But Tales of the Valiant (and 5E) needs better exploration rules!
Um, incorrect. More and more, Tales of the Valiant is living up to the original dream of 5E being a "modular rule system" where you could plug in different rule modules and have a game that plays according to your preferences and tastes.
And the game is being built now. This was the genius behind ToV's "not doing anything new" with the rules; they needed a "basic set" to build upon. The game got roundly trashed for being "just a 5E clone," but we never saw the plans for this game, nor could we see how this was shaping up as a modular rules framework.
All that "extra stuff" we wanted them to do?
We are starting to see it now.
The Kobold Press store has an excellent series of "Book of Hex Crawl" games that create a more in-depth hex-crawl system than I have seen in many old-school games. It even includes a "food and water" chart that links to the fatigue system modeled after the original Outdoor Survival game, which inspired the 1974 D&D's overland rules.
These rules include structuring a hex-crawl game, encounters, weather, mapping, landmarks, factions, and every other part you could dream about having in a hex-crawl game. ToV supplies the rules framework, and this supplies the model of play.
Oh. So, ToV has excellent hex-crawl rules. I hope these get compiled into a hardcover someday.
The only other part of the equation here to having a "completely fixed 5E" is in-play options, such as making the game more deadly and old-school. I am sure the upcoming GM's guide will have rules for this, and you could always pull in rules from 5E Hardmode, or even the equally excellent 5E Hardcore Mode rules.
Both books make for a great, old-school feeling game with all the classes and rules you are familiar with. You can choose rules to customize your experience, all while using the core ToV books as the rules engine under the hood.
There is this sentiment that "5E is too easy, " which isn't true. D&D 2014 and 2024, played as-is, have this problem. Level Up A5E is better. ToV isn't as severely affected due to balance and monster fixes. ToV can be fixed quite easily, and is a much better base game due to its simplicity and streamlined nature. But I get it, a lot of people are trying to dump on 5E and make you feel powerless playing it.
But I would not use the above books with D&D. I have walked away from that game, and they do their own thing. What they did during the OGL disaster tells me they don't want open frameworks or communities. The Creative Commons was a good step, but we still need a leadership change and more openness from them, especially with legacy rulesets that people still enjoy. They have a long way to go.
With ToV, my investments in my 5E books are protected and forward-looking with new content.
Would I play a ToV "old school" game using the Book of Hexcrawl and the 5E Hardcore Mode books? You bet I would! I play my games "my way" and I am not beholden to a book.
ToV gives you the base for a modular framework without all the pressure of D&D Beyond to "conform to the rules as written so you can find a game." This is where you lack power, on online systems that force you to conform to one way of playing. This is where the peer pressure is. You are paying a monthly fee to get marketed to and pressured by others to conform.
The dream of Open 5E is still alive. This is a modular, pick-and-choose, mix-and-match, play-it-your-way world where your old 5E books aren't worthless. And you can play 5E "just like old-school games" if you want.
Don't let peer pressure push you back into that relationship with Wall Street. This is the first step in heading down the wrong path, leading you into a relationship where you are pressured to buy things, log in daily, and conform to a crowd of people who don't care about anything else than keeping people in the herd to protect their worthless digital "investments."
You can mix and match and do your own thing outside of that world.
It is a better place.
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