The longer the books are out, in particular the black out of media being lifted on the DMG, WotC is getting so much heat for clearly copying other people's things without crediting them.
I've been thinking this ever since I heard them talking about it. That and the bastion thing sounds more like Pointy Hat's mods to the previous system as well!
Wizard Bastion: Conjures new facilities out of the Weave. Warlock/Cleric Bastion: Receives new facilities from their corresponding patron/god. Rogue Bastion: I don't know what you mean. I've always had these facilities.
Fighter: I built this facility with my BARE HANDS. Uphill. Both ways! Bard: "Welcome to the room that my new roommate just donated! **Careless Whisper plays** " Barbarian: **Just knocks down some walls and calls it a new facility**
I am thinking they may have moved the actual "monster making" section to the monster manual. That's where it was in 3.5e, and I think it makes more sense. The DMG basically just saying "go to the monster manual for monster stuff" is pretty reasonable.
@@1IGGI mean sure, but D&D is also a very complex system with tons of possibilities and tools for extra activities. I’m no expert in every indie RPG out there, but as far as I can tell not many of them have: bastions, crafting, 200 magic items, 400 monsters, 400 spells, 50 subclasses… Plus, keep in mind the DM’s Guide is literally what it says: a guide for DMs to build a better game. It is not required to teach you how to play the game, the basic rules are all in the Player’s Handbook, if one really wanted to start playing. “But how am I gonna play without monsters and infos on how their stats work?” although it is for creators, the SRD has tons of content to get you started and it is literally printable for personal use only for free. These books are for people who want to go the extra mile, learning the ins and outs of creating a setting, a dungeon with meaningful lore, a social encounter with meaningful development, an encounter with clever monsters that have a deep and complex lore… I’m incredibly sure every single indie RPG out there will be able to throw at you 400 monsters with developed lore and design, 400 spells, guides on how to create your settings and shit like that, player classes and rules to play the game ALL in less than 200 pages and for 10 bucks.
@@1IGG Didn't Pathfinder 2E literally start off as one core book then release an enhanced version that split the core rules into three books? (It's still aggregated into a singular online resource if you don't buy the books, but that's basically the same with 2014 D&D, too, and your exact phrasing was funny to consider in context.) Also, a physical book with too many pages starts working worse just from a physics perspective. There's a reason Encyclopedias never come in only one book, and the heavier paper stock with color printing used in typical high end TTRPG books makes the maximum comfortable page count way lower than those. Besides, there's a lot to be said for at least splitting up Game Master resources and Player resources into separate physical volumes, such as one player's guide and one guide for GM rules and monsters together, even if your system doesn't have a huge page count. Makes for easier referencing at the table.
Speaking of, now that you're 30 here's some ideas for your podcast: - A chill-out podcast called The Hat Rack - A food review podcast called Eat Your Hat - An audio-based prank show, like prank calls or something, called Hat Trick - A podcast about -furries- animals called The Hat's Meow - An actual play podcast called Critical Role 2: Supercritical starring Antonio Demico - A gameshow called Hat Chance
Alright since I can't find it, ill be the one to do it today: hem hem OH GOD, PINK BABY BEHOLDLER IN MY DND GAME. WHATEVER HAS THE WORLD COME TO. THATS IT, GAMES RUINED EVERYONE. You're welcome human familiar.
@@alfredocheese8645 I’m running a western-style campaign w a homebrew system and I’m for sure gonna have then rob a stagecoach with a powerful cursed item in it
Not trying to give any unwanted advice but the best advice I got for DM’ing from our forever DM was to focus on the senses of the PC’s when trying to add depth and really present the campaign as you see it in your minds eye. sight, sound, smell, taste, touch (texture) e.g the cracks on the walls or the pungent smell of a monsters lair or of the lights that play tricks on your eyes and flicker throughout a cave. And if you want the players to really hate the BBEG have them capture/kill a friend to the party that always got the me and my friends fired up
2014 DMG: this would ruin your DM experience for years, but hey, there are couple of useful things at page 150+ or something (2014 DMG is second worst 5e book ever printed, first being Monster Manual, fight me)
@@notsochosenone5669 No… Sword Coast Guide. The DMG wasn’t put together well and the MM is completely fine, you’re crazy and no one should listen to you
At first, I was gonna comment that the DMG wasn't that bad. Then I thought about it, and went to my bookshelf to check, and I never bought the 5e DMG. I've been using the ones from 3.5 and 4e this whole time.
I honestly thought he was publicly revealing his feelings regarding Clive Staples Lewis's writing for a second there (though I wasn't sure if he was pro or anti). I had to think through, like "dramatic and literally-flamboyant entrance, via exiting a wardrobe..." and then cycle through my mental thesaurus before realizing "Oh...good for him!"
The pessimistic side of me thinks the omission of world-building is because it incentivizes people to buy more books to utilize them, thus earning them more money. The optimistic side of me thinks the omission of world-building is because making your own setting, monsters, and even dungeons to an extent, is harder/more advanced and shouldn't be the main focus of a DM, especially starting out, with pre-built options making life much easier (and when the DM gets comfortable enough, they're probably fine with finding other resources to help them along that path anyways, if need be). I think both of these are probably correct. As someone who has only DMed one campaign where I made my own entirely custom setting (with a few things borrowed, but even those were remixed), and who doesn't regret doing that for a second and had a lot of love for the process, I recognize that that's definitely not for everyone. Plus, while I did skim the DM guide before DMing, I'd be lying if I said I really even used any of its tools for making my setting anyways (although based on what you're saying, they almost definitely would have helped, haha).
I’ve just always felt weird about DnD having its own lore, beyond small things like why a monster exists or the fact that some spells are named. I feel like DnD should be more a system for creating your own things rather than showing you how to build within something that exists. Like if you wanted to learn how to write a book but you signed up for a program that only taught you how to write sequels for a preexisting series. DnD having lore makes it seem like you have to know the lore to run the game, and it might not be relevant or require adaptations. It just feels weird. Thank you for reading my rant
@@TheSkiingDragon See, the thing is - DnD is not supposed to be a system for everything like GURPS. Many TTRPG are basically complete universes have their own lore and often stories within it. I rather like it, and I think this is one of the things that have contributed to DnD's popularity
bastions were probably allowed to be so detailed because mcdm was competing with wotc in a real way with strongholds and followers. it was so ridiculously popular that the ghouls at wotc noticed and ordered it killed. the designers are probably just happy to be allowed the time to write something good.
also i think making the safety tools as repelling to those kinds of morons is good. the less of those people playing dnd the better for the whole community.
@@charlesdewitt8087 MCDM makes third party dnd content. The Strongholds and Followers book has rules for making a stronghold, amassing an army of units, and earning Retainers, followers who have abilities they can use to assist you in battle, or run your stronghold while you're away. That book has a sequel called Kingdoms and Warfare, which expands the warfare rules. MCDM has also made a dope monster book that makes combat more interesting, and 3 classes that fulfill different fantasies.
I bought Strongholds and Followers. Been a fan of Colville since he started on RU-vid. But friends, Strongholds and Followers is NOT a good book. Tragically, Kingdoms and Warfare is EVEN WORSE. It is cartoonishly bad. The warfare mini-game has more nonsensical holes and is (the ultimate sin) not fun. I was sad.
The game is ruined now because the beholder is pink, which means that the game has pink eye and now we're all gonna catch it. Maybe playing D&D in the McDonald's ball pit wasn't a great idea.
(still watching Video) @ around 10:00 - on Bastions, I remember one of my first DM Guides (1st ed or 2nd ed?) there was a section on building Castles and Strongholds, including the costs of Materials to build the structure. Then again, there was a whole sections discussing the different forms of government there was available (Like a Civics class within the game!) (going to return to the video)
That kind of makes me wish we had a system for governments in this one, too! I feel like it wouldn't need to be too big or prominent, but for the games that might need it, that'd be really nice to have!
This was a core feature of the game up until 2nd edition. One of the Fighting-Man's class abilities (if you can call it that) was basically getting a private army they're in command of once they hit level 9 (called "name level"). This was contingent on the construction of a stronghold, which also generated passive income and granted political status. It was cool and I've been lamenting the demise of strongholds in the core game, so the DMG refresh is actually welcome news!
Speaking of monsters, if someone wants a preview right now then there's a statblock for an ancient green dragon from the 2024 MM floating around and it is perhaps a *BILLION* times better than the 2014 version, like no exaggeration that is what an ancient green dragon should be
@valeri0n38 they're kind of the same thing tbh (sort of, since it's a reaction it can happen in the middle of player turns, but thats good since you might be forced to completely change your strategy in the middle of combat, feels reactive) but I like they have triggers to help fledgling DMs, so they know how to make a monster feel intelligent. Plus, ancient green dragons are now incredibly potent spellcasters and that is an excellent indicator for the new design direction imo
I hope they come out with a DMG 2 that focuses on world building that takes all the missing stuff from 2014 DMG and updates it and makes it even better.
Yeah, I understand not having that part, lots of DMs are probably creative enough to do all of that themselves, but you could always get more ideas from it. I’m glad I’ll still have my 2014 one whenever I can buy 2024
I know WOTC doesn't like publishing DM-dedicated supplements because they don't sell as well, but even an updated DM's toolbox in some future version of Xanathar's would be good.
Happy Birthday human familiar! Now welcome back to work. Great work as always Pointy Hat! Be sure to take it easy, maybe pass on more work to the lazy familiar.
Thank you so so much for mentioning dyscalculia! I had no idea about this condition, and I just thought I was dyslexic! I'm doing so much research after this video! ✨️🤩✨️
I think the whole allignment should be implemented in the game in a more creative way. For instance, alignment could be how your character is perceived by different functions, cultures, specific plot-relevant npcs and these could affect their interactions with you (and provide effects in persuation rolls etc.) and as a result good and evil could be basically translated to aligned and unaligned to a traditions/characters worldview and values. This would also force players to take into account the "wants and needs" of different npcs in order to assure co-operation and facilitating role playing. It also gives agency to npcs, for instance one can understand why an npc might not want to help or would want to doublecross the party
My favorite thing about safety tools comes out of a recent game I started online. I was gonna throw a giant spider at my party, as one does, but I got a hard no on it. Fine. *I got to put in a baby bulette* Which I didn't think of using before! It was really cool and fun! I'm going to start a game in January, and I'm going to use a quick "Hey do we have any hard no's in this group?" thing so I can get permission to go FULL GORE with the mummy and lich and dracolich and maybe gashadokuro. Consent list goes both ways - gives you a boundary which makes for better writing, and gives you permission to do the fun thing you wanted to do!
I feel like the filosophy of the new book is to give things and disencourage homebrewing, cause homebrewing leads to third party. So it gives less information on creating your setting, creating a random encounter table, creating monsters and dungeons... Its like USE OUR STUFF. OFFICIAL STUFF YOU PAY FOR It benefits us in some ways, but it really feels like a corporate direction given to the design team
I've got my issues with WOTC for sure, but this is a weird take to me. They do Spelljammer and everyone is "Where is the rules for ship to ship combat. We need more rules for things. Stop leaving everything up to homebrewing " They give more rules for things and it's "They're discouraging homebrewing"
This is pretty on point, especially when you place this book in the broader context of all the drama with Hasbro and how they have directed WoTC to treat both DnD AND MTG. Hasbro seems to be treating DnD more like a packaged product and wants to rear new players to be dependent upon their input. Others have noted that it feels like this edition is going to be focused on encouraging more players to just move towards official DnD events, to move online to their VTT Platform, and lastly to potentially switch to an AI DM who they can charge you money to access. While there are some really cool revisions to this DMG, I would make sure to purchase only a physical copy if you plan to buy it. Hasbro is an untrustworthy company.
Idk, I think it's more a manoeuvre to get people to get both DMGs. The 2014 DMG focuses a lot on world creation, while the 2024 one focuses on mechanics. The worldbuilding tips of the 2014 version are still relevant under the new rules in the 2024 version, there is no need to repeat them when this new edition's whole shtick is backwards compatibility.
Maybe unpopular opinion, but I am... suspicious of the bastion system. Honestly, with all the talk of WoC pushing that Sigil and online play on people it just feel like a back door way to justify more mico-transcations for customizations. Most campaigns I'm in don't really have us city building. I'm in one campaign where we each have a homebase and that's because it's our literal homes because we're teenagers with parents with beds to eat and vegetables to sleep in. The main thing I think of when I think Dnd is traveling, going on adventures, not building a small village with crops and city walls. Get what I mean?
I'm sure we'll be able to find all the content for free somewhere :) I am a 7-year DM and have literally never given money to WotC and I intend to keep it that way
The combat/random encounters section is so funny to me because in the single 5e campaign I played we proceeded to a) identify poisonous mushrooms b) proceeded to trip over and get poisoned by said mushrooms and c) get TPK'd by like giant mosquitos, I have a feeling that because the DM was new to DMing they went by CR and it turned out, not well for our level 2 or level 3 characters.
One of my favorite things in campaigns is having a "hub town". So for me the part that excites me the most about Bastions is how they can keep your starting hub town relevant in late game.
On encounter building: I always include way more monsters or NPCs in an encounter than I have players, usually 4:1 or 6:1. The catch is: Not everyone is ride-or-die. Not every enemy will fight to the death. I total up the max hit points of the entire encounter, and when 10% are taken out by the players, every enemy secretly gets disadvantage. When 25% are gone, the monsters/npcs/whatever try to flee. Rarely are the enemies so fanatical that they'll sacrifice themselves to hurt the players, which makes serious henchmen/cultists/whatever that much scarier than just a mob of goblins.
I agree. Intelligent enemies, heck, even wild animals, rarely fight til the bitter end in my campaigns. I'll make a judgement call on the basis of their discipline, fanaticism, desperation, at some percent casualties, to flee, retreat, surrender, etc. Goblins or bandits might run at 25% casualties, hardened desperate mercenaries might surrender at 75% or more.
@@Zaprozhan I measure casualties based on remaining HP. My players don't know this, but they could 'win' most fights just by causing mild to moderate pain to a large number of targets at once without killing anyone or anything. Some ground glass and a wind gust spell is all it takes..
I remembered that this video was coming out today 56 seconds ago and then I spent 56 seconds finding it only to find that it happened to come out right as I remembered it was going to. Crazy, and very cool
Somebody probably pointed this out already, but a huge part of ODnD was building some sort of stronghold by level 8-9. Wizards build a tower and attract apprentices, fighters build a stronghold and clear the surrounding area to become a lord or baron. Admittedly it happens a little late and tries to pivot the game into a base management system, but there was highly detailed costs for walls, doors, etc. it didn’t give you “bastion turns” but the inspiration came from the original game editions.
Tin Foil Hat time: I know it's me dooming and glooming at WotC, but from this video it sounds like they are removing the "create your own" sections in order to funnel more people into buying modules and supplements they will be releasing. I pray to Lathander I am wrong about this though! And from the looks of it (based extensive research of this video and Ginny Di's video) , overall the book is a big improvement. Looking forward to actually reading it, not glancing through it once and then it gathering dust on my shelf... Also, the Bastions are something I am 1000% excited for...and basically, like 90% of the reason for me buying the book...
Lots of talk about Bastions. I tried them out in my campaign with some changes: the bastion was for the group, there was only 4 special facilities, and the events happen twice every 7 days. Its been fun.
This is the one I'm most excited for, been wanting to try DMming for quite some time, your worldbuilding/dm videos have been a godsend in that regard, excited to finally take that leap!
I am also a DM. Yes I have read fully the DMG. Multiple times/multiple editions. On CR, I agree on its uselessness. I prepare a secondary “wave” (if you will) for each potential combat. Sometimes even a third, fourth, or more. This has made many encounters much more interesting and once the players have had an experience with a “latecomer” adding to a combat, they anticipate it making every encounter more enjoyable.
Your point on meeting people where they are in order to convince them is a very insightful one. Personally, I think I fall in the camp of "already agreeing with this but still find the execution annoying," and I think it'd be easier to get people on board if they phrased things less as "we need to be sensitive," because that tends to turn the hardcore gamerz off, and instead phrase it in more neutral or "cool" ways. As you said, slap a dragon on it: instead of "potentially sensitive topics," call it "stuff I don't want to do," etc. It's the equivalent of calling vitamins "power-up pills" to get little kids to eat them. But conversely/and equally, even if I already take vitamins every day because I think they're healthy and good for me, I'd have a hard time taking or offering others "huggy-wuggy big boy suppwements." TL:DR; branding matters.
I suspect that WotC is going to add a fourth "core" sourcebook to 2024, the Worldbuilding Guide, which will cover how to homebrew with tips on city-building, dungeon making, etc.
dear mr. hat, i'm sure how much the human familiar is included is a business decision that you carefully consider for each video. however, while having nothing against the familiar, i must say seeing a hat with one eye and no mouth being so expressive is always a joy. so yeah. also, thx for the vid. best regards,
Oh my god we knew about the pink beholder in advance too- in the dnd x dbd crossover, there's what looks to be a pink beholder in the map thingy? Considering that crossover also debuted the new Vecna design, it's not too far-fetched to think its colour was intentional
Bastions smell like a system specifically developed in it's details to be part of their VTT monetization. It may not be BAD for this reason, but it feels like it was in the recipe.
I was getting those vibes too. Character creation is its own game, now bastion creation feels like it could go that way too - with all the micro transactions.
Mr. Hat (and Familiar, Hoomanus) ; I rarely ever comment on created content - please accept my heartiest congratulations for all the hard work you two put into the created material. Your style, and content, is informative, creative, entertaining; and more! - all visibly crafted with creator-intention and passion for the hobby, and the delivery format. Best regards and continued wishes for success, - A fan from Athens, Greece.
Oh Mr.Hat, pointiest of them all we thank you for all your blessed efforts, I hope many pay sacrifice of the thumb Cheers for all your hard work on the books! You've made all these updates both fun and easy to figure out 🙏
watching this captivating video on dming when i get struck by the urge to give human familiar a glass of milk and a blanket. Srsly, don't burn yourself up, we'll still be here.
5:33 On this point, and I'm coming from the perspective of only having run a few one shots, that you really have to actually try DMing, and that's the only way you'd really get better at it.
I'd argue that creating your own setting and cosmology are pretty advanced topic, so if something should get trimmed or even cut entirely, I think those make sense.
It’s probably been said but it feels like they are setting up a second book for folks who want to go deeper as a Dungeon Master. Monster Building, Dungeon Design, traps, world building could all be put in a new book giving folks advanced tools who want it while the folks who are just picking up the game or are casual DMs can still use the DMG and it appears read it. Just like Tasha’s gave options there’s likely another one in the works or there is a place for creators who know this stuff to have a broader market. So there will be a new book or DLC content with all the stuff we’re missing and they’re happy to release it in a later bonus content section. More money and revenue for them and even the problems here give content creators a piece of the pie as something they can complain about and make money.
There are always alternatives to death, such as a new plot hook about a grievous injury, being captured by the enemy, perhaps developing a phobia/PTSD from your near-death experience. Not that deaths are super hard to reverse with the obscene amounts of gold players have, they can just pay for true resurrection.
Unlike the 2024 PHB, I am actually interested in the 2024 DMG. As for money sinks, that's exactly why first edition AD&D included things like training costs for level advancement and stronghold construction costs. In many ways this is stuff that was in the game 45 years ago, that was taken out, and is now being put back in because they realized removing it was a mistake.
I actually like alignment and I was hoping for more of it in the new book. After DMing/playing for awhile, I notice that my players (and myself while playing) sometimes fall into a default personality after sticking with a character for awhile. I start the campaign as a neutral warlock, but 6 months in I find myself defaulting back to being a good guy when my character would be more selfish. Having alignment is helpful to remember who the character is after long breaks in between sessions or when someone gets too comfortable in the shoes of this character. sure characters can change, but that isn't always the case. It also reminds my players not to be murderhobos when they get frustrated that their pitiful attempts at persuasion were ineffective.
As someone who has genuinely read the 2014 DMG cover-to-cover when I was learning more about becoming a DM as a teen, I LOVE worldbuilding but I wanted less that and more "here's how to storytell and run a game for group". I'm so happy to hear this DMG is more what newbies need! (while still being useful to more experienced DMs too due to... actually focusing on helping the DM run the game??? WHAT? in the DMing book??) I look forward to getting my hands on it when it releases and seeing what my final thoughts are! I feel like making the books more helpful/approachable to newbies is a pattern with these new books. I've been reading both PHBs cover-to-cover and my overall impression is that (and I say this in the best way possible) the 2024 is exactly what I wish I had when I was first getting into the hobby as a 13yo! The new PHB is structured so well and places information better. It feels SOOO much more inviting for new players by presenting things simply and concisely imo. That rules glossary is GOATed and I'm definitely considering fully switching over purely cuz' it would make me never have to reference another non-class or spell specific rule in the 2014 book AGAIN.😂 I've always hated the format of the old PHB so much bc looking things up in it always felt like such a chore bc whatever you were looking for could be anywhere in 7 different chapters so you could only ever GUESS otherwise. (and be wrong) It was pretty easy to miss things bc the text was so densely laid out and placed seemingly at random. An example being I never gave a single character a trinket despite them being lowkey encouraged bc they were hidden in the equipment chapter, which I basically always skipped opting for a pack instead. So, I always forgot their existence. Literally until I saw the table appear in 2024's char creation chapter when I went "OH YEAH, THOSE".
That really reminds me of a saying that recurred a lot in my old librarian & editor roles: it's no use having all the info ever at your fingertips, unless people can FIND it!! 😆 Excellent indexes, sensible use of headings & book structure, and (if digital) some mindful addition of keywords, tags & other metadata... Without those kinds of access aids, a slab of indigestible data is just a waste of tree-lives or silicon space!
So they finally added back in something like the "Castles, Strongholds and Hideouts" material from the 1981 Expert Set. That's great! (I'm sure it was in the old "white box" set too, but I was too little to play back then.) I've been baffled for years why WotC never did anything with that concept. One of the reasons why old-school types dislike modern D&D is that there's been nothing to plan and play *towards.* Without something to actually do with treasure, dungeon delving made little sense. This pushed save-the-world heroic adventures to the front. Don't misunderstand, I love save-the-world heroic D&D! Including Bastion rules, though, will give other kinds of players -- the kind who like to build their own fortresses, temples, guilds, and kingdoms -- a reason to try the new rules out, which is a very good thing.
My current table is super excited for bastions. They are already scouting for a location in Phandalin that they can rennovate. They are currently leaning toward the ruined manor above the old Redbrand hideout.
@@cameroncox2739 in most of Pointy Hat's videos about liches, there is calling "tupperware" the phylacteries...i was trying to be humorous about the name of that location. sorry.
I use random encounters specifically tailored for what’s happening in the adventure. It’s a good way to have the villains actually doing something by having the potential to run into them ambushing travellers or lying in wait or doing something to progress their plan. You can script that too but it’s more fun for me to be surprised as well. As for encounter building in general, I’ve always found the Pathfinder system for it works really well and it sounds like 5e is moving in a good direction too. Hopefully it works well.
Hey, I'm Stephen and had 0 intent to complain about the pink Behilder. Not something I'm fully concerned about using, but hey go right ahead and have them and let those who want them have them.
36:25 I think this is an absolutely fundamental misunderstanding of what a random combat encounter table is for, how to make one and how to use one. Which is really surprising coming from someone with usually very solid insights into this game... Like, my dude, you're not supposed to throw random pointless wolves at your players for no reason. You put wolves on your encounter table because the valley where they came from is haunted and because "wild animals are fleeing the valley" is a plot point! And you mix it up with random non-combat encounters which can tell the players more about the place they're traveling through and give them an opportunity to explore, make decisions and prepare. It's super refreshing to not know for sure if the PCs will side with the hag (because you rolled a random encounter where they save her familiar and earn a reward) or take a bounty to hunt her down (because the PCs helped a wounded ranger fight off his crazed bear companion, cursed by the hag). You also CAN (and probably should) sprinkle in some unconnected stuff so that your players can start speculating wildly about how the dots connect. Maybe you can be surprised too and get an inspiring prompt to add something new to the story. Get BETTER random tables, is all im saying! You honestly sound like someone who once found a moldy slice of pizza on a sidewalk and is now convinced that all pizza is shit.
About the bastion bit, that's funny. I've already had ideas of giving my players housing with added bonus or sleeping in your own bed reduces long rest to 5 hours if needed. Farming/planting your own stuff and workshops etc 😊. Money sinks hehehe
Or, and here me out, it's easier to explain how things work with a shared example and the default setting for modern D&D is the multiverse, so any custom games are by default a part of that
Or they heard 10 years of critisism and made actually useful book for new DMs. Fucking "Create your own multiverse and pantheon" section probably ruined tons of DMs. You don't actually need this sort of shit for wast majority of games, and you especially don't need them if you are new DM. "Start small" is most basic advice DM can recieve, and starting from one village and moving from there is how everyone should start instead of burning out before game even starts on fucking custom pantheon.
Agreed. No obvious customization makes it easier to pick up the next 'dlc' hasbro publication. Without DMs building their own offramps to other content, material, systems the ecosystem is easier to manage. Ai or not.
7:58 - am I the only one who kind of sees no reason to not use the Great Wheel cosmology? Everything fits into it, and if you don't want any interplanar stuff, you just invent something like Dark Sun's Gray
The mechanical rules do kind of assume it, when you think about all the spells and (sub)classes that interact with specific other planes, so building your own cosmology is really more in the realm of homebrewing advice over DMing advice.
