even the third-party stuff. How? The seven-page conversion guide in their Bag of Holding site allows you to convert those so, if you’re a Game Master already, there’s no need to worry, everything you still currently own is useful. If you’re like me, and you already have a hell of a library built around their flagship game, it’s still going to work. Again, no need to re-buy everything all over again.

The biggest difference between what Wizards of The Coast does and what Troll Lord Games does is that Troll Lord Games makes their game for both existing and new players across the board. If you’re my age or possibly older than the age of twenty, Wizards of The Coast has nothing for you but they still want your money. Troll Lord Games sees you as a Player or a Castle Keeper (Game Master in their language) but Wizards of The Coast sees you as a wallet and little else.

With both newer “versions” of the game heading to market this year, I think the choice here, is an obvious one and, for those that need more illustration, I don’t think it’s D&D this time around.

When you consider how Wizards keeps up the bad behavior and Troll Lord Games has been on point with constant humor, showing you real-world locations that could serve as inspirations for games, asking people to run their game at conventions or just posting about the games, themselves, I think Castles & Crusades is a great replacement for D&D.

There’s even a free PDF for the new PHB even if you don’t pledge to the campaign if you merely sign up for notifications to the upcoming kickstarter. That PDF is yours to put on your tablet or phone and use as you wish.

The ebook that comes with D&D will be tied to D&D Beyond and you’ll lose access to it if you ever cancel your subscription.

Again, Castles & Crusades wins.

One more difference. Troll Lord Games does have assets for virtual tabletops like Foundry. It can be played on a VTT or a regular old tabletop and, Troll Lord Games is famous for just getting you the game and letting you know that the game is your with which to take in whatever direction you’d like.

Wizards want you locked into their subscription model of D&D Beyond where you own nothing, rent everything and all that you theoretically purchase can be taken away with or without cause. You play at their table, not the other way around. You will conform to their rules and the goalposts will be ever-moving.

That’s another win for Castles & Crusades.

If you’re an existing player, the good news is that there is no real need to update. For Castles & Crusades, I’d say that it’s best for newer players to get involved. For those who want to expand their horizons, it’s best to wait for early June and get those backing pledges in for Castles & Crusades Reforged.