Tales of the Valiant (Black Flag) is a game that most of the 5E community ignores. As a 2014 implementation to maintain compatibility, it is the best 2014 implementation out there and deserves more of the spotlight. Yes, the game is tuned to CR+1, but that is where the monsters are, and that is easily adjusted in legacy adventures.
Black Flag is a better name, and many VTTs and sites still call it that since that is what the ToV SRD is named. Do I care that it is not that different from 5E? No, that is why I love it. I can own PDFs, but I cannot support the Wall Street ecosystem and have near-perfect legacy compatibility.
Sign me up.
This is the 5E I want.
One of the best things they did when redesigning the classes was in getting rid of all the problems, and pulling forward the "fun powers" to earlier, when you can get more use out of them and enjoy them while they are relevant and valuable. The rust and squeaky parts of every class are gone. The system is finely tuned and has a more faithful and proper implementation of 5E than D&D 2024.
Tales of the Valiant is the best version of 2014 5E.
What about Level Up Advanced 5E? I am putting that in storage for a while. It is solid and well-designed, but many 2014-era third-party books need a baseline 5E implementation. My EN World books are going into storage alongside my DCC books. I can't deal with the negativity and drama of losing a game I loved, and I need a system far away from both.
I may return later, but I need to step away for now.
And you know, since 2024 is failing to catch on, and most of the best books for D&D will stay at 2014, why am I upgrading again? All the best stuff for D&D has already been written for 2014. I have a massive 2014 library. All I want is a solid 2014 implementation to keep using my books.
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/499075/5e-alternative-subclass-bundle
And the lack of subclasses? You can always buy more than you will ever need. This is one of the weakest arguments against ToV since many choices exist. I can buy subclasses everywhere! The Player's Guide 2 is coming out this year from Kobold Press, too, with even more choices.
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/505698/5e-alternative-race-compedium-bundle
The same argument can be made for player races; there are thousands of those out there, a race creator for 5E, the Tales of Arcana book, and so many that it boggles my mind. You should not feel shorted either in the ToV game; just remember the conversion notes, and you will be fine.
Tales of the Valiant has the best GM book of all the 5E games. This is a 10/10 book and is universally praised. This is useful and handy no matter what version of 5E you play, but it shines with ToV, and it has monster design. This keeps the DIY spirit and empowers game masters to create interesting monsters on the fly. A GM book without monster creation is not a GM book, and it severely weakens the game. Monster creation was one of the best parts of D&D 4E, and it is sad to see D&D 2024 abandon it.
And you won't be short of magic or monsters with ToV, with all the monster and magic books available for the game. This is one of the best-supported systems, short of the original Pathfinder 1e game.
I will never use everything in this game, which is good. The monster books they print are the best in gaming, and there are so many that you will never run out. The support in this game, once you consider everything in the Kobold Press store as "game content," is mind-blowing.
Midgard is also worthy. I have so many 5E campaign settings, and I keep asking myself, "Where are the maps?" Midgard has the maps! I love maps, and a great campaign setting has them on nearly every page. Seriously, a setting without hundreds of great maps is a waste of a book. Some 5E campaign settings in the chapter will describe a huge world area without a map. Some companies also force you to use 3.5E or first-edition sourcebooks for their game worlds. Midgard is as well supported as Pathfinder's Golarion with adventures and content.
And there are so many adventures here!
Once you buy into Tales of the Valiant and the Kobold-verse, the game is lush and rich with so many options that it is head-spinning. You must actively ignore the alternatives and be ready to run character sheets by hand (outside of Shard). Other VTTs don't support the game well, but I wish they all did.
Tales of the Valiant, or Black Flag if you want, is the best version of 2014 5E ever written.
No comments:
Post a Comment