Tales of the Valiant is my 5E

Tales of the Valiant is my 5E. I know this will be around, as it is, for the next 10-20 years at least. D&D, I am not sure about, since D&D 2024 had a soft launch and an adoption rate; we are closer to D&D 6th Edition than any of us expected.

We have an Open SRD and license for Black Flag Roleplaying. This is being actively added to the Kobold Press, since new classes from the Player's Guide 2 are now in the process of being added once the Kickstarter ends. This isn't a "one and done" Creative Commons release; new classes will be added, and the SRD is a living document that will be continually updated.

Wizards have released two CC updates, but there is no new content for the past editions yet, nor have they promised that new content from expansions will be added. Kobold Press is outdoing them on the SRD and licensing front.

Third parties can play and make ToV and 5E content with this license. This is the best of all worlds for publishers, since they can just slap "ToV/5E compatible" on their books, use the Black Flag SRD as-is, and never worry about compatibility issues or licensing again.

Brand loyalty isn't enough, and concrete actions speak volumes.

Compatibility is the key. This is why ToV "did nothing new" since it is both a game and a publishing model for third parties to divorce themselves from the yoke of Wizards and all the industry drama and Wall Street shenanigans. I supported the original OGL creators, so I support a publishing model that allows the community to move forward and never be subject to such attacks again.

However, ToV introduces many new features, even within compatibility. They fixed all the 2014 classes and kept them as close to the originals as possible. Luck and Inspiration are interchangeable. The spells are balanced. The monsters are far better versions than the 2014 ones. The math is far better. Everything is upgraded and feels shiny and new.

The art is one of the few issues some have with, being above average to excellent, with many amazing pieces, but not universally perfect. There is a higher art bar, and while there are some odd choices and cartoony elements, they do not detract from the in-game experience. Some set a super high art bar, and the game is excellent, but people are spoiled by books filled with a 10/10 piece on every page. To me? The art is impressive and effectively conveys a fantasy game in various genres, ranging from family-friendly to edgy.

I like the art; it fits the tone, transitioning from serious to cartoony, and it's better than most games.

Additionally, there are third-party 5E books that can adjust realism and combat difficulty, completely compatible with ToV. Still, in general, ToV's monsters hit harder, and the combats are faster, addressing another common issue with 5E of the fights being too easy and the combats dragging on. The Kobold Press designers work hard at making the rules work well, fixing problems with individual monsters, spells, and classes, and making sure the game stays challenging and fun.

The Orcs, Goblins, and other humanoids are in the game as monsters. We are not being told to exclude them from our games as bad guys. They are also there as character options. We can make them bad guys, good guys, gray-zone guys, or edgy anti-heroes. The game lets us make our own minds up about these things, and that is a welcome and refreshing change from current-day this-and-that.

Thank you.

All my 2014-2024 5E books are supported as-is. Sure, I can use my 2014 D&D rulebooks, but what about new players after those go out of print? I want a game that a new player can buy and own today, and in ten years. Sure, there will always be used copies out there, and stocks that still won't sell, but going forward, I want a currently for-sale, well-supported system that people joining my group can pick up and be interested in without the 2014 or 2024 confusion.

Kobold Press is a ton more ethical than Wizards of the Coast. Why do I support someone who does not hold my values?

Everything feels patched, fixed, better working, cleaner, easier to understand, and better presented here. The Game Master's Guide is a 10/10 book, universally loved as one of the best refereeing books in this generation of games. The book is fantastic and outdoes both the 2014 and 2024 D&D DMGs combined. We get monster design rules, too! That was abandoned in 2024 D&D, and that is a massive loss for the game, as it allows people to create their own worlds and put their ideas into the game.

The Kobold Press store is impressive, easily equal in terms of a Paizo to Pathfinder. The support for this game is off the charts good. We have our second Kickstarter of the year for a core book. Supported? Better than 2024 D&D in many cases. We've got two new core books this year so far! D&D 2024 is still struggling with last year's releases, and there are things in the works, but not to this level.

And if you like 2024 D&D, all of this is cross-compatible, even the ToV classes, if you prefer them over D&D's attempts. I like ToV since the third-party support is far better, and the company is ethical and solid. The company's previous adventures, monster books, and expansions offer numerous options and content, which can easily lead to feeling overwhelmed.

The Labyrinth setting is far better than the Great Wheel, and far more open to more imaginative worlds and adventures. This sold me on planar adventures for the system, and I usually loathe those things since they ruin campaign worlds and turn them into bedroom communities. There are no "gods to hunt and kill" out there, since those exist in a space outside reality and are in a proper place thematically. The Labyrinth fixes all the D&D endgame problems and focuses the planar game more on adventure and exploration. Finally.

And I own my PDFs. They are not linked to a subscription service. This is huge.

Also, since the "D&D product identity" of the game is stripped out, my worlds are more my worlds than they are "my worlds but incorporating Wizard's licensed IP." Mind flayers, beholders, and displacer beasts were cool back in the 1980s when they were new, but they have become overused tropes these days. I am tired of them and want new monsters I have never seen before. The only reason they were cool back in the 80s is that they were new things we had never seen before! 

Now? Overplayed and overused for decades, it has been employed as a nostalgic tool of control by Wall Street to shape our imaginations. They need to be retired into the Monster Hall of Fame, and new ideas need to replace them. ToV and their monster books are so full of new ideas that it feels like the 1980s again, and I'm rediscovering things.

This is the best version of 5E, in terms of design, support, the number of core books being released, and ethics. I am not ashamed to play it or use it to play with my ten-year-old 5E third-party books that I still want to use. It is still compatible with 2014 and 2024. It is future-forward for third parties.

This is a game I love and support.

Tales of the Valiant is hands down better than D&D.