tuxgeo
Adventurer
a. Both Modular and Mutable: if the 1E DMG could contain a Random Dungeon Generator, then the 5E DMG should do five times as well: a Random Campaign Generator. (And if not in the DMG, then online.). . .
The point being, 5E HAS to be good, has to be wildly successful, has to break new ground and expand or--at the very least--re-invigorate the existing fan base and semi-retired fans. So a couple questions to ponder:
1) WHEN is the right time for 5E?
I would use the metaphor of surfing: if you jump on the wave too soon you'll just peeter out, if you wait too long you'll miss it; the timing has to be just right . . .
2) WHAT sort of game should 5E be?
Obviously it has to take advantage of computer technologies--D&D Insider is likely just the beginning, the awkward prototype. . . .
So what do you think? The floor is yours
b. Smart Power Cards. Currently, the 4E Power Cards don't use any currrent. They should. Let the 5E Power Cards have built-in circuitry, with solar cells for power and a LCD display for output, and connections for programming the cards with the right kinds of dice and pluses that you want to roll each time you use that power. To use the power, flip the card over and set it onto your "used" stack; the built-in sensor knows you have flipped it over and automatically displays the freshly-randomized new roll result on the LCD, located on the back side of the card from the power text.
c. More insidious. (Leave Palpatine out of this, please.) Instead of a Starter Set that lets the user try the game one time only (because then that adventure has already been played out), WotC should release a Basic Set with reduced options but lots of pre-gens, most especially including lots of pre-generated adventure scenarios; and including sufficient char-gen rules for making custom characters. This would be more insidious because it would get the players hooked on playing the game with only that one set; then, when they want to play in more depth, they have their own reasons for buying more product.
The hoped-for scenario among players' families is to have one Mom telling another, "We had some time, so we grabbed the D&D Basic Set and played that."
The scenario that should be avoided at all costs is for one Mom to tell another, "I bought Junior the D&D Basic Set and he played with it for one week, then never touched it again."
Here, replayability is key: without that, there is no good, customer-oriented reason for the product to exist. Word-of-mouth is crucial for that.
My ideal for such a product would have the following specifications:
(1). A single set of polyhedral dice. Just because it's traditional. Even if they only ever use the Smart Power Cards and never roll the darned things, those dice are geometrically fascinating.
(2). One poster-map displaying a loose, generic cluster of town or village buildings and near environs on one side, and a wilderness scene on the other side. Have all of the buildings be of generic or rectangular shape, so their identities are not determined by shape. ("Today, this map represents the village of Grump'olm. This side of the map is North, and that narrow little creek runs across the Southwest corner. The farthest outlying building is the temple, not the smithy, because the people of Grump'olm like to separate their faith from their daily lives.") The poster-map should not be usable as a playing surface due to its being large-scale; the gamers would have to use something else for a battlemat.
(3). One battlemat at 1" scale. Composition to be determined. Alternately, several small battlemats that can be taped side-to-side to make whatever size is called for in each adventure. (This latter approach would allow them to be limited to the size of the game box, and therefore always stay flat without needing to be rolled up for storage.)
(4). Generic counters or tokens to represent the PCs' locations. Do not use 3D miniatures for this because of size and weight; but more importantly, because of cost. Recall that the game of Monopoly has its racecar and shoe and top hat and scottie dog, etc.; let the D&D Basic Set have scads of painted flat plastic tokens to represent the character classes they are using, plus enough plastic "clip" bases to hold the PC tokens upright. Tokens for doors and chests, etc., would also be nice.
On this same point: have six tokens for each class that is included in the Basic Set, and distinguish one token of the same class from another by color. For example, include the Wizard class, and create six flat, plastic tokens that show one pose of the bust and arms of the "Adventuring Wizard" mini, but with different color schemes for each of six different wizards. That way, the players could all play Wizards at the same time if they wanted, but still could tell their characters apart. Or use poses of six different minis; that's really a business decision.
(5). DM rules similar to the set that was included in 4E H1 and Starter Set. That was well received.
(6). Player rules including character-generation of five included classes, five included races, and all powers up through some level that represents a natural stopping point. If 5E were scaled similarly to 4E, this should only go up to level five, because at that point the PC have learned exactly one new Utility, Encounter, and Daily power above character level one. (For 4E, I would have suggested Cleric, Fighter, Ranger, Rogue, Wizard classes, and Dwarf, Eladrin, Elf, Halfling, and Human races.)
On this same point, also include the Advancement Table through level 5; and explain the reasons for creating a backstory for your character.
(7). Two pre-generated characters of each one of the included classes, including one each of two different suggested builds. (That's one of the reasons I didn't include "Warlock" above: it has three suggested builds.)
On this same point: Don't include character tokens showing the pregenerated characters! Keep the tokens largely generic, for reusability.
(8). Feat rules. List most of the available Heroic Tier feats from the PHB. Leave out the race-specific and class-specific feats for the races and classes not included in the set. The list of feats could be a separate handout in fine print. Don't be afraid to use 6-pt. type to fit it onto a few pages: players won't need to read it often, and shouldn't need to read it during play.
OK, I have rattled on enough about this for now. Those are my ideas for 5E.
