The classic TTRPGs like Pathfinder and D&D (along with 5e fork Tales of the Valiant) have at least 3 main sourcebooks. (See my previous post about expanding those options) Many newer systems like Daggerheart or Cosmere have only one book that contains both player and game master sections. On the one hand, it’s nice to just have to buy one book and have everything all together - there’s often a lot of overlap in what content is for the player and what is for the GM. That said, in a previous iteration, Pathfinder had all the information in one book and people complained that the book was too massive.

I created the video found at the end of this blog post to explore the topics of cultural appropriation, Orientalism, and a lack of Japanese creators involved in the creation of the Obojima D&D 5e campaign setting. It was inspired by a post on Bluesky which contained a link to a series of articles on the topic which I read about 2-3 months ago.

As someone who is relatively new to TTRPGs (~3 years at this point, give or take), I first started with D&D 5e 2014. Before I could buy too many adventures or campaigns, D&D 5e 2024 came out. So, in my mind, a TTRPG should have 3 core books containing all the species (formerly races), classes, subclasses, monsters, and so on needed to play. Then, in 2024 I heard about the 5e fork Tales of the Valiant. If you’ve spent any time on my blog recently, you know that we’ve gone all-in on Tales of the Valiant, and haven’t really played D&D since. But I thought it was weird that Kobold Press started doing kickstarters for Monster Vault 2 and Player’s Guide 2 and were adding new species/ancestries in The Labyrinth Worldbook. “Well,” I told myself, “D&D has been around for 50 years. It’s had time to establish itself. Maybe KP needs to just put these books out now?”

I grew up in the days of Nintendo vs Sega. But that’s not the only rivalry I’ve been around. There was also Emacs vs Vi/Vim. And Windows vs Linux vs Mac. Basically, anywhere there’s a choice, a huge swath of humanity takes the stance that whatever they’ve chosen is the only good choice and every other choice is bad or dumb. But not everyone! Time and age have taught me that whenever there’s a bifurcated choice like that, it’s often because each is catering to a different need or way of thinking that appeals to enough people to sustain an alternative. With that in mind, as I’ve moved beyond my original TTRPG (D&D) and explored other options, I’ve seen that each publisher seems to have certain strengths. In the spirit of putting something positive out there in the world, here is what I think each publisher does best:

Gameplay

In the 2 weeks that have passed, Appaluna did research trying to find a lead on her quest to find the Servants of Nidhogg and how to rescue her sister. She learned she should go to the temple of the Goddess Rava, patron of Zobeck.

The team entered the university and made their way to Orlando’s study. Orlando was working on a gearforged body. They delivered the box which had a special brain gear for gearforged. They mentioned what happened to the thieves who tried to open the box before. Orlando explained that the effect on the box was a security mechanism that Aalthic (socerer that gave them the box) uses to make sure no one can open his packages.

Narrative

The party has agreed to work on a dwarven airship in exchange for free passage to Zobeck. Razzit Greyborn (captain) shows them around and shows them where bunks are and introduces them to the crew. The night shift is currently sleeping in the bunks. One of those asleep is a tiefling. The adventurers are helping out by filling in so that the crew can work in shifts.

At the navigation area, Appaluna helps them fly through misty conditions and they just barely miss a mountain.