Long-time readers might have noticed that I am not blogging as often as before. There are numerous reasons for this, but mostly that a) I don’t have as much free time as I did a couple of years ago, and b) while I still enjoy playing TTRPGs, I haven’t worn the DM mantle in quite some time. But this might actually change in the future.
My relationship with D&D 5th Edition has always been complicated. Overall I think it was a step in the right direction after 4th edition. The latter was not a bad game – far from it – but just not what many fans were looking for. 5th Edition was a return to form with a strong lineage towards older editions but particularly 3rd. My issues with 5th Edition are mostly personal. Over the years I gravitated towards simpler rules and 5th Edition is at the edge of my usual comfort zone. I also tried to run it during a phase in which I wasn’t fully confident in my abilities. So it’s not 5E, it’s me. After a couple of frustrating experiences with the system and annoyed by how WotC treated its customers, I vowed to never use 5E again.
Come 2026 and WotC announces a World of Warcraft crossover just when I fell in love with that particular MMO again. I’ve played WoW on and off since the beginning and I love the world even though the game itself sometimes frustrated me. What rekindled my love for the game was actually the beta test of World of Warcraft: Forever, which is basically a completely new game based on WoW Classic. I’ve always pondered the idea of running TTRPGs in the world of Warcraft but a huge hurdle was that there was no official WoW TTRPG or fan game that worked for me. For a while, I worked on writing my own conversions but not much came out of it.
Just when I started exploring Azeroth again I remembered that there was this D&D crossover coming out in November. I hesitated at first but then I took a closer look at what the Wizards had cooking. To my surprise I actually liked a lot of what I found out. There will be a WoW expansion book containing new species, sub-classes, spells and more inspired by the world and lore of WoW for D&D (2024). There will also be a new DM screen and an adventure based on the Icecrown Citadel raid from WoW.
Eventually I decided to check out the new D&D rules from 2024. At first I watched a few YouTube videos which compared the 2014 to the 2024 rules. And you know what? I actually like the vast majority of the changes. I also love that the new books are much more inclusive. The whole vibe of D&D felt different: more Mercer, less Gygax. Some of you might scoff at this, but I think this makes a lot of sense. The hobby is changing, new people are joining the hobby and they most likely learned first about D&D from Critical Role or other modern actual play series. I particularly love the new art direction. You have to admit, that bard just ROCKS! Eventually I picked up all three core books and I startled my wife several times with my cries of joy when I discovered exciting new systems. I don’t know how well they work at the table, but I am so glad player strongholds (aka Bastions) are finally a core feature of D&D again. I also applaud WotC for including Greyhawk as a setting in the DMG.
It seems I can’t escape the clutches of D&D after all.
