D&D 5E Discussion

[nikolokolus]

It is sad, because they had a great thing with 4e

There is nothing about 4e that isn't shit.

I think 4E would be more fondly remembered if they had released a turn-based CRPG using the rule set. It offered a lot of interesting tactical considerations in combat that were kind of a PITA to keep track of in a PnP session but would be awesome with a computer to handle it all.

Pretty much. There was a 4e game I played in off and on for a couple of years that eventually went into epic levels. It wasn't unusual for a bog standard combat to last 2 hours or more. For somebody who actually enjoys the roleplay bits and exploration outside of combat it turned the game into a major slog for me and sapped any enthusiasm I might have had for it (which was never great to begin with).

The other thing that really annoyed me is that it basically homogenized the hell out of all of the classes. Fighters with daily, encounter and at-will powers were essentially no different than magic-users, rogues, or whatever else - the fluff text was different, but the way they "felt" in combat was almost indistinguishable. I know they were trying to "fix" a perceived problem with fight-y types being boring compared to other classes, but that was always part of the appeal of the older editions; you picked a class with tradeoffs in mind: You might choose to play a fighter because they were easier to survive with at low levels and they weren't as fiddly to deal with, but you had the knowledge that your "power curve" was going to be flatter than a magic-user who somehow survived long enough to start casting fireballs and fly.

 

[Alchemist]

It is sad, because they had a great thing with 4e

There is nothing about 4e that isn't shit.

I think 4E would be more fondly remembered if they had released a turn-based CRPG using the rule set. It offered a lot of interesting tactical considerations in combat that were kind of a PITA to keep track of in a PnP session but would be awesome with a computer to handle it all.

The closest thing they had to that was the Heroes of Neverwinter 4E-based Facebook game which was turn-based, tactical and eventually cancelled - because Facebook.

If only they had developed it for a real gaming platform, and with a bit more depth, it could have gone somewhere.

I felt that 4E was an alright tactical minis skirmish game - but not a good D&D game.

 

[Night Goat]

I think 4E would be more fondly remembered if they had released a turn-based CRPG using the rule set. It offered a lot of interesting tactical considerations in combat that were kind of a PITA to keep track of in a PnP session but would be awesome with a computer to handle it all.

That's the great irony of Fourth Edition. It was designed to be like a video game, but was never turned into one.

 

[Mangoose]

Don't worry, PoE will be your 4E CRPG of choice with At Wills, Encounters, and Dailies On Rest abilities.

 

[Spectacle]

Don't worry, PoE will be your 4E CRPG of choice with At Wills, Encounters, and Dailies On Rest abilities.

And RTwP

 

[Grunker]

I think 4E would be more fondly remembered if they had released a turn-based CRPG using the rule set. It offered a lot of interesting tactical considerations in combat that were kind of a PITA to keep track of in a PnP session but would be awesome with a computer to handle it all.

That's the great irony of Fourth Edition. It was designed to be like a video game, but was never turned into one.

Amen.

 

[primordial]

I wish they released the core rulebooks without useless fluff and art. I'd be quite content with just purely the mechanics.

I think 4E would be more fondly remembered if they had released a turn-based CRPG using the rule set. It offered a lot of interesting tactical considerations in combat that were kind of a PITA to keep track of in a PnP session but would be awesome with a computer to handle it all.

That's the great irony of Fourth Edition. It was designed to be like a video game, but was never turned into one.

It was turned into Neverwinter, an MMORPG. Though it barely resembles the 4e system.

 

[Broseph]

Monsters from Legacy of the Crystal shard playtest adventure converted to 5e

http://t.co/X1EmJOCudk

Click the link, it will download the pdf.

They look ok, kind of a mix of 4e and 3e stat blocks. That's cool, I really liked the 4e method of monster stats. Unfortunately, they have reverted to the 3e and prior habit of giving some monsters and enemies PC class spells, which really sucks and reeks of lazy design.

 

[Night Goat]

I wish they released the core rulebooks without useless fluff and art. I'd be quite content with just purely the mechanics.

That's what 3e did with the SRD, and it became the most successful PNP RPG in the world. Then Pathfinder did the same thing, and it became the most successful PNP RPG in the world. You'd think that having a 1:1 ratio with being the most successful PNP RPG in the world would be a good endorsement for having an SRD in the new edition, but then you'd be smarter than the suits at Hasbro.

Unfortunately, they have reverted to the 3e and prior habit of giving some monsters and enemies PC class spells, which really sucks and reeks of lazy design.

I emphatically disagree. Writing up a new description for every ability a monster has would waste a huge amount of space, and it would be a lot harder to remember what everything does. Keep in mind that some monsters have dozens of spell-like-abilities - why write up new abilities if they do the same thing as existing spells?

 

[primordial]

That's what 3e did with the SRD, and it became the most successful PNP RPG in the world. Then Pathfinder did the same thing, and it became the most successful PNP RPG in the world. You'd think that having a 1:1 ratio with being the most successful PNP RPG in the world would be a good endorsement for having an SRD in the new edition, but then you'd be smarter than the suits at Hasbro.

Yeah, it did, but I don't think anyone compiled the SRD in a well designed, nicely stylized book. We had some mediocre products like the Mongoose Player's Handbook which was a softcover and black and white. I really dislike reading black text on a white background and gray charts. I like the Basic D&D style, the light brown parchment with the font styles and color charts makes it really easy to read and I honestly don't miss the art. I think the only place I would miss the art would be the Monster Manual.

 

[Don Peste]

Everything in the link $4.99 with free shipping: http://www.artscow.com/photo-gifts/everything499
I think I'm going to order this bag http://www.artscow.com/photo-gifts/drawstring-pouch-medium/drawstring-pouch-medium-1402

It says images of 1800x2300 or higher. Any [D&D] suggestions?
I ordered this some time ago:

Spoiler

 

[Night Goat]

Keeping your dice bag with your Nazi and North Korean memorabilia, you sir are a true Codexer

 

[nikolokolus]

What faggotry is this?

Everybody knows there's only one real dice bag for the gamer of discerning taste

Spoiler

 

[Broseph]

PHB Review

http://www.actsofgeek.com/2014/08/rpg-review-dd-players-handbook/

 

[primordial]

PHB Review

http://www.actsofgeek.com/2014/08/rpg-review-dd-players-handbook/

Looking forward to a lot of detailed reviews over the next week.

 

[J1M]

PHB Review

http://www.actsofgeek.com/2014/08/rpg-review-dd-players-handbook/

That is not a review. It is a boring description of what the book looks like. I doubt he even read the book.

 

[evdk]

PHB Review

http://www.actsofgeek.com/2014/08/rpg-review-dd-players-handbook/

That is not a review. It is a boring description of what the book looks like. I doubt he even read the book.

Who reads books these days? Granpda pls go, you are embarrassing the family.

 

[primordial]

That is not a review. It is a boring description of what the book looks like. I doubt he even read the book.

It has multiple parts and is still ongoing. Of course, that aside, he is obviously not really reading the book and his comments are uninformed at best. His commentary on mounted combat in part 2 was "Oh, mounted combat has made a return. Joy." Real in depth and fascinating commentary, he will probably win a Pulitzer for this magnificent work. I am not certain if it is because of a lack of intelligence in general or he just can't be bothered with doing a fully knowledgeable review. In either case he probably shouldn't be reviewing the book.

 

[J1M]

That is not a review. It is a boring description of what the book looks like. I doubt he even read the book.

It has multiple parts and is still ongoing. Of course, that aside, he is obviously not really reading the book and his comments are uninformed at best. His commentary on mounted combat in part 2 was "Oh, mounted combat has made a return. Joy." Real in depth and fascinating commentary, he will probably win a Pulitzer for this magnificent work. I am not certain if it is because of a lack of intelligence in general or he just can't be bothered with doing a fully knowledgeable review. In either case he probably shouldn't be reviewing the book.

It is click-bait. The content never mattered. Let's discuss something else.

 

[Alchemist]

Yeah the reviews on that site (even the multi-part rules discussion) are amateurish and lacking in depth. I'll wait for reviews from more trusted and professional sources.

 

[Broseph]

I can't wait to see what the creator of MC Killzalot thinks is inspirational.

People over at enworld have started receiving their PHBs and are answering questions. Here is a scan of the 'inspirational material' in the PHB:

Weird, I don't see ASOIAF there

 

[tuluse]

Weird, I don't see ASOIAF there

Slightly above half way, right side.

 

[Alchemist]

That's awesome that they included Gygax's original Appendix N. Might be quite eye-opening for some of the younger players. Bonus points for adding Clark Ashton Smith and China Miéville.

 

[Night Goat]

I see The Book of the New Sun is on there too.

Strange that they only list one Clark Ashton Smith story, though, since so many of his works seem more d&d-ish. Also, where the fuck is Joe Abercrombie?

 

[Alchemist]

Strange that they only list one Clark Ashton Smith story, though, since so many of his works seem more d&d-ish. Also, where the fuck is Joe Abercrombie?

I think they meant the Return of the Sorcerer "best of" compilation book which includes a large selection of his short stories. But yeah, would've been nice if they clarified that.