My hardcovers for the Tales of the Valiant Kickstarter came today, and wow, these are impressive books. The art is excellent, and it feels like a mix between original 5E and Pathfinder 1e art, which gives me a nice feeling. The art is more mainstream to the hobby, and while it nods to being inclusive, it also does not go out of its way to create controversy. It is very mainstream for a 2024 book, feels adventurous, inspires adventure, makes old-school nods, and welcomes everyone.
Excellent job on the art here.
Typically, I prefer old-school art, but this is good for a book made today. The monster art is beyond excellent. It feels modern and conveys the theme well.
These books are not just an 'alternative' to traditional 5E gaming materials; they are a complete, cohesive, and compelling experience in their own right. They offer a solid and worthy gaming experience, divorced from the constraints of Wizards, and are far from being seen as inferior.
ToV is the 5E standard-bearer going forward. The system can outlive the company that made the game and be passed on to better stewards and friends of the community.
In many ways, Tales of the Valiant is superior to D&D, especially with additional books from Kobold Press on magic, monsters, magic items, and adventures. If you add Midgard, you get a complete, supported, and excellent campaign world - which Wizards does not offer. Midgard puts the Forgotten Realms to shame, just in support, honestly. What good are campaign worlds if you don't support them with hardcovers, gazetteers, and adventures?
Want more spells? Deep Magic is a two-volume set with 1000 spells ready to go.
Want more monsters? There are three Tome of Beast hardcovers and a Creature Codex to collect. There are plenty of adventures, too, so the first-party support for ToV is there on day one and rivals Paizo's support of Pathfinder, but this is for 5E.
Want subclasses and player options? Any 3rd party book should be 99% compatible, so just pull in what you need and tweak based on when the ToV subclasses begin (3rd level). This is the same as 2024 D&D with delayed subclass progression, so it is not a big deal or game-breaker. The Wizard's subclasses are outside my games and I took a hard pass on them; I never used them and felt they were designed to sell books for power gamers.
The only thing missing is the GM Guide, coming in September. You don't need this book to play since the player book has all the classes, spells, magic items, and toys you need. This book is more for GM advice, modding, altering creatures, and creating adventures, so there is no real need to wait for this book.
My advice? Get playing now. Crib from other GM books you have. Back in the day, we played B/X with one or two pages of GM advice and made the rest up ourselves. You do not need the GM Guide to start other than to have this "completionism" feeling, which is silly.
Begin your adventures today. This is what "the party" would do.
And put your old Wizards books in a closet. Go 'clean room style' and enjoy this on its own. I would stay away from even quality third-party books to start and learn and enjoy this game on its own.
Surprisingly, the Tales of the Valiant Kickstarter books aren't receiving more attention, given their excellent execution of a 5E version. These books successfully create an independent version of 5E, maintaining compatibility, fixing exploits, modernizing rules, and enhancing the overall gaming experience.
One of the most significant changes is the introduction of a luck mechanic, replacing the traditional inspiration system. This new mechanic works well and addresses many issues plaguing the old system. It eliminates the 'missed by a few points' problem, enhancing the overall gameplay experience by removing adverse outcomes.
Some complained the game did not go far enough and introduced new mechanics. This is not that game; MCDM or DC20 will be the game for you, or even Shadowdark. This is the game you pick up if you want guilt-free 5E and want to keep compatibility with over 10 years of 3rd party books you still want to support and get more use out of.
This is 5E entering the OSR. We will see games split off and go their own way, with some compatible with 10 years of content and some not. Some will be flashes in the pan, and some will go big like Pathfinder 1e did during the 3.5E and 4E days.
Tales also avoids the predatory AAAA-game pricing and digital goods mess over on Wizards, and you own the PDFs here, too. If I can't download and own a PDF to read wherever and however I want, I will never buy or support it. I am not paying for digital books accessed through a website or subscription service.
Granted, I like my point-buy systems and GURPS. But when I am in the mood for 5E, this and Level Up are my games. Level Up is far more complicated, and ToV is a fast, streamlined, and compatible game version. ToV is my "quick play" game for 5E, which does an excellent job.
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