Uploaded June 2024 | Updated September 2026, 21 hours ago
ADDITIONS/ERRATA:
-A number of other creators covering D&D have been sponsored by Hasbro/WOTC and/or are developing a relationship with WOTC. I disagree with both since I think WOTC should be boycotted. I ask viewers to consider this if it turns out I am an isolated voice being critical of the books right now.
-I should have also mentioned Tales of the Valiant, which for people who enjoy 5e is more familiar and doesn't involve supporting WOTC: talesofthevaliant.com And of course there's Pathfinder 2e which addresses common complaints about 5e that my channel has a ton of content on!
-10:39 i have learned that the SubredditStats graph might not be accurate, Reddit's unpopular changes have reduced everyone's engagement with Reddit, and also affected SubredditStat's ability to track data on the site. Still, my anecdotal observation is that interest waned at least among the online/active part of D&D players, maybe in number of posts but definitely in enthusiasm.
-22:33 Characters getting buffed in 5.5e made it even more important to playtest the crop of new monsters, because the old math definitely needs updating.
-24:40 We DID see some (for me) welcome changes to conjuring spells and smite spells in the Unearthed Arcana articles that might have survived. Meanwhile, the lack of even claiming to address spells (they said they were rebuilding all the monsters) is highly concerning.
-It's too early to call, but this might be a case of Planned Obsolescence. It would be consistent with Hasbro's profit goals if their plan is to turn D&D into a "living game" that gets updated periodically, and you need to be subscribed to their digital service to stay up-to-date. It would explain the lack of urgency to fix their game, because the game can be patched over time. (2026: "We have fixed these problematic spells!") And it would be consistent with their mission statement in their 2022 One D&D World Reveal video that "we don't think of D&D as an edition. It's just... D&D."
DC20 KICKSTARTER! (ends July 1)
kickstarter.com/projects/thedungeoncoach/dc20
0:00 Intro
2:02 Boycotting WOTC
5:45 This is 5.5e
7:13 Positives
8:58 Not addressing core problems for DMs
14:53 There wasn't a real playtest
27:29 Backgrounds
30:44 Pet peeves
33:35 Final thoughts
=============================
LIKE & SUBSCRIBE! I'm a lawyer who teaches and runs tabletop RPGs (Pathfinder, D&D, Starfinder) for kids, teens, and adults, and making videos related to TTRPGs and board games.
JOIN MY DISCORD to chat with our community and/or try the Pathfinder Beginner Box or our drop-in PF2e play system! discord.gg/YEXajaxdgq
SUPPORT MY PATREON for early access to many of my videos and access to exclusive content, and to support me! I do unpaid public-interest legal work and rely on the Patreon and private GMing.
patreon.com/theruleslawyer
For PF2E actual plays, SUBSCRIBE to my other channel, "RULES LAWYER DISCORD COMMUNITY CHANNEL":
youtube.com/channel/UCc1K95QD8Mv2Tr6Wne6KS9g
BLUESKY: https://bsky.app/profile/ruleslawyer.bsky.social
TWITTER: twitter.com/theruleslawyer1
ADDITIONS/ERRATA:
-A number of other creators covering D&D have been sponsored by Hasbro/WOTC and/or are developing a relationship with WOTC. I disagree with both since I think WOTC should be boycotted. I ask viewers to consider this if it turns out I am an isolated voice being critical of the books right now.
-I should have also mentioned Tales of the Valiant, which for people who enjoy 5e is more familiar and doesn't involve supporting WOTC: talesofthevaliant.com And of course there's Pathfinder 2e which addresses common complaints about 5e that my channel has a ton of content on!
-10:39 i have learned that the SubredditStats graph might not be accurate, Reddit's unpopular changes have reduced everyone's engagement with Reddit, and also affected SubredditStat's ability to track data on the site. Still, my anecdotal observation is that interest waned at least among the online/active part of D&D players, maybe in number of posts but definitely in enthusiasm.
-22:33 Characters getting buffed in 5.5e made it even more important to playtest the crop of new monsters, because the old math definitely needs updating.
-24:40 We DID see some (for me) welcome changes to conjuring spells and smite spells in the Unearthed Arcana articles that might have survived. Meanwhile, the lack of even claiming to address spells (they said they were rebuilding all the monsters) is highly concerning.
-It's too early to call, but this might be a case of Planned Obsolescence. It would be consistent with Hasbro's profit goals if their plan is to turn D&D into a "living game" that gets updated periodically, and you need to be subscribed to their digital service to stay up-to-date. It would explain the lack of urgency to fix their game, because the game can be patched over time. (2026: "We have fixed these problematic spells!") And it would be consistent with their mission statement in their 2022 One D&D World Reveal video that "we don't think of D&D as an edition. It's just... D&D."
DC20 KICKSTARTER! (ends July 1)
kickstarter.com/projects/thedungeoncoach/dc20
0:00 Intro
2:02 Boycotting WOTC
5:45 This is 5.5e
7:13 Positives
8:58 Not addressing core problems for DMs
14:53 There wasn't a real playtest
27:29 Backgrounds
30:44 Pet peeves
33:35 Final thoughts
=============================
LIKE & SUBSCRIBE! I'm a lawyer who teaches and runs tabletop RPGs (Pathfinder, D&D, Starfinder) for kids, teens, and adults, and making videos related to TTRPGs and board games.
JOIN MY DISCORD to chat with our community and/or try the Pathfinder Beginner Box or our drop-in PF2e play system! discord.gg/YEXajaxdgq
SUPPORT MY PATREON for early access to many of my videos and access to exclusive content, and to support me! I do unpaid public-interest legal work and rely on the Patreon and private GMing.
patreon.com/theruleslawyer
For PF2E actual plays, SUBSCRIBE to my other channel, "RULES LAWYER DISCORD COMMUNITY CHANNEL":
youtube.com/channel/UCc1K95QD8Mv2Tr6Wne6KS9g
BLUESKY: https://bsky.app/profile/ruleslawyer.bsky.social
TWITTER: twitter.com/theruleslawyer1
