Hasbro, the parent company of Magic: The Gathering and Dungeons & Dragons developer Wizards of the Coast, isn’t known for being the nicest company on the block. That said, it has been reasonably generous when it comes to licensing its RPG systems, with the d20 System Reference (SRD) and 4th edition Game System License (GSL) being notable examples. Now it’s done one better with the upcoming 5th edition of D&D, providing the basic rules free.
OK, so you won’t get a pretty book, but if you just want to roll up characters and get dungeon-crawling, then all you need are the rules in PDF form, which can be readily downloaded directly from the Dungeons & Dragons website.
Admittedly, it’s not a trendsetter by any definition, but if you’re happy to play with the basic classes (fighter, cleric, wizard and rogue) and races (human, elf, dwarf and halfing) and like coming up with your own adventures (or have a friend who does), you won’t need to spend a cent. Of course, Wizards will still charge for supplements, such as more classes, campaigns and other materials, but in terms of business models, it’s a step in the right direction.
For traditionalists, there’s a $US19.99 starter kit that’s set for release on the 15th, which comes with pre-generated characters and a campaign so you can jump right in. You can also expect in due course handbooks for players and dungeon masters, along with the requisite monster manual.
Basic Rules for Dungeons & Dragons [Wizards, via Reddit]
Image: Wizards of the Coast / Hasbro
Comments
8 responses to “Wizards Of The Coast Releases D&D’s 5th Edition Rules For Free”
Even pen and paper games are going F2P these days
With rerolling microtransactions.
Pay $5 for a +1 to your next 3 rolls!
Not a bad idea to make a little extra scratch as a DM
I knew a DM that incorporated $2 gold coins in the game as part of the loot/end goal/currency. It was designed in such a way that each game would cost you a bit of money which went towards the purchase of new books, dice, models etc.
Give em a taste and get them hooked
I’ve skimmed over the rules, I still think I’m happy with Pathfinder having moved from 2nd Edition AD&D through D20 to get there. I liked some things about 4th Edition but felt it was more suited to a D&D Video Game rather than a Pen and Paper. Now if you like 4th Edition I hope you enjoyed it, but it just wasn’t for me.
As for 5th I’ll read the rules maybe House Rule some things I like into Pathfinder but I doubt I’m in unless I get the Dark Sun Setting released.
As for Edition Wars, if you’ve got Edition X, with all the books and it’s your favourite by all means enjoy it. Half the reason I went to 3rd was my 2nd Edition books got lost in a move. And it was a long time between editions for me.
For anyone looking for DnD video games (with Roleplay of course), Neverwinter Nights is still active despite the gamespy shutdown. Google City of Arabel or Escape for Uncertainty. NwN uses DnD 3.5 I am pretty sure but these servers are good fun if you wanna nerd out 🙂