Tales & Battlezoo = My D&D

There is an innocence and clean implementation of Tales of the Valiant that I really appreciate. This is the best "generic 5E" you can get, and unlike D&D, I don't have to keep telling myself excuses to justify playing the game, despite all its baggage from Wizards.

I grew tired of the constant virtue signaling in the art, the absolute disaster of the OGL, them telling an entire group of players they could not leave fast enough, and all the terrible, negative, hurtful things they did over the years. The warning labels on the older books were like those on cigarette cartons. The disrespect thrown at the game's original creators.

There comes a point where you prove the company is unworthy of carrying the legacy forward, and Wizards has done that over and over again. And I don't really trust "the new guy" since these people come and go every few years. I saw this with the D&D 3E, 3.5E, 4E, 5E, and 5.5E teams and creators. Nobody stays at Wizards for long. In a few years, it will likely all be run by AI anyway.

Tales of the Valiant has a no-AI pledge, and the company needs this game to be their lifeline should 5E get dumped into the dustbin of history by Wizards, and make no mistake, that day is coming. They say 5E is evergreen, but history proves that a new team will make something new, and that will be the next, new, official thing.

The 5E "platform", just like the Linux "platform", is a solid, workable, good system. Just like there are some Linux vendors I can't stand, there are some 5E vendors I refuse to work with. One of them is Wizards, despite my memories, nostalgia, and history. I support the 5E platform, not D&D.

ToV was written as a beginner's game, and it was criticized for offering only two subclass choices per class; this was later addressed in the Player's Guide 2. Then again, for a beginner's game, I only want two subclass choices per class instead of D&D's four per class. The book gets too big for new players to grasp; there are too many choices, and those entering the hobby will walk away with choice paralysis.

Two clear choices are better than four for a starter game, and the ToV ones are very clear, offering "A or B" choices that support new players, and don't leave me feeling "did I make the wrong choice?"

ToV feels like old-school Labyrinth Lord back in the day. The "no baggage" and "clean support" version of BX that introduced me to the OSR. I have my original BX books, but I still chose LL over that. LL had the support, community, and love of its creator to drive interest. There is no "product identity" in here lying in wait as a trap, so I can't share content; if it is in the Black Flag SRD, it is pretty widely supported everywhere.

ToV's designs are close to the original 2014 standards, and all the "roleplay" powers are bept intact. A clear example is the ranger. The D&D 2024 version of the ranger feels like a combat-only class that focuses more on tactical battles, and the nature and roleplay powers were stripped out, likely because they were harder to support in a (now defunct) VTT.

Tales of the Valiant's ranger preserves the nature skills and abilities, and it aligns closely with my ideas of what the "5E ranger" is all about. I want a design closer to 2014 than Tasha's or 2024, and ToV hits that nail on the head. ToV keeps the best parts of the game, fixes all the problems, and creates a "clean room" version of 5E that can be supported forever.

D&D 2024 will only last as long as it takes Wizards to pump out a new version of D&D, and the life left in 5E as "the D&D system" is on a short clock. If the 2024 version failed, it would trigger the official D&D 5E support's sunset phase.

I would rather have a system that will be around a long time. And that is Tales of the Valiant.

The Battlezoo books complement the game perfectly, adding all sorts of all-ages fun while preserving the innocence of the core game. These are my "expansion books" that fill in a bunch of thematic gaps, and add a wealth of new options for dragons, monster training, and a rich assortment of other backgrounds to play.

If I am going to invest in a Battlezoo campaign and the hardcovers, I am going to invest in a 5E system that won't be replaced a few years down the road.

And there are all sorts of fun things to play here, and so many adventures to be had with all of these wonderful books. The Roll for Combat team "gets it," and they keep their books family-friendly while overdelivering value and creativity. These are fun books meant to engage your imagination, 5E system-neutral, and highly compelling, delivering enjoyment.

If I wanted to play a dragon, I could play a dragon.

Instead of promising adventure and delivering virtue signaling, these books expand what is possible and deliver amazing potential and infinite stories. They stay out of politics. They stay out of the online culture wars. I want an escape from this world, and they deliver.

ToV does the same; it doesn't insult old-school players by removing orcs and goblins from the bestiary. If I want them, they are there, just like they were in 2014 D&D. Nobody is making that choice for me; I make it. D&D 2024 feels the need to make these choices for us, and it rubs me the wrong way, like the designers are making a value judgment on me and how I play, and that is no place for them to be.

Sometimes the best thing a designer can do is stay out of my game.

But these days, I only want positive influences and happy games that don't trigger hurtful feelings or memories. I don't want to see the war on the Internet all over the pages of a game I use to escape it. I want something suitable for everybody, without hidden sex coding or demon fetishes all over the art.

If I want mature concepts or the sensitive topic of devil worship, I will add them myself. My choice: stay out of it, agenda-driven design team. A family-friendly game that avoids prejudging old-school players gives me the room to make that choice.

All of this works together so well, and the Battlezoo books are the last reason I keep 5E around on my game table. Highly engaging and worth the money.

Mail Room: Battlezoo Hardcovers

The Roll for Combat Battlezoo hardcovers are one of the only things keeping 5E around for me. I got a few in the mail from the latest crowdfunding campaign, and I like them so much that I keep 5E on my shelves, using Tales of the Valiant as the game's driving engine.

The books are all ages, with no "sexual coding" in them, meant for everybody, and they have an innocence and fun factor to them. Even Tales of the Valiant has that "for everybody" innocence, something I wish D&D had. You can play a dragon, or a mimic, or a vampire, or a gargoyle, or...

It is just fun.

Innocent.

Cool.

And the books are fun.

Recommended, and if this is all you have out for 5E, plus the ToV books, it is a fun and worthy game.

BattleZoo Hardcovers for 5E

The Roll for Combat 5E books are a delightful blend of Pathfinder 2E and 5E options and ancestries, monsters, and quirky settings. They offer a lighthearted, more kid-friendly view of 5E and character options, making them a unique and exciting addition to your RPG collection. Whether you want to play as a dragon or a mimic, these books have got you covered. And while you might become a bit overpowered in some aspects, a simple adjustment to the adventure challenges will keep the game balanced and enjoyable.

The art here is more suitable for kids, and I prefer this to the current modern-style art in many books, which comes across as defensive, ham-fisted, and a bit silly. I love old-school art, but this all-ages style is an excellent second place, and I prefer this to the modern people in fantasy D&D 2024 art. The art team here is careful not to interject "their ideas of what your game should be" in the imagery, and they just illustrate and inspire instead of screaming a viewpoint at you. It is a good, middle-of-the-road art direction suitable for all ages, and I appreciate the effort to maintain tone and consistency - and the art is super high-quality throughout.

When the designers create ancestries, they do "ancestry feats" that increase power as you level, like in Pathfinder 2E. I would love to see this team rebuild the core races with these leveled feats, but then again, if you want that, play Pathfinder 2E. Still, I would love to see them remake elves, drow, dwarves, halflings, humans, and dragon-born races with their own "spin" on things.

These books, mixed with a neutral 5E system, such as Tales of the Valiant, make for a great combination. ToV makes for a perfect "books plus" game for most 3rd party content; it keeps 99% of 2014 compatibility, the books are self-contained, and it stays far away from the mess of Wizards and the paywall walled garden.

I just want PDFs, books, and a stable, sane version of the 5E rules without a dramatically new system added to the game. Level Up A5E is impressive, but for third-party books like BattleZoo, having a clean-room core system makes playing them all the better.

ToV does the job of being that clean room. 2014 version, 5E core system, without the baggage or controversy.

This team does a lot of fantastic stuff, and while the art is more for kids than the 'edgy mature crowd' or 'old school purists' - I appreciate the quality and strong consistency here. The art isn't "too modern" because D&D 2024's self-referential art feels like looking at people from a gaming convention rather than adventurers in a fantasy world. Here, the art stays "in character" and "in the world," and the feeling of "looking into a strange world" is powerful.

They have a campaign adventure, a battle pets book, and many books covering alternate ancestries, and they are really one of the best "imagination-themed" books out there for both 5E and Pathfinder 2 right now. If you had a kid at your table "wanting to play a dragon," you could make it work with these books. And instead of making "everything the same" as the current version of D&D tends to do, this leans into making every ancestry "different and special" - which is a far more laudable goal than giving up and saying "anyone is anything and it is all the same."

In one of the books, you can play a dungeon. It is hilarious, but the idea of a sentient dungeon improving and gaining levels to create deeper levels and more challenges is fantastic and creative. The level one Tomb of Horrors was probably a giant rat in a 20x20 room, with a puzzle about 'sand and time' on a locked chest with 200 silver pieces.

That's it! Come back next time; one of the first halls may be ready!

These are highly imaginative books where choices have meaning, and the options are all equally good. Parts of these books are silly, stupid, and hilarious - which is what a lot of gaming is missing. The fun is back with these books. Some choices will likely cause "imbalances," but who cares when you are having fun? Just tweak your encounters or toss in enemies that can fly, too.

Highly recommended if you are into very imaginative play where who you are matters, and the theme of your adventures revolves around the progression of yourself and how the world around you reacts to that.

Mail Room: Battlezoo Ancestries Dragons 5E

I initially dismissed the Roll for Combat books as not for me or a little too cute for my tastes.

I was wrong; these are very high-quality books. They also fit in any campaign type, especially the ancestries books. In fact, they are doing more to make 5E accessible to a younger audience than even Wizards, but these books can also be played seriously. They have unique, cute art - but they are what you make of them. I can see kids wanting to play a party of dragons, and this book lets that happen.

I am really impressed by their content, quality, and production - and these will make a fine addition to my Open 5E library. Of anything, they are highly creative and well-designed rule frameworks for a more comprehensive ancestry choice where you can level up and power up your dragon.

I like supporting these types of Open 5E books, things that aren't "bog standard" D&D with that human-elf-dragonborn axis of power. Many Wizards settings are "same-y" with the same collection of backgrounds doing the same thing against the same foes. Books like this force me to think outside of my box and dream of new things, other stories I can play, and not the thee-thou pseudo-Renaissance setting they present too many times before.

They expand the focus on 5E, which is a good thing. I am looking forward to the hardcover for this, and it looks exciting.