There are those that will like it for what it is, and thats good. Then there will be the fanatics, who will complain about this review simply because "how dare you". Thanks for the honesty.
@aboundedsumo7984
2 жыл бұрын
The moment i heard that there was going to be an "adventure" book about attending school, managing relationships, and attending a ball, I knew exactly that this book wasn't for me or my group. I hope whichever group this book was for enjoyed it. But i will be saving my money.
@Taking20
2 жыл бұрын
Good attitude
@MrReset94
2 жыл бұрын
The worse part is that is subpar even in doing all of those things...is veeeery barebone and leaves to the DM all of the work, unless you're fine with mediocre limited content.
@O4C209
2 жыл бұрын
@@MrReset94 agreed. This is half a product being stretched out to reach a minimum page count.
@juliamedina3322
2 жыл бұрын
This is exactly the opposite reaction I had. Attending a ball? That sounded amazing and definitely the kind of thing me and my group would enjoy. But that's why it's good to know what to expect, this book is not for everyone.
@bigklu4756
2 жыл бұрын
Agreed. I didn't save my money, exactly, but this was definitely targeted towards teenage girls.
@Sauronisbest
2 жыл бұрын
I am currently running this setting and expect the campaign to last quite long. I use the adventures, especially the early ones we have reached, as side events and a somewhat current plotline on the side, while the "main plot" is just university shenanigans with a bunch of eccentric students. The idea of having the campaign start out extremely whimsical and slowly growing darker in tone, closer to the "usual" dnd fare is exactly right - my intention is to explore the ramifications of such a cosmopolitan university plopped into the wider world once the characters leave university. However, the main thing about this campaign is that it needs the right group. My friends and I are all right about the time in our lives that we are finishing up our degrees (or have just done so), and additionally, some of us are die-hard harry potter and/or mtg fans AND also, some of us have an aversion to darker themes and just want to laugh with our friends - those of us who (also) want a darker campaign from the get-go get that fix from elsewhere. I feel like the book is fine, but you'll have to be absolutely sure what you are getting into.
@gregoryfloriolli9031
2 жыл бұрын
I’m glad I’m not the only one who noticed the decline in quality over the past year.
@ruthb7605
2 жыл бұрын
You have confirmed what I was already feeling about Strixhaven, it really isn't for me. My DM was planning on running it this year for the group I'm in, and I straight up said I wasn't interested in playing in such a setting, my days of playing school kids are long since over. Fortunately he has now decided to run it for another group and run something else for the one i'm in, but I'm still waiting to see what he comes up with. I guess one thing we have to remember is that D&D has to appeal to people my age (over 50 and not ashamed to admit it) and to people in their teens, so I don't expect every book to appeal to every player, you just have to work out which ones are right for your group.
@DaDunge
2 жыл бұрын
It's college kids actually. I wouldn't mind playing school kids, comming of age stories are intresting. This is however more of an animal house knockoff.
@ruthb7605
2 жыл бұрын
@@DaDunge I admit to not having the book, but every thing I had heard about it made it sound more like a secondary school, than a university, particularly all the stuff about competing houses and relationship mechanics. Purely my point of view, and I have a feeling that the differences between the UK’s education system and that in the US is partly responsible for it.
@therocketboost
2 жыл бұрын
WOTC is catering too much to the "our all tiefling party runs a quirky bakery instead of doing any adventures" crowd
@Ryotbh
2 жыл бұрын
The funny thing is that there are rulesets, other than 5e, out there that would suit that scenario. I mean, how can you use the 5e rules? Just get them to constantly roll ‘performance’ checks?
@patrickscannell6370
4 ай бұрын
You got a problem with us, don't play with us. We won't play with you either.
@therocketboost
4 ай бұрын
@@patrickscannell6370 😘
@LandonTheDM
2 жыл бұрын
I was familiar with the setting. So I picked up the book expecting magical whimsical school and got magical whimsical school. You're right it's about the expectation you have. It's just not the same tone of D&D adventure that previously has been the norm. And it's okay for whimsy to be a focal tone and let the danger, risk, heroics be the counterpoints.
@omnipedia-tech
2 жыл бұрын
Sometimes at the college where I work, we play games with the students just to keep the place fun and interesting so they come back often to study. Usually we'd just play MTG, but this semester we're going to start a campaign. I tossed a lot of options at them, but Strixhaven was the one they immediately latched onto. They had no idea what Forgotten Realms was, or really anything D&D - none had seen even a single hobbit movie. They know every little detail about Harry Potter though. This book's for them, and I think it's interesting too playing it in an educational setting to use really as a story platform where we can embed interesting puzzles and dilemmas from their actual classes IRL.
@broceollomon
2 жыл бұрын
I work with a woman that is a diehard Harry Potter fan. She still loves Rowling, even with her terrible views. She has never been into any kind of RPG, but she did page through this when it came in. I saw that "this is Harry Potter OMFG" look on her face and knew that this book really was targeted at people like her.
@DaDunge
2 жыл бұрын
As someone who liked Harry Potter and is in college right now... not really. This feels more animal house than Harry potter.
@TheClericCorner
2 жыл бұрын
It seems the only person advocating for this book is XPtolevel3!
@patrickscannell6370
4 ай бұрын
Lot's of us think it's fun, tbh. Haters gonna hate.
@maromania7
2 жыл бұрын
Lately I feel like Kobold Press is more in touch with what makes 5e work than WotC, and that's not something I should be saying about a 3rd party company. but Tome of Beasts (next one started kickstarter campaign today) gave me far more excitement and ideas than any Fizban's, excited as I was to see the gem dragons and eye drake.
@coachron5033
2 жыл бұрын
As I mentioned in my comment, this is a good time for another company to take market share from WoTC. They are digging their own graves.
@tmathis9882
2 жыл бұрын
@@coachron5033 I definitely wouldn't mind a 3.5/Pathfinder situation here again. Something a bit more fleshed out than 5e but not quite Pathfinder 2e
@coachron5033
2 жыл бұрын
@@tmathis9882 Let's make it happen!!
@lawrencecobb2107
2 жыл бұрын
I think kobold press has issues with balancing
@Merlewhitefire
2 жыл бұрын
The problem is -The D&D set is derived from a Magic the Gathering set -The Magic set is derived from Harry Potter (I strongly suspect it was meant to be a licensed set and the deal fell through) -Harry Potter's Hogwarts is itself strongly derived from Roke Island in the works of Ursula LeGuin So with each iteration, the essence gets distilled a little further from its origins and creates a product that has none of the joy of the original but still doesn't feel like D&D at all.
@DungeonMiser
2 жыл бұрын
I like how you turned "shamelessly plagiarized" into "strongly derived"
@Merlewhitefire
2 жыл бұрын
@@DungeonMiser I was aiming for verbal consistency in this case. I wouldn't call what Rowling did to Roke "Shameless Plagiarism," and since I couldn't apply that verbiage to all of them I applied it to none. But yes. One of the reasons I strongly suspect Strixhaven was developed as a Harry Potter tie-in is because they REALLY didn't file the numbers off very hard, did they?
@SpringRockerPSN
2 жыл бұрын
Didn't D&D come before MtG? Also, Didn't MtG come before the Harry Potter books? Just pointing that out because you're saying that they're derived from each other.
@Merlewhitefire
2 жыл бұрын
@@SpringRockerPSN Yes, but Strixhaven *specifically* was a Magic set before it was a D&D set and both came out last year.
@archibaldtuttle9019
2 жыл бұрын
Bro thanks, I never knew the leguinn -> rowling pipeline
@HuevoBendito
2 жыл бұрын
If one is looking for a good magic school adventure, I'd recommend looking up "Strength of Thousands" and converting it to 5e. It focuses on a more character-driven plot rather than the combat-oriented plots you see in a lot of adventures from D&D or Pathfinder. Highly recommended regardless of the system you run. It also comes in PDF at a cheaper price than the physical edition if you're into that.
@dungeonmaster3198
2 жыл бұрын
Lol I guess you haven't read Strixhaven yet. The combat is... well, quite laughable.
@HuevoBendito
2 жыл бұрын
@@dungeonmaster3198 Sorry, didn't mean to imply that Strixhaven was combat-focused, just that a lot of adventures from 5e (prior to Wild Beyond the Witchlight) and Pf2e (prior to Strength of Thousands) really focus on combat as the main form of resolution.
@easternshorescreenprinting5426
2 жыл бұрын
Read this and feel EXACTLY the same way. Your blunt honesty is refreshing. Glad you and the family are good! Looking forward to more honest reviews!
@cosmiccowboy9358
2 жыл бұрын
The direction WOTC is going recently is extremely worrisome
@Ryotbh
2 жыл бұрын
There are so many other amazing companies and rulesets out there… hopefully they’ll come more to the fore.
@retrospectrum1397
2 жыл бұрын
5e in general has definitely gone in many directions to get other people into it, and i think this is definitely where they are going for a target audience, but i feel like they still could've nailed that aspect and flushed this out a lot more to still have a potteresque feel but still be really original D&D 5e content.
@katarhall3047
2 жыл бұрын
That's the problem, it's just literally a copy/paste of Potter more than anything. It works better in MtG, but even there if you check the current market, those cards are pretty toilet.
@adaml83
2 жыл бұрын
My sort of feeling with Strixhaven was that it was a decent way to bring a school into D&D 5e. Not necessarily as a copy, but as something to pull ideas from and create your own homebrew school, along with memories from college.
@jjmeyer74
2 жыл бұрын
I'm planning to run a combination of Stirxhaven with sidequests from Candlekeep. The two settings compliment each other, just substitute the Biblioplex for Candlekeep and most of it falls into place. One of my players absolutely loves games with social and romance options, the other is a more straightforward min/max style rpg player. I think blending these two settings where magical books keep pulling them into bigger adventures while attending school will work well.
@roarshach13
2 жыл бұрын
That's exactly what I'm gonna do! Shemshime's Bedtime Rhyme set in a dorm instead of a basement so that the familiarity of the characters' bedchambers becomes alien and threatening.
@DaDunge
2 жыл бұрын
Do yiu really get anything meaningful from strixhaven? I think you'd be better of building your own magic school. One less hampered by the mtg origins of strixhaven.
@roarshach13
2 жыл бұрын
@@DaDunge personally I do love the colleges themselves. Lorehold is my favorite, and the fact that it's set up in a chasm full of old ruins has so much potential for dungeon material
@DaDunge
2 жыл бұрын
@@roarshach13 Well yes Lorehold is intresiting but it's much harder to fit the others into DnD. It's just that they are so based on modern college archetypes, rather on what kind of people you would actually want and need to train in a fantasy setting. They feel very steeped into the mentality of going to college for the experience.
@roarshach13
2 жыл бұрын
@@DaDunge me and my wife did realize that they are all parallels to real-life college courses and found that pretty funny! But I do think the courses are at least a little bit more unique then something you'd see in Harry Potter. Like sure there was the history of magic, but I think Strixhaven tackles it in a much more unique way, calling on the spirits of history and applying order and chaos to their magic. It's more of a life philosophy that way.
@overryans
2 жыл бұрын
I think wizards of the coast has gotten incredibly lazy. What they are adding is shallow and the modules they make feel as though they did not playtest them *cough cough* act one of decent into descent to Avernus *cough cough*
@tehrulefoo
2 жыл бұрын
I'm currently running through Storm King's Thunder, and it's shocking how much of the module is just sort of like 'I dunno, figure it out yourself' I'm used to running 3rd edition modules and I've never had that problem before.
@Spiceodog
2 жыл бұрын
This is why I’m converting to the kobald press fandom
@tmathis9882
2 жыл бұрын
I felt that way about LMoP, they offer so many quest in town and state that the players can join the organizations they help.... Then offer no information on the organizations themselves. I had a cleric in the party that wanted to help at the shrine of luck and he asked basic questions about it. After flipping through the book for a minute or two I had to just tell him I would follow up later so I could research more about it online.
@overryans
2 жыл бұрын
Wizards have this kind of laziness where they will tell you arbitrary information with no relevance to the overarching plot but when it comes to details a player might want to know they leave it out. Some of the handouts are like this. The team really throws DMS in the pan on some modules 9/10 just wing the minor things you can make a better-personalized experience than any book. The luck temple you can write off and have them remove bad omens around the area like black cats and ladders
@tmathis9882
2 жыл бұрын
@@overryans Oh the priestess had to heal a member of the party after they nearly killed her to sneak into a hideout.... Which they didn't even do (long story)
@unhaix707
2 жыл бұрын
Its perfectly ok to shit on any product you paid money for. Everybody works hard but they asked for money so you get held accountable.
@TheOtherMrEd
2 жыл бұрын
The last several releases have all been pretty weak. I completely agree with your thoughts on whimsy. The last few books (Strixhaven, Feywild, and Fisban) have been whimsical to the point of being silly and childish. This is clearly a design choice, so I've told my group that I'm not buying any more Wizard books until conditions improve. If my players want a new subclass or something, they can buy it a la carte on dndbeyond. I work too hard for my money to just throw it away.
@erfarkrasnobay
2 жыл бұрын
Just wait until Paizo realize Kingmaker for 5e/pf2 in april
@Ryotbh
2 жыл бұрын
I just had to go back and check what was released in 2021 and I have to say that I agree, it seemed like a particularly weak year. - Strixhaven; possibly interesting idea but overdone in the home brew sphere - there is already a more in depth Harry Potter 5e rule set that, though unofficial, is well thought out - The Wild Beyond the Witchlight; I was expecting it to be a mystical and magical book filled with all sorts of strange and eerie creatures, an introduction to the Feywilds. Instead it was a more light hearted fairy, sunshine and kittens adventure. - Fizbans; an attempt to refocus D&D on Dragons! Felt like a cash grab with no real content. - Candlekeep Mysteries; more super-generic adventures that are designed to be placed in any setting. None of them particularly jump out. - Van Richten’s; As I am currently running an open-world Ravenloft campaign I was super excited for this. However, it was dull - the Dark Pacts were alright but I had already done similar that were a lot deeper. Most of the content was designed around creating your own domain, which didn’t have to be Ravenloft. Felt like a book for the unimaginative. Going through more of the older editions content things used to be bold and vibrant. Now they are generic and samish. I hope they revisit Dark Sun, Spelljammer, Greyhawk, the settings seem so much stronger than what we have in 5e.
@ryancshams
Жыл бұрын
Completely agree with this take. I'm running Strixhaven for my 7 and 9 year old daughters (just ended the frog race scene) and it feels like a fun playground so far for them but I'm bored and disappointed. Running (G rated) versions of Phandelver, COS, Waterdeep Dragon Heist, Icewind Dale and even SKT for them was soooo much more fun for me. The fact that Strixhaven is a Harry Potter ripoff is a total boon not bane for this tiny crowd. I'll also say that the narrative and arc so far is so thin and predictable and cliche that it is forcing me to be more creative and that's been good. But sinking my teeth into the other adventures gave me more to improvise with and be inspired by. Please let me know of any other 5e adventures easily adaptable for and appealing to elementary school kids.
@isaaclong8209
2 жыл бұрын
I feel like Wizards' target demographic changed some time around the release of Tasha's Cauldron. I'd say even that book is a bit too far off the D&D feel for my liking.
@CthonicSoulChicken
2 жыл бұрын
Wizards has been pandering for years now. It's just getting worse and worse. 5E is like LOTR and Marvel had a baby and the Batwoman TV series pee'd on it.
@coachron5033
2 жыл бұрын
The only way these companies will change is by hitting them where it hurts most, their bottom line. Time to stop playing the fools, and invest our gaming dollars into a company who doesn't cater to activists on Twitter.
@williamlee7482
2 жыл бұрын
I stopped buying anything wokezards makes and sold all my MTG cards and bought OSR rpg's and older books and modules I once had off of amazon . Someone gave me a 4th edition d&d players mmo handbook and I sold it for $35 and bought a ton of basic fantasy rpg books . Wokezards d&d only lasts for 8 or so years before they come out with new rules that are so diffrent that non of the wokezards versions are compatable with older editions . TSR AD&D lasted for 20+ years with AD&D 2nd edition having only minor rules changes , additions and some updates but it was still compatable with 1st edition ad&d unlike wokezards d&d
@josephvoytus3694
2 жыл бұрын
Not a chance I'd even pick it up & look thru it. Good video. I agree tho about not automatically running down something.
@someguy5218
2 жыл бұрын
Personally I was a big fan of Fizban's, but I do feel that this is probably among the worst official 5e releases. There is just a real dearth of content compared to other sourcebooks and I do agree that a lot of what's in there is too wacky and whimsical. I personally prefer products that are more straightforward because my players and I are usually going to add lighthearted moments to it at the table. But I think the biggest problem is that a Strixhaven campaign is meant to take place over months and years, with lots of time spent away from adventures and battlemaps. But they didn't provide a real system to help DMs and players experience all of that. The way the adventures are written, it almost feels like they just expect you to fast-forward through most of the characters' lives at Strixhaven without much of note.
@dylanargo8355
2 жыл бұрын
I personally disagree with your opinon on Fizban's. While I also am I big fan of the book--I entirely disagree that its one of the worse offical 5e books. Or for that matter that it felt lacking compared to other sourcebooks. If someone asked me where they could find info or details about dragons or wanted to run a dragon campaign I would instantly let them borrow my Fizban book or buy it for them. I personally think there is a lot of excellent detail packed into the book that was not there before Fizbans.
@someguy5218
2 жыл бұрын
@@dylanargo8355 I don't think you understood my comment. I like Fizban's. But I think that Strixhaven: A Curriculum of Chaos (the subject of this video) is one of the worst 5e books officially released yet. If I thought that Fizban's was that bad, I would definitely NOT say that I was a big fan of it.
@bjhale
2 жыл бұрын
A wiser person than me once said, "The setting is the straight man to the players ' antics."
@Dumdumdoogie
2 жыл бұрын
Strixhaven felt like it was meant to be streamed on twitch and it was made as a cheap pop culture cash grab. 5e also is not a great system for roleplaying mechanics so I had a feeling a non-combat focused adventure book was going to be lacking
@drinnik
2 жыл бұрын
I’m sure one of the developers said they are primarily targeting “live play” now.
@pzalterias5154
2 жыл бұрын
At this point, the magic school is its own genra. Saying it's plagiarism its like saying dnd is Tolkien plagiarism. Goblins, dwarves, elves... It's checking boxes.
@Raoul9753
2 жыл бұрын
Honestly, is anyone Suprised that D&D Books dropped in quality after the Hobby became popular? WotC just tries to milk the most out of the Critical Role Crowd, aiming for quantity over quality with releases.
@anthonyrenli8740
2 жыл бұрын
I was completely looking forward to this book BEFORE I saw the outline. I was looking for a lot of magic, spells, and something to make it kind of sort of like a sourcebook...not something completely useless UNLESS you are running a Strixhaven specific campaign. I'm glad I waited to pick it up and didn't do my reflexive pre-order it. I might buy it if I can find it cheap at my FLGS, but I won't pay full retail price. Edit - BUT I hope people who buy it enjoy the heck out of it. Seriously. I could see running this as a game for some kids, or with some groups of friends who are Harry Potter Obsessed... But it wouldn't be a long running campaign for me.
@timjohnson2533
2 жыл бұрын
I was sorely disappointed in this book. When it was first announced, I was looking forward to the possibility of a product that would have a ton of interesting magic, magic items, sub-classes and descriptions of what might even be at a school of this nature. But things started getting 'shifty' when they wouldn't actually come out and say they cancelled the sub-classes entirely, and for the worst reason: Because the asked the public what they thought and simply gave up on the idea. If there's one thing that decimates innovation, its asking the audience for permission to create. The backgrounds were a severely lacking replacement, bland, and utterly forgettable in the scope of what could have been a VERY cool set of unique subclasses given a bit more refinement. Sadly they also weren't entirely clear on what this book would be. The touted (as you pointed out in the video) that this would feature spells and items and adventure! In the literal sense, they had almost none of that. The adventures were subdued and I personally find them completely forgettable. The magic items were impressively few, even if some were pretty innovative (I admit it, I like the idea of a stuffed mascot toy that negates fear. That's cute.) and the spells were nearly non-existent. In contrast, I bought one book from Kobold Press around the same time that had so many sub-classes and spells and items that I felt, for the first time in a long while, excited by what I was reading. It _felt_ like a book of magic and its surrounding accouterments. The relationship rules weren't for me. I won't say they were bad, but for my dollar they were a complete waste of space. I'm in the 'don't roll for relationships' camp myself. I'm not the target audience for things like this at all. I did, at least, find some of the monsters to be interesting. Certainly nothing to blow the roof off the joint, but they were interesting enough that I will be including some in upcoming campaigns. I was really generally disappointed with the last series of things WoTC released. From the Witchlight adventure to Strixhaven, so far it just felt like it was a bit half-assed and that there was this fear of innovating. Games like TTRPG's need fun new mechanics and class options to keep things fresh. So far I've only been seeing that from third party releases. Maybe that's a good thing though! I don't mind supporting creators that don't use consensus to create, or have folks above their heads dictating what a product should be.
@gusbabiski
2 жыл бұрын
Wich kobold press book you bought?
@brittlby4016
2 жыл бұрын
From the description, I would assume “Vault of Magic”. Could be wrong… but Vault of Magic is awesome, so worth getting regardless. Could also be Deep Magic, but haven’t gotten that one.
@DaDunge
2 жыл бұрын
The thing is DND doesn't need more spells, it's already crumbling under the weight of the number of spells it has.
@tehrulefoo
2 жыл бұрын
It's really, really bad. And not just the Harry Potter rip-off setting. The general content is pretty bad as well. The new spells are all over the place in terms of balance. The new backgrounds are stupidly OP outside of their setting. Owlin are just slower Aarakocra with Darkvision. At least they were smart enough to cut the broken UA subclasses, but it's very obvious the book was rushed out half-finished.
@llewelynshingler2173
2 жыл бұрын
I suppose Every Magic school in every story ever told is a natural rip off of Harry Potter, no matter what may happen in it.
@tehrulefoo
2 жыл бұрын
@@llewelynshingler2173 No. No one accuses Tolaria of being a Harry Potter rip-off because it has a different enough identity from Harry Potter. Strixhaven on the other hand is extremely blatant. You have the house system. You have the whimsical setting with dark undertones. You have them playing not-Quidditch. You have WotC making 9-3/4 jokes on Twitter. It's very obvious where Strixhaven is drawing its inspiration from.
@llewelynshingler2173
2 жыл бұрын
@@tehrulefoo The Houses have no special subjects taught and the Mage Tower Tournament is quite distinct from Quiditch.
@crustybomb115
2 жыл бұрын
after taking a look at it myself... yeah its pretty god damn close to harry potter rather than actual D&D... and as you meantioned during the vid, seems like kids are the target audience(not that its a bad thing of course), so i probably wont end up getting it for myself
@sketchasaurrex4087
2 жыл бұрын
THANK YOU! I don't think you were harsh enough but I get trying to be respectful to the "creators." MtG Strixhaven is still mocked at my lgs.
@gamemasterbob9
2 жыл бұрын
Love seeing the various opinions of this book by different dnd KZitemrs. Very interesting how people look at these books differently. I definitely think this is a weird intersection between sourcebook and adventure book, where it doesn't focus on either enough
@WellManNerd
2 жыл бұрын
Glad you are back and made it through! Difficult holiday season for my family as well. Thanks for this video, honesty and transparency is important.
@awhitney3063
2 жыл бұрын
Honestly I'm a bit surprised you didn't talk more about how the product was most likely designed to be something of a gateway game for people who know 'fantasy' as Harry Potter, and introduce them to the general mechanics and concept of D&D with the veneer of something familiar to them. That's what I see Strixhaven as; if you have friends who were hardcore Harry Potter nerds but they've never been into actual fantasy, this will be the bridge that lets you convince them to get to the table and actually start playing, and once they fall in love with the game and interaction that a TTRPG can bring, they may move on to more D&D like things/settings/adventures. I'd wager the similarity to HP is by design, not accident.
@CthonicSoulChicken
2 жыл бұрын
I think it'd be cheaper and have less ass-pain to buy them a copy of The Hobbit or something by Salvatore and see if they like it. 😂
@Spiceodog
2 жыл бұрын
Wotc: hey can I copy your homework? Rowling: yeah just change it a little
@BigBunky
2 жыл бұрын
This book and Candlkeep represent a new low bar for WOTC…. And yes, I own both.
@coachron5033
2 жыл бұрын
It's only going to get worse.
@dracomundos
2 жыл бұрын
I feel like everything I'd seen for Strixhaven it was fairly clear that it wasn't going to be typical D&D faire. I feel like content like this definitely has a great place in the 5e world right now, especially as you mentioned running it with your kid, I think a bunch of us have kids we would LOVE to get into this but don't really want to send through the Tomb of annihilation just yet. It creates something for a younger audience within a system we already know and love.
@kdonv
2 жыл бұрын
Agreed
@DaDunge
2 жыл бұрын
Play kids on brooms instead. This is more animal house than hogwarts.
@randydethlefs5232
2 жыл бұрын
I fully agree with your assessment, but they won’t be getting my money for this product. Glad to see another video from you, I enjoy your channel and have been missing your regular content. Hope all is well with you and your family.
@joesgarden1169
2 жыл бұрын
This is why i play "Basic Fantasy" now.
@Dennis-vh8tz
2 жыл бұрын
That's pretty much the conclusion I came to as soon as the leaks and reviews started. I also agree on Fizban's - I cancelled my pre-order when information about it's contents started to trickle out. And my reaction to the Witchlight book is similar (the Domains of Delight PDF is far more interesting to me). Based on reviews of these books I've come to the conclusion that a few pages of new player options are the only thing I'm interested in in them, and that isn't enough to justify the price of the books.
@ksmolsen
2 жыл бұрын
Kids on Brooms is a better alternative if you want a Harry Potter style game. Strixhavens biggest problem is that it goes to lvl 10, which is far too powerful for a wizard apprentice campaign.
@crankysmurf
2 жыл бұрын
I suspect a lot of new (and possibly younger) players don't really want to play the traditional D&D where players fight monsters -- they want to just get along with everyone (hence making evil monsters not evil any more...).
@Ryotbh
2 жыл бұрын
I think you’ve hit the nail on the head there. However, there are simply better rulesets out there for that specific type of campaign. Doesn’t really suit D&D, as you say.
@brimstone9060
2 жыл бұрын
For the record, You can dunk on something someone worked hard on. You can work hard on something and it can still be bad.
@nickh3205
2 жыл бұрын
I believe they should have focused on the setting then later on release an 1st to 10th level adventure book for it, like what they should have done with Decent into Avernus
@coachron5033
2 жыл бұрын
The days of epic adventures like Decent int Avernus are gone.
@TherinCreative
2 жыл бұрын
Players want Strixhaven until the DM uses silvery barbs to deny the paladin and rogue their critical hits. I agree there feels like their is a quality drop, and Monsters of the Multiverse leaks are only supporting that view. I tend to dislike all the campaign setting books, they never really fit in what I enjoy out of the game. I hope it turns around later in this year. Otherwise, maybe Pathfinder-level 5e spinoff time.
@robertfalse9063
2 жыл бұрын
There is an old rolemaster module about a lich trying to take over a magic school. He can't just come in as a powerful spirit protects the place, so he murders students and turns them into undead servants. The undead students CAN get in, as they are still students, unhindered by the spirit. THAT was a great idea for a magic school.
@benjaminjane93
2 жыл бұрын
Am I correct in that within the 'Relationship mechanic' the players can gain relationship points through positive interactions with an NPC, but they can only lose Relationship points if they themselves think that they should? I remember someone telling me about it. As a sidenote: Going through the NPC's in this book I've never seen so many punchable faces in one book. Are these characters supposed to be likeable?
@nickchivers9029
2 жыл бұрын
This book is a lesson to fans of d&d, namely that you dont need every single book. Its not my cup of tea at all, so i wont buy it. But i certainly wont be sneering at people who do like it.
@jasonr.6123
2 жыл бұрын
Yes I agree and it’s a lesson that I’ve had to learn this year. Up until now I’ve purchased every official hardcover. But the releases from this past year have been really disappointing. I wish I could get a refund for all of them. With WotC’s poor track record lately I will be much more selective going forward, starting with Monsters of the Multiverse, a book of reprints, which I will not be buying.
@broceollomon
2 жыл бұрын
What's weird about this book is that it's about running a game in a magic school and it only has five new spells and no new wizard subclasses. I would expect it to have a lot more spells and at least a few subclasses. Now, let me talk about the upcoming Troika! book Academies of the Arcane. This book will have 90 new spells in it (NINETY), 36 new backgrounds (backgrounds are your "class" in this system), and 20 tables for generating school uniforms, school houses, teachers, locations, events, and classes. This book isn't out yet, but it feels like it'll be way more substantial than Strixhaven. Why couldn't WotC have done something similar?
@mattbutler4953
2 жыл бұрын
"This wasn't aimed at D&D fans" Correct it is the 3rd book to market itself directly to Magic: The Gathering fans. We knew it was Harry Potter from the jump. Anyone blindsided by this particularly are looking for adaptable books, which is fair. However, I full heartedly believe Wizards believes this will be the first book a lot of new players will interact with.
@Dennis-vh8tz
2 жыл бұрын
Theros and Ravnica fit much more easily into D&D tropes. The Ravnica urban adventure creator tables could be easily adapted to any campaign that contains a large city. The Theros rules and religions, even the gods, would fit in most D&D worlds.
@mattbutler4953
2 жыл бұрын
@@Dennis-vh8tz I fully agree with Stryx being far less adaptable. However, which is has more fans, D&D, MtG, or Harry Potter? this clearly was a book meant to to be an intro to D7D through Harry Potter. I feel like the marketing was only meant to deceive hardcore fans of D&D
@oniminikui
7 ай бұрын
I sell to my players in playing Strixhaven by claiming it's D&D Hogwarts. I like Strixhaven. I'm counting on it being like Hogwarts because I like Hogwarts. 9/10 of my characters will pick a Strixhaven Student background. And when I DM, I run it as part of Ravnica (still Prism University). I enjoy the city campaigns.
@obscuredbythecloud1175
Жыл бұрын
I absolutely love your honesty in this review. If I hadn't already subscribed last night after finding your channel and thinking it's one of the 2 best DND channels I've seen on KZitem, this review would've made me subscribe. I'm new to DND in general and also as a DM, and I find your content extremely helpful. Thank you!
@mrshadyassassin9641
2 жыл бұрын
My problem with this book is it was marketed as a source book, supposedly it was going to help with the setting of Strixhaven. But, that changed during production and they kept advertising it as a source book and are still advertising it as a source book.
@hajalak1
2 жыл бұрын
I remember when this book originally got announced. I thought to myself "Awesome! A whole school of magic?!? I bet there's gonna be like, 200 new spells!"
@fredflintstone556
2 жыл бұрын
Considering the quality of the spells we did get, perhaps it's a blessing we only got 5.
@hajalak1
2 жыл бұрын
@@fredflintstone556 Yeah... you have a point. I mean, they named the Witherbloom spell Wither and Bloom. Hopefully someone spent less than a day writing that one up.
@DaDunge
2 жыл бұрын
The last thing DnD needs is more spells.
@fredflintstone556
2 жыл бұрын
@@DaDunge Kinda, yeah. Casters are already pretty dominant. Giving them even more options is just going to leave martials even more in the dust.
@DaDunge
2 жыл бұрын
@@fredflintstone556 Exactly. It wouldn't be an issue oif spells were more like amgic items that you needed to find them and learn them then you could have near infinite number of spells. But as long as you learn sspells by levelling this is going to be an issue.
@mitchelledwards3333
2 жыл бұрын
Good to see you back. Good to hear all is good
@AaronArnoldaquapod
2 жыл бұрын
I had that feeling. Bro, ICEWIND DALE and exporters guide to Wildemount we're my last hardcover books. I couldn't find anything to use with Van Richten aside from races. I couldn't use anything from the dragon book. Stryxhaven would've been better if they have us a template in how to create adventures because we could make the Harry Potter stuff up ourselves.
@karsonkammerzell6955
2 жыл бұрын
I actually got it thinking it was a series of examples, templates, and basically source material for creating your own or weaving it in; I was completely okay with it under that pretense. When I started to see people talk about it as an adventure module and reading into it as if it was one was where I started to realize and agree with the criticism. I think marketing screwed this one up.
@Ellebeeby
2 жыл бұрын
I've said it before, but WOTC seem to have lost their way badly, chasing the eternal 'wider audience'. This is not a D&D product. It would be at home in another system like Monsterhearts, but WOTC are trying to corner every aspect of the TTRPG market instead of just making the best D&D that D&D can be.
@ojosmacabros
2 жыл бұрын
Hot take: this book is actually quite decent, it's just different and that's good. D&d originally was supposed to be a combat system that morphed into a game with a unique identity. I think this book and other similar third party unofficial resources are recognizing that modern dnd is just a system to tell stories and play games. This book uses that system to tell a magic university setting and I hope it leads to more diverse adventures. I'm personally bored as hell of European medieval fantasy settings and want some variety, the old identity of the game kept it stale and gatekeepers seem to want to keep it as niche as possible
@greasysmith3150
2 жыл бұрын
What do you mean, 5th edition is the most combat focused edition after 4th (even 3.5 had more out of combat stuff to do, but i can forgive not remembering it since its such an awful system unless you just wanna make gimmick characters or do everything spell casters)
@jacobnavarro3675
2 жыл бұрын
I appreciate the honesty here but it seems like all of these points are a matter of preference. I don't think anything Cody brought up can be called a straight-up problem or balance issue for the campaign. The setting and it's tone are advertised right up front so anyone surprised at the fact that this not your standard D&D campaign only has themselves to blame. The "gamefied relationship mechanics" are optional... why is that weird? They gave us a way to make RP feel more like the rest of the game and, at the same time, a option to opt out and fall back on alternative approaches... and that's weird? I mean... ok... just don't use it if you don't want to? Also, in case you haven't noticed... Harry Potter/The Wizarding World is pretty damn popular. And until now, D&D players who are also fans of these stories had no mapped out way to combine those interests. It's not plagarism so lets calm down on that right away. I think it goes to surprising extents to take the fantasy content of D&D in the direction of a Hogwarts style setting. Strixhaven wouldn't be around if it weren't for Harry Potter but it's definitely its own thing. Despite Cody's foggy memory, it's also not anything new. All I have is 3 words for that: Curse of Strahd. Some of the comparisons he made don't really hold ground. Hogwarts as a setting was obviously based on real world British schools so citing things like school dances and sports as "Harry Potter ripoffs" is erroneous. And wizard duels are something that existed far before Harry Potter. The Merlin vs Mim duel from The Sword in the Stone (1963) immediately jumps to mind. This is also far from the first time such a thing has appeared in a D&D context. I had wizard duels as part of a "carnival faire" one-shot ran in 5e and it had nothing to do with Strixhaven or Harry Potter. As far as the marketing is concerned, first of all, I don't pay a lot of attention to ads in the first place and I make my purchacing decisions when it comes to D&D/TTRPG based on my own research, like watching videos like these. Not saying that's everyone's approach, but I am saying that marketing isn't going to influence everyone (especially not people watching this video). As for the tweet he mentioned, I think the most questionable part of it is the art in that it doesn't really depict the tone all that acurately. For my part, I considered buying this book for a while at my perfered LGS. At the time I weighed it against Wild Beyond the Witchlight and, after talking it over a bit with my partner, I decided on Witchlight. But after learning what other people were getting out of this book, I realized I overlooked a lot of fun potential and now it's back on my list. That's all I have to say but if anyone is still on the fence about this book, or if you have the book already and are wondering how to get the most out of it, I really recomend watching XP to Level 3's video on it. It's what opened my eyes to a lot of the possibilities this book presents to a group looking to take their D&D in a new and fun direction. Cheers and good gaming.
@johnathanmurray287
2 жыл бұрын
Have you noticed the utterly broken spell silvery barb? How would you DM it to make it more balanced?
@joeyderrico8134
2 жыл бұрын
2 of the most major problems I have with Strixhaven is 1) It is an MTG setting. The problem with MTG settings is they don't spend much time on them. its quick, hurry up and publish something so we can have synergy between two products and take people's money with little effort. Having an MTG setting as a D&D setting is fine. Most would make great D&D setting if they spent proper time transferring more monsters from MTG settings to D&D and not just major NPCs as well as making a general guidelines for transferring rules from cards to the D&D monsters. 2) D&D magic rules just don't make a good system for a Hogwarts style school of magic
@Ryotbh
2 жыл бұрын
Completely agree on your point 2. There is a pretty decent D&D 5e version of Harry Potter out there. But it does feel too gamey. I think there are far superior rules that out there for that style of campaign (some of the OSR rulesets for instance).
@MaKs2K5
2 жыл бұрын
I think you just forgot to mention the INCREDIBLY powerfull backgrounds included into this book. This is totally game changer for min/maxers and opens up SO many doors for early level character developpment. The adventure might not be the best, but the HP feeling IN D&D is probably something a lot of people might want. It's basically taking the whole D&D5E system instead of having to create one entirely. That being said, you should have talked about the backgrounds. That's the best point of the book.
@nickchivers9029
2 жыл бұрын
Yeah cause min/maxing in 5e was so hard before.
@tehrulefoo
2 жыл бұрын
Those backgrounds are absolute cancer for the game. There's no reason for anyone to pick anything else if they're allowed. Any sane DM will ban them unless you're playing a Strixhaven-specific setting.
@Dennis-vh8tz
2 жыл бұрын
Those backgrounds are hugely overpowered compared to any other background, and should only be allowed in a Strixhaven game where it's assumed all characters will be taking one of those backgrounds. For someone to whom a Strixhaven game/campaign isn't appealing there is no good reason to think or talk about those backgrounds.
@MaKs2K5
2 жыл бұрын
@@Dennis-vh8tz totally agree, but in oneshots, I usually take them. Allows me to have more spells or at least more flexibility. They're cool when you think about it.
@MaKs2K5
2 жыл бұрын
@emoticon I know they are cancer, but I wouldn't mind if someone at my table took them, as long as they play the Strixhaven student correctly ;)
@dylanargo8355
2 жыл бұрын
You didn't like Fizbans? I personally really loved it. It saved me so much time and thought. Before Fizbans, I had to do a ton of research on dragons. It took me hours to find an adequate answer to my question about how long dragons even live for or at what age do they reach certain stages of life etc before Fizbans. Before Fizbans I found a lot of "Oh dragons might live this long...No they live this long...Well this page from 3.5 says that in fact...". The book also talks about many dragons, draconic creatures, and more that I never even considered or heard about. Like Gold coin scarabs that mark intruders with a scent for a dragon to follow. Also, the idea of shadow dragons or gem dragons is sick as hell! I was at first disappointed they never gave a stat block for the shadow dragon. But once I started reading more about shadow dragons I fell in love with them and realized more that shadow dragons aren't an entirely new species of dragon, just a different form that dragons can transform into given the right environment! That shit is so cool and inspiring! And the new lair options and new regional options for Fizbans are also absolutely inspiring for me. I never even thought to play around with the idea that there could be more lair and regional effects than what I was already given. Fizbans also gives us information about where certain dragons like to make their lairs and what each of their lair layouts might look like. Sure some are obvious like red dragons of course would want to inside of a volcano. But lairs like the green dragons I might not have never thought of as WOTC designers did. "Oh, that makes sense that green dragons would make their lairs in a forest or jungle inside a huge tree. Why didn't I think of that?... Wait dragons can specifically choose what plants and animals grow in their forest? Raising an army of gorillas from birth?! That's sick!" Now of course I'm not saying that we should be shackled to what we are given by the designers at WOTC. And that it would have been impossible for me to create lifespans/life cycles for my own dragons before the book and details of that nature. But it saves me SOOOO MUCH TIME and stress trying to even get close to the amount of lore and detail that Fizbans came out with. I have less of a big opinion of the magic items but they are *certainly* a welcome and nice addition if someone wants draconic themed magic items. I do wish they gave actual sizes instead of having to guestimate based on concept art and stat blocks. However, I can see why they wouldn't because they want to leave it for interpretation. Or at least that's why I assume they didn't.
@ogrejehosephatt37
2 жыл бұрын
I also enjoyed the book, and I'm a little surprised at Cody's take. Maybe he just thinks the greatwyrm statblocks are disappointing and that's souring the whole thing for him? I mean, I kinda get that if you're already familiar with dragon lore from earlier books, maybe there's less there for you. Especially if you don't like the major lore additions of the First World and the whole mechanic of dragons combining their power (I personally liked these).
@sylviebizadvisor
2 жыл бұрын
I started the Strixhaven campaign with one group and it fizzled out after 2 episodes. I created a second group so far and we are about to start my 2nd episode. Hopefully, until the end this time.
@zero11010
2 жыл бұрын
I don’t think you really need to apologize about the release date of a video. Certainly not in a card on the video itself. 5 years from now the video will be viewable. Will it releasing a handful of weeks after you would have liked really matter? Not really, no. Just do you, man! 😄 If you want to communicate delays you can use the KZitem posts and things to send messages. Just a suggestion.
@joshuahendershot196
2 жыл бұрын
I would recommend taking an overview of those 5 spells, because 2 of them are straight-up busted Silvery Barbs, the first level spell is a reaction that can be activated whenever someone within a 60ft range succeeds on an attack roll, ability check, or saving throw You get to force them to reroll and then you can give one ally(or yourself) advantage on the next attack roll, ability check, or saving throw within 1 minute And then we have Vortex Warp It has a 90ft range You can choose one creature to make a con save(they can choose to fail) then you can teleport them anywhere you can see within range as long as it is on a surface or in a liquid that can support the target without them having to squeeze, oh and upcasting it increases the range by 30ft per spell level The biggest utility of this I've heard is using it on an ally that's 90 ft away from you then teleporting them so they're 90ft away from you on the opposite side. But this can also be used on enemies, and as people I've talked to have pointed out, nothing says the surface that the creature is placed on has to be horizontal, or that the liquid can't be lava or acid for example just that they have to support the target which they would just maybe not for long Another interesting way of using it is by combining it with wall of force, create the wall of force on the edge of a cliff(or have a friend do so), teleport the target onto the wall then drop concentration
@ryanharmon5426
2 жыл бұрын
Happy to see you cody
@Taking20
2 жыл бұрын
Awwww thanks Ryan!
@gilbertbarnett8225
2 жыл бұрын
Fizban's Treasury of Dragons is amazing!!! I'll check to see if you have a video that goes into more of your perspective, but from my perspective as someone who is newer to the hobby, it is an idea generator for working on my dragon centric campaign. I love this book.
@hershmergersh6733
2 жыл бұрын
When it comes to Strixhaven, I would just like to offer a massive congratulations to the team that put in the most work - the legal team. Making sure that they couldn't be sued for copyright infringement and plagiarism was quite evidently a huge task they succeeded at.
@rflame135
2 жыл бұрын
I feel like this review got a little too, idk the right word for it here, enamored? With the comparison to HP. I am in no way going to try and say there aren’t an abundance of them but really They have a tavern, heaven forbid that must be hogsmeade They have a forbidden forrest, eeeh not really? It’s literally a swamp that is part of one of the college campuses There’s a big party, the audacity to have such a flagrant copy of the Yule ball as though every college ever doesn’t have at least one big party DUELING! Remember those Harry Potter scenes!?!? You mean the like one time they had a dueling club for 5 minutes? Guess they own the concept of dueling now. This review is like 90% entirely valid and it is very true that this book is not for everyone, but as much as he talked about the similarities it really felt like he got stuck making HP comparisons in his view and was the one checking the boxes instead
@tylerp5259
2 жыл бұрын
They both also have giant cafeterias. Strixhaven = Harry Potter Ripoff 10000% for sure. AND there's 4 colleges? that's clearly a ripoff to the 4 houses from Harry Potter. All in all, if you're looking for comparisons, it's going to be easy, even if all of them are 1. Common Tropes for literally everything. 2. Basically just common tropes in real life. 3. A bit of a stretch?
@Taking20
2 жыл бұрын
Yeah, it's not like WIZARDS OF THE COAST THEMSELVES didn't make the comparison to Hogwarts. Totally fabricated it lol
@tylerp5259
2 жыл бұрын
@@Taking20 honestly that’s where they messed up. Because there’s honestly similarities to a whole bunch of magic schools. We’ve got the animated Winx and My Little Pony, some Strange Academy, The College of Winterhold, I personally think some of the the architecture in the book looks a lot like Balamb Garden from Final Fantasy.
@shellbug1978
2 жыл бұрын
Thank you so much for that honest review. This will help me quite a bit actually. My wife and daughter are wanting to get into dnd but they are not sure about all the rules and multiple books. They are however huge harry potter fans and this would be perfect to get them used to this type of gaming. I'm going to pick up a copy as soon as I can. Thank you for letting me know about this as I had no idea dnd had anything like it.
@screamingblue7
2 жыл бұрын
I really appreciate the up front bias towards the product, and then going through examples of with what you took issue. It's a major departure from the primary adventure style, but that's one way to expand the brand and new players looking for something they can relate to. Thank you for the emphasis on "not a bad book, but not a book for Taking20". That's better than many others who have vocalized their criticisms.
@InsightCheck
2 жыл бұрын
Glad to hear that you and the family are good :) This is a really great take on the product. When the three year end books were announced I was far and away the least excited for Strixhaven. After picking it up though my opinion did slightly change. While I 100% agree that this is NOT actually a D&D book, I can appreciate the value in shifting tones to something a bit more light hearted to appeal to a different audience. Is it a blatant cash grab? Probably. And for a product that markets itself as a Sourcebook, it’s pretty light on the “source”. Overall I’m satisfied with the book but it certainly isn’t going to be my go to for options. Great video as always!
@reesesollars1553
2 жыл бұрын
I feel like this adventure is more for players that want to roleplay over fighting and adventuring. Also can the owlkin race be used in other adventures? I hope so because I think they are cool
@keithulhu
2 жыл бұрын
Again WotC labors under the delusion that we want to play Magic the Gathering the Role Playing Game rather than Greyhawk, DragonLance, Forgotten Realms that encompasses more than the Sword Coast.
@jeffreyblackwell1444
2 жыл бұрын
Personally I love the idea pf a Harry Potter Style dnd game, but the problem I have is incorporating it into an established game, when the things in Strix is so overwhelmingly powerful.... ie silvery barbs which is more powerful than Portent at the cost of a lvl1 spell. It is apparent that this book is another power creep source. If I use this source book, it would be a game where everyone was a student, because other classes seem way lackluster compared to Strix.
@troffle
2 жыл бұрын
Hard-coded Relationships Point system. Flashing back to Sara Felton pointing out that Brian VanHoose's system for maximal NPC management was functionally equivalent to domestic abuse.
@MtJensen18
2 жыл бұрын
Strixhaven is a perfect example of what a big part of the community has asked for. They wanted HP in DnD. But now they found out that what they asked for wasnt really what they wanted. Wizards of the Coast delivered perfectly on what people said. The people didnt know they actually didnt want HP in DnD. They probably wanted something that fit a bit better with our worlds. But hey! Now they know!
@crankysmurf
2 жыл бұрын
I never played MtG nor read the Harry Potter books and I have passed on all of the MtG related 5E books. This book was a hard pass.
@captainseabass874
2 жыл бұрын
If Strixhaven was supplement material to current material, it wouldn’t feel that bad. Background, feats and classes are all great and would supplement other campaigns greatly
@RiceLow
2 жыл бұрын
Backgrounds are straight-up op, you get a free feat? This makes every other background just a pointless pick.
@OranjeLament
2 жыл бұрын
I'm always happy to hear Cody's opinion on these things. I purchased the book in hardback and FGU and while I may not run it I have a player in an inter-planar campaign who has a Srtixhaven background. The book has flavor if not substance - sometimes that's good enough for me as I always pepper in my own plots to spice things up.
@Past0rM4n
2 жыл бұрын
I grew up with and am a fan of Harry Potter and the setting Rowling created. I think Strixxhaven sounds like a really interesting tool for dungeon masters, in the same way that a hard-boiled egg slicer is an interesting tool for an at home cook. Might come in handy occasionally, but far from something I expect everyone to have. That being said, I DO expect to pick it up at some point because I like fun/dumb tools.
@Michael_1138
2 жыл бұрын
I didn't find your tone the least bit biting! Of all the criticisms I've heard surrounding this book, your's is the most nuanced and respectful (criticisms I share, by the way, and a few more besides).
@granttrain3553
2 жыл бұрын
My homebrew is better written and balanced than officially published stuff. So I dont plan on buying any WOTC books anytime soon.
@coachron5033
2 жыл бұрын
DITTO
@travis1508
2 жыл бұрын
Thanks for the heads up, really looking forward to receiving book from Esper the Bard. Thinking about getting Grim Hollow Book and maybe that Drakkenheim book by Dungeon Dudes. Any thoughts on these books? Weird Wastelands from web dm is on its way
@natashasurvivallady8021
2 жыл бұрын
If you like darker tones in a ruined urban setting with body horror and existential threat, Drakkenheim is 100% for you. I backed it, love most of it, and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys those themes. It has great faction elements, the monsters are cool and powerful, and its just contained enough to allow for some great creativity. The only problems I have with the book are a clash of stylistic choices. I prefer gothic horror to existential, where the heroes have a chance to defeat the evil instead of "The universe is doomed. What next?" So, if that style appeals to you/your group, snap it up in a heartbeat.
@TheKenthor
2 жыл бұрын
One person's whimsy is another one's cringe. Strixhaven is definitely the latter. At least it is for me.
@johnsmeltzer2427
2 жыл бұрын
I used this the same way I use all the books, a loose guide. However it's exactly what I wanted. I have a friend who is interested in joining me, her wife ,and mine in playing d&d. But she's always uncomfortable and intimidated by new things. With her love for Harry Potter it was a perfect setting to introduce her to the game.
@Cheddarcheesemonkey
2 жыл бұрын
Personally based on the reviews I've heard I feel like strixhaven could be a really fun setting if you strip away someone that whimsy and basically just run your own adventure telling the magical school story you wanted to in the 1st place. That's probably how I would do it but I would much rather play in it because the setting really appeals to me but the adventure sounds kind of lame Edit: talk to text
@FrostSpike
2 жыл бұрын
The main thing that spoils Strixhaven for me (apart from the focus on the codification of "social" encounters which seems to be just playing on teenage angst), is that characters can come out at 10th level just by being at college and being exposed to little risk. In my campaigns that just wouldn't happen - you'd go to a magical college and come out as a 1st level or, at most, a 3rd level Wizard. 10th level is the top end of Tier 2 so that would make them well-known Heroes of the Realm, about to become Masters of the Realm, just when they're leaving college. (Maybe that's what happens in the US of A?)
@kdonv
2 жыл бұрын
If WotC hadn't been pretty upfront about the fact that this book was supposed to be for joint MtG and D&D5e fans, I would be more critical. But they were pretty clear about that from the get-go, so I don't feel we should be overly harsh. The book has some interesting bits, but agree it's not for everyone. I'm middle of the road on this one. As for Fizzban's, I actually liked the book as a convenience more than as an element of original content. The new Dragonborne are OP and introduce power creep, but there are a number of bits here I appreciate and find handy in the layout provided. To each his own...
@mentalkitty789
2 жыл бұрын
I think my problem is it is trying to be too things. I don't see whimsey as the problem or it being a potter knock off, mystical otherworldly schools are practically their own genre now. To me I think the problem is it doesn't commit one way or the other. It isn't enough of a setting book and it isn't enough of an adventure book. The punchline is it doesn't feel like it is enough of ANYTHING. Not enough world, monsters, adventures, features or items. While the systems it does offer are lackluster.
@boguerogue
2 жыл бұрын
I've been done with WotC for a while now. Something has definitely changed in that company.
@Ryotbh
2 жыл бұрын
I’ve noticed a change as well. If you think D&D has it bad, you should see how they’re treating MTG fans. I cannot find anyone that has a nice word to say about them. It’s like they have ramped the level of money-grubbing practices up a number of notches in the last few years.
@casualgameronline5890
2 жыл бұрын
The weird thing is that Magic fans were afraid the Strixhaven set would feel too much like a Harry Potter knockoff. But, they actually managed to give the set its own unique flavor, and fans approved. It was a popular set. It's weird that they tried to avoid too many HP references for the Magic crowd, but leaned into it for the dnd crowd. Strange choice.
@colmbright9822
2 жыл бұрын
Fizban’s is a great book for DMs especially if your campaign is Dragon based . Also has one of best Ranger subclasses
@johnlbailey2
2 жыл бұрын
I have to say I agree with this review. I picked up the book based on the marketing and early quick reviews, as well as it's MTG association with Mythic Odysseys of Theros (which I found to be excellent). Having read through it, I definitely would not have bought this product knowing what I know now. It's not useful for my campaign and group, and is mostly a large adventure based around the school.
@jackservans6906
2 жыл бұрын
If you want the whimsy of D&D done right, I’m currently running Wild Beyond Witchlight and highly recommend it to DMs, especially ones who love the role play and especially exploration pillars of the game.
@BloodFangLucario555
2 жыл бұрын
There are 5 UA subclasses designed for the 5 Houses in Strixhaven, and they are very unique because each subclass can be used by multiple different caster classes. It is an extremely unique mechanic that doesn’t exist anywhere else in 5e and I was really REALLY hoping it would have made it into the final product. If it had, the book would have value to people who don’t care about the adventure. But since it lacks that fun, unique, and mechanically diverse new feature it is VERY lackluster.
@Answerisequal42
2 жыл бұрын
I mean you are not the first one to critique the book through YT. And i agree with you. I like the spells. Thats about it. The rest just doesnt float my boat.
@dennismcgowan6606
2 жыл бұрын
It is 100% about expectations. This is not for every DnD player but it's for the YA Lit enthusiasts. Many YA books do mirror Harry Potter a bit and anything that is school based will have some of that. I think this will be a great on ramp for younger groups or YA enthusiasts.
@bettsdn
2 жыл бұрын
I played the MtG set a lot last summer when it came out. It was a cool vibe and I think it works well as an MtG wizard academy. I actually think the published "setting" could work well in D&D too. It's just that the published adventure and "Sims" relationship mechanics just don't fit the typical D&D vibe. You'll just need to homebrew an adventure around the setting. Or put Strixhaven in your own setting.
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