I'm scared for Planescape 5e

 

©WotC, gorgeous illustration made by Tyler Jacobson

And how one could not? In hindsight, the Spelljammer boxed set was a little underwhelming, mainly about the setting itself. For example, I didn't care about the adventure at all, but I cared about planetary system generation and lore. Now, Planescape will be published in the same format: one book about the setting, one bestiary and one adventure. And a DM's screen. For a lot of money.

I guess I won't rush to buy it. Considered that now the Spelljammer box is at almost half-the-price, I could just wait a bit and snag it later this time. Also consider that I have the 2e Planescape print on demand core set (crammed in a single book, even the poster, which is disappointing but ok) and I just ordered the 2e Sigil guide "In the Cage". The fact is that I've always viewed Planescape as a setting built primarily on lore and philosophy, not mechanics. And we already de facto have planar mechanics (spells, effect on planes, etc.), so what's the point on a new edition, really? Monsters? Races? Classes? Backgrounds? Yes, they are useful. But I'm afraid that this new Planescape will be just a moneygrab with half-cooked lore and a quick rundown of Sigil.

There is a wonderful bit of text in the 2e book, which states: 

The PLANESCAPE setting is about ideas and philosophies, about "the meaning of the multiverse." It's not the dry, academic lectures of musty old professors, quoting things that don't much matter to the real world. A planar lives in a world where the meaning of the multiverse isn't just a question, it's a way of life. A planar doesn't just ask the question, he lives the answer.

Is this really possible to grasp in a 80something page book? With illustrations? TSR (but it was really WotC) needed a whole product line to engrave this setting's concepts into the minds of players. And then they needed a videogame. And to be perfectly honest, the existence of actual plays like "Trapped in the Birdcage" really shows that the old lore and setting still works. Because some concepts and vibes transcend the edition number of D&D.

I guess that we should expect just a rules update from this boxed set. Monsters, characters' stuff, some spell, some items. A tiny bit of lore and setting.

And an adventure.

I don't care about the adventure.

Yes the old material is available to purchase. But that shouldn't be the default way to go! You sell me a setting? It'd be better off to not be just a quick taste of it. I bet the books are already complete, so there isn't much to be done now. They are releasing in four and a half months, after all.

Well, WotC has become (or always has been?) disappointing in the last 12 months. It's still better than companies like Games Workshop, to say the first thing that comes into mind, but yeah. No bright future.