D&D 5E Discussion

[Alchemist]

Also, another of Spoony's complaints was that it doens't teach new players what D&D is about. He called 4e (and I'm agreeing with him on this) and easy to get into, but 5e is a lot more difficult for newbies.

Finally, the first 5 pages of the book are dedicated to explaining exactly what D&D is about, why people find it fun, etc.

Yep I was reading this section just this afternoon - and it's a pretty good introduction to D&D for total RPG newbies. I'm guessing Spoony didn't really read through the book and just skimmed it. Also the Starter Set is really what people should get if they're entirely new - that's what it's designed for.

 

[TigerKnee]

I'm guessing Spoony didn't really read through the book and just skimmed it.

Is it too much to expect Internet reviewers to at least do a through read of something before trying to review it?

 

[Alchemist]

- Too much balancing: now everyone can play everything, likely to prevent the stuff like "Why is my half-orc such a bad wizard? Why can't he be as good a wizard as an elf?"

What I've been hearing is the opposite: ability scores are so important now that you will only play the race that provides the modifiers your class needs most. Some races will never be played - the tiefling for example, provides a +1 to intelligence, which is now useless for everyone but a wizard - and the wizard will be playing something with a +2 to intelligence. Anyone else will choose a race that doesn't boost a dump stat.

Really? The Tiefling has +2 to charisma in addition to the +1 INT. They would make great sorcerers and warlocks - who both use Charisma as a primary stat. Also fire resistance, spells and cantrips as racial traits - they have plenty going for them.

 

[fastjack]

As someone who played quite a bit of 3.5 and Pathfinder (thought they were good for what they were) and a little bit of 4e (MMO: the game) I have been enjoying 5e quite a bit, in fact I think it might be my favorite edition of d&d so far.

 

[nikolokolus]

As someone who played quite a bit of 3.5 and Pathfinder (thought they were good for what they were) and a little bit of 4e (MMO: the game) I have been enjoying 5e quite a bit, in fact I think it might be my favorite edition of d&d so far.

Just curious, but did you ever play any of the TSR editions? If so, how does it stack up in "feel" compared to those games? I've read a good chunk of the free "Basic" pdf that WotC put out, but I've yet to actually play it.

 

[Spectacle]

Just curious, but did you ever play any of the TSR editions? If so, how does it stack up in "feel" compared to those games? I've read a good chunk of the free "Basic" pdf that WotC put out, but I've yet to actually play it.

After playing the playtest a bit, and the first part of the starter set adventure, I say it feels more like 2nd ed than any of the later editions. The rules are fast and light, and the combat system doesn't assume you're using miniatures.

 

[fastjack]

As someone who played quite a bit of 3.5 and Pathfinder (thought they were good for what they were) and a little bit of 4e (MMO: the game) I have been enjoying 5e quite a bit, in fact I think it might be my favorite edition of d&d so far.

Just curious, but did you ever play any of the TSR editions? If so, how does it stack up in "feel" compared to those games? I've read a good chunk of the free "Basic" pdf that WotC put out, but I've yet to actually play it.

I did not (except for crpg adaptations of course). However, like Spectacle says in play it feels much looser than the editions I did play (mostly 3.5 and PF) and as a GM I don't feel nearly as bound by the rules as I did in those editions. It also seems to encourage my players to roleplay more and play it less like it is a complicated boardgame or some such.

 

[nikolokolus]

Interesting. Well, anything that encourages players to actually roleplay and doesn't explicity reward min/maxing is a step in the right direction. I'm still pretty "meh" about a lot of the art I've seen, but maybe I will pick up a dead-tree copy. I'll have to talk with my face-to-face gaming peeps when we get done with our summer hiatus.

 

[LeStryfe79]

It's a "good for what it is" cross between 2nd and 3rd editions. Mods splat books will fix it.

 

[nikolokolus]

It's a "good for what it is" cross between 2nd and 3rd editions. Mods splat books will break it.

Fixed.

 

[primordial]

Thanks.


Yup. Compare:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIqtMFCFIc0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AqbB-Vuutng
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wJYV6-nlbo0

So he waited and played a few games before he commented on 4e, but didn't give the same privilege to 5e? It's obvious he didn't even read the book, just glanced through it.

Between no translations and no word yet on third party publishers being able to publish adventures using the 5th edition rules, I get the feeling the D&D brand really could face an uphill climb trying to regain market share from Paizo. Matt Finch (Swords & Wizardry Complete and Frog God Games guy) had an interesting blog post about this: http://swordsandwizardry.blogspot.com/2014/08/do-or-die-for-5e-d-third-party.html

It's not exactly an unbiased opinion. He has a financial interest in Wizards releasing licensing terms. If 5e hurts the sales of Pathfinder and there is no way for them to make money off 5e, their company will hurt.

 

[Kahlis]

Got my copy today. It doesn't reek of the soy ink or whatever nearly as badly as Spoony suggested of his.

 

[Jaesun]

D&D STREAMLINED EXTREME™ Edition

 

[nikolokolus]

Between no translations and no word yet on third party publishers being able to publish adventures using the 5th edition rules, I get the feeling the D&D brand really could face an uphill climb trying to regain market share from Paizo. Matt Finch (Swords & Wizardry Complete and Frog God Games guy) had an interesting blog post about this: http://swordsandwizardry.blogspot.com/2014/08/do-or-die-for-5e-d-third-party.html

It's not exactly an unbiased opinion. He has a financial interest in Wizards releasing licensing terms. If 5e hurts the sales of Pathfinder and there is no way for them to make money off 5e, their company will hurt.

I didn't say his opinion was unbiased, I said it was interesting.

 

[Alchemist]

D&D STREAMLINED EXTREME™ Edition

Streamlined maybe (compared to 4E and 3E / Pathfinder) - but extreme? I don't really see it. If anything they toned down the superhero-ness that plagued the previous two editions. The cover arts kind of give that vibe - but it doesn't carry through to the rest of it.

 

[nikolokolus]

Fuck it. I'm going to my FLGS and getting a copy after work. A couple of my gaming group people just asked me if we're gonna play it in a month when we dive back in. I s'pose I should reward WotC for trying to do right by the brand finally.

 

[Jaesun]

I wonder if anyone is ever going to make a cRPG with this new system?

 

[nikolokolus]

What's the status of the license? I completely stopped giving a shit ages ago.

 

[Alchemist]

I expect a free-to-pay tablet MMO with microtransactions is in the works...

What's the status of the license? I completely stopped giving a shit ages ago.

Good question - last I heard no publisher has any exclusive rights on D&D computer games. The Atari affiliation is long gone, and the only other current ones I know of are the MMOs (Neverwinter, and DDO). I think the ball is in Hasbro's court at the moment.

 

[J1M]

I expect a free-to-pay tablet MMO with microtransactions is in the works...

What's the status of the license? I completely stopped giving a shit ages ago.

Good question - last I heard no publisher has any exclusive rights on D&D computer games. The Atari affiliation is long gone, and the only other current ones I know of are the MMOs (Neverwinter, and DDO). I think the ball is in Hasbro's court at the moment.

Licensing details are expected to be revealed in January 2015.

 

[Alchemist]

I was feeling pretty good about what WotC has done with D&D 5E so far, then I read this: http://www.tenkarstavern.com/2014/08/looks-like-there-will-not-be-pdf.html

I think not having PDFs for sale is a mistake and it will just invite pirates to fill that niche. An app with the rules is cool to have, but it doesn't fulfill the same role that PDFs do. I hope they reconsider this strategy.

 

[J1M]

I was feeling pretty good about what WotC has done with D&D 5E so far, then I read this: http://www.tenkarstavern.com/2014/08/looks-like-there-will-not-be-pdf.html

I think not having PDFs for sale is a mistake and it will just invite pirates to fill that niche. An app with the rules is cool to have, but it doesn't fulfill the same role that PDFs do. I hope they reconsider this strategy.

The dungeonscape app they are building will have a PDF of the book bundled into it. So in a way, you can get the PDF but you have to use their app to view it...

 

[Alchemist]

I was feeling pretty good about what WotC has done with D&D 5E so far, then I read this: http://www.tenkarstavern.com/2014/08/looks-like-there-will-not-be-pdf.html

I think not having PDFs for sale is a mistake and it will just invite pirates to fill that niche. An app with the rules is cool to have, but it doesn't fulfill the same role that PDFs do. I hope they reconsider this strategy.

The dungeonscape app they are building will have a PDF of the book bundled into it. So in a way, you can get the PDF but you have to use their app to view it...

True but the Dungeonscape app will have different formatting, and not include all the artwork - they've said this on the Dungeonscape site. Some people will really just want a digital version of the print book, and the only way to get that will be through pirating. And some people don't want to mess with yet another app / service. PDF is a standardized format that works and can be used forever, offline, on any platform. The app may or may not be around in 10 years.

 

[nikolokolus]

I was feeling pretty good about what WotC has done with D&D 5E so far, then I read this: http://www.tenkarstavern.com/2014/08/looks-like-there-will-not-be-pdf.html

I think not having PDFs for sale is a mistake and it will just invite pirates to fill that niche. An app with the rules is cool to have, but it doesn't fulfill the same role that PDFs do. I hope they reconsider this strategy.

I have zero doubts in my mind that somebody will take the time to disassemble a hardback and scan every single page into a pdf and then put into the wilds for consumption. I get that they are worried about lost sales, but I think it also shows a lack of confidence in their product in a way - I can think of at least a dozen cases where the purchase of a pdf product lead me to buy the dead-tree copy of something (DCC RPG, Astonishing Swordsmen & Sorcerers of Hyperborea, Runequest 6, Swords & Wizardry Complete, Rappan Athuk, etc.) I never would have picked up a physical copy of these books without knowing what the layout/art looked like and dipping my toes in with a pdf was critical in those purchases. The second issue I have is that even if they have a D&D app that lays out the rules, is it going to be subscription based, will be it be available on every platform that it needs to be, how expensive will it be, etc.?

 

[Irenaeus]

I'm really liking this so far, happy I bought all books they announced.