Free Basic!

In an article posted by Mike Mearls, he details what will probably be the hook that lures a lot of players over to 5E. Although many of those players may not spend a dime on WotC products. The announcement is that, when the Starter Set is released, WotC will also release what is being called Basic D&D as a free PDF file.

Basic will allow you to play a Fighter, Wizard, Cleric or Rogue, using the core 5E rules, and taking them all the way to level 20. For races, you will be able to pick from Human, Elf, Dwarf, and Halfling.

In my head, I am already planning out my own expansions, such as new races (Half-Orcs, duh!) and new classes (Ranger and Barbarians, obviously). And, I have a feeling that a lot of other OSR-fans, particularly those with many levels in the Grongnard class, will be doing much of the same thing.

Personally, as a chronic RPG Tinkerer, this is a boon. I'm going to have fun with it. And, truth be told, I imagine that it will make me that much more likely to just invest the cash for the core books eventually.