D&D 5E Another D&D Next Playtest Survey

Tony Vargas · Jul 20, 2012

Cerebral Paladin said:
I checked D&D Next. I've hit the point where I expect that a finished, polished D&D Next will be my favorite edition, and I've also found it hard to keep checking D&D 3.X (my traditional answer) because I think that D&D Next is shaping up to be better. Sure, it's not done and we don't have access to the whole game yet. But I think that what we do have looks good.

Also, if I were them, one of the metrics I would be looking at would be the change in time over that answer. If on earlier polls it looked like:
10,000 respondents
1000 OD&D
3000 AD&D
1000 AD&D 2e
4000 D&D 3e
1000 D&D 4e

And then it looked like:
10,000 respondents
750 OD&D
2500 AD&D
750 AD&D 2e
1000 D&D 3e
1000 D&D 4e
4000 D&D Next,

that would tell them that D&D Next is being fairly successful in serving as people's favorite game, but doing a bad job of pulling in players from D&D 4e. (Obviously, the numbers are just made up.) In a perfect world, by the end of the process, 90% of the respondents would be checking D&D Next, with all previous editions being pulled from well. Of course, D&D Next is probably going to be imperfect at that, but getting some additional numbers to look at in terms of satisfaction is still useful.

Also consider that people are dropping out of the playtest. Adding D&D: Next to the 'favorite game' list thus confounds any measure of who's dropping out (showing extreme rejection) vs who's switching to it as their new favorite.

Lanefan · Jul 20, 2012

Tony Vargas said:
Also consider that people are dropping out of the playtest. Adding D&D: Next to the 'favorite game' list thus confounds any measure of who's dropping out (showing extreme rejection) vs who's switching to it as their new favorite.

If there's a large fall-off in playtest numbers it'll show in future polls: the total number of respondents will go down as not as many people are paying attention to what 5e and-or the playtest is doing.

And that, if I were WotC, would be highly concerning.

Lanefan

Sorrowdusk · Jul 20, 2012

Tony Vargas said:
Y'know, I loved that picture as a kid, it was one of the better ones in the old books, and one of the very few 'action' pics.

But, it broke several AD&D rules. You can't cast on the back of a galloping horse, for instance. And that zappy ray thing doesn't quite fit any old AD&D spell (which had definite descriptions).

Hum, no concentration checks back in those days?
And........no scorching ray like spell?

Mustrum_Ridcully · Jul 20, 2012

tuxgeo said:
I couldn't choose many 4E spells because very few were listed; but I did choose "Lance of Faith" and "Sacred Flame" for the Cleric. I would have chosen "Freezing Burst" for the Wizard if I had seen it. (If it was there, I missed it.)

More low-level spells are iconic than we were allowed to select at those low levels. I would have marked many more 0-Level and 1-Level spells if I had had the chance.

Buff spells such as "Cat's Grace" probably won't be included in 5E due to the flatter math, so I didn't mark any.

I chose not to select favorite spells that would work as Rituals instead, such as "Comprehend Language." I still would like such spells to be included; but I had to limit the choices, and the "would-work-as-a-ritual" factor introduced a systematic bias into my answers.

Some of the spells were mis-leveled. I think they meant to do that, but that is a bad way to formulate control questions, IMHO, and may well warp the results of the poll.

Actually, I'd love to see a return of these buff spells as something other than boring stat boosters.

I haven't gotten good ideas for all, but here are some:

Cat's Grace
Duration: 24 hours (see also text)
The target gains advantage on checks to climb and sneak, and takes only half damage from falls. The character can end the spell voluntarily as a reaction when he is hit by an attack, taking only half damage from the attack.

Bull's Strenth
Duration: 24 hours (see also text)
The target gains advantage on any checks to force open a door, or to push or pull something. He can carry twice his normal load in weight. The character can end the spell voluntary as part of a melee attack to inflict 1d10 extra damage.

Camel's Endurance (Bear doesn't really make sense, does it?)
Duration: 24 hours (see also text)
The spell provides enough sustenance in food and water for one day to the target. During this time, the target has advantage on all checks to resist strenous activity and he does not tire, even if he doesn't get to sleep.The character can end the spell voluntarily when spending a hit die to immediately regain that hit die.

Fox Cunning
Duration: 24 hours (see also text)
The character gains advantage on all knowledge related and information gathering checks. The character can voluntarily end the spell to reroll a single failed knowledge check.

Owl's Wisdom
Duration: 24 hours (see also text)
The character gains advantage on an checks to read people and notice or observe things. The character can voluntarily end the spell to reroll a single failed check.

Eagle's Splendor
Duration: 24 hours (see also text)
The character gains advantage on all social interaction checks. The character can voluntarily end the spell to reroll a single failed check.

I choose the duration of 24 hours because I am lazy and don't want to track the minituaes of time in my campaigns. The duration in combination with the effects may necessitate a higher level than normal. Or we reduce the effect (say, only 3 times in the duration the character has advantage for an appropriate check.)

El Mahdi · Jul 20, 2012

Mustrum_Ridcully said:
Actually, I'd love to see a return of these buff spells as something other than boring stat boosters.

I haven't gotten good ideas for all, but here are some:...

Very Nice. I love the approach to these. Definitely much better.

(I couldn't XP you though...I need to spread it out.

)

kitsune9 · Jul 20, 2012

I found this survey a bit difficult.

billd91 · Jul 20, 2012

Lanefan said:
If there's a large fall-off in playtest numbers it'll show in future polls: the total number of respondents will go down as not as many people are paying attention to what 5e and-or the playtest is doing.

And that, if I were WotC, would be highly concerning.

Lanefan

It might be, but hitting troughs in responses when it has been some time since the last play test materials were released wouldn't necessarily mean much. I would expect peaks and troughs to coincide with the release of play test materials and the longer times in between releases, respectively.

Tony Vargas · Jul 20, 2012

Sorrowdusk said:
Hum, no concentration checks back in those days?
And........no scorching ray like spell?

None, and very few. There was the Ray of Enfeeblement, but it didn't have that dramatic an effect, and was a slickly-grey, creepy sort of thing. There a version of Outiluke's Feezing Sphere that was a ray, but there's no frost on the guy or anything. There might have been another ray or two but their descriptions and effects don't match up.

But, in particular, no way to cast on a galloping horse.

pauljathome · Jul 20, 2012

Tony Vargas said:
None, and very few. There was the Ray of Enfeeblement, but it didn't have that dramatic an effect, and was a slickly-grey, creepy sort of thing. There a version of Outiluke's Feezing Sphere that was a ray, but there's no frost on the guy or anything. There might have been another ray or two but their descriptions and effects don't match up.

But, in particular, no way to cast on a galloping horse.

Sure there is. It is all an illusion. Fortunately, the guards are too stupid to realize that and disbelieve.

ZombieRoboNinja · Jul 20, 2012

Mustrum_Ridcully said:
Actually, I'd love to see a return of these buff spells as something other than boring stat boosters.

I haven't gotten good ideas for all, but here are some:

Cat's Grace
Duration: 24 hours (see also text)
The target gains advantage on checks to climb and sneak, and takes only half damage from falls. The character can end the spell voluntarily as a reaction when he is hit by an attack, taking only half damage from the attack.
...

I like what you've done here, but it could probably be simplified even further:

Aspect of the Wild
The caster imbues his target with the virtues of a wild beast. Choose one ability score from the list below. Until his next long rest or until 24 hours have passed (whichever happens first), the target gains advantage on all checks and contests based on that ability (not including attack rolls). The target can voluntarily end the effect early in order to reroll a check or contest based on that ability.

Cat's Grace: Dexterity
Bull's Strength: Strength
(etc)

It has the virtue of being more compact and the flaw of being less interesting and nuanced than your version.

(Oh, and in my official role as your editor, as written your Cat's Grace could be ended early to prevent damage from a fort- or will-based attack, and as written Bull Strength could be ended early to add damage to a spell or dex-based attack.

)