Olgar Shiverstone
Legend
5E Playtest 4 Packet observations
A running set of observations as I read:
- Classes seem to be getting closer to their 3E counterparts as they grow.
- The Fighter's expertise die looks better balanced. But then the Rogue killed him and took his stuff. Really, they should try and make the two more distinct; instead, they have the same mechanics even if the maneuvers are different. The fighter has a few more but the rogue's are more flexible because you can pick instead of being on a fixed progression Boooring.
- How is a maneuver every other level different than a feat every other level? (Again ... flash back to 3E design).
- Woohoo! Proficient with thieve's tools at 1st level! We need this ... why?
- Wizards as tough as rogues? Well, they're more survivable, I guess. A max of two spells per day per level really sucks, though. That's not much magic for the casting, even with at-willls. It doesn't allow for enough flexibility for the wizard, IMO. I don't want him to overshadow other characters, but I'm not sure he looks as fun as before. I'm a fan of more spells/choices, but weaken the spells to achieve balance rather than reducing the number available.
- We've renamed feats to maneuvers and gotten ... feats. Sneak attack os more powerful -- flanking not required, just an enemy in reach. Rogues will rule in cooperative fighting (though fighters can beat them with Deadly Strike all the time, so at least they are overshadowed). But we've gone from feats that work all the time, to feats that work only on rounds when you spend dice. More dice rolling, less consistency. Erm. Of course, there are feats still, too, whether tied to backgrounds or not.
- I like the various background specialists. It certainly looks like they can be applied to multiple class types.
- It's remarkable how the spell power levels, effects, damage die, etc seem to be drifting back to 3E-equivalents. The lack of scaling is a net positive, I think. 1st level spells aren't as overwhelming (except perhaps Thunderwave); I'm not sure Fly should come back as a 3d level spell with an hour duration, though since it only affects one creature and at most you get two per day, it shouldn't completely break an adventure.
- I think the armor balance is pretty much right on at this point. All the armor categories fit. Weapons look about right, though I miss 2d6 Greatswords and one/two-handed Bastard swords -- unless I'm a small character, there's no reason to pick a Bastard sword when a greatsword is available.
- Maneuvers in combat (grab, disarm, etc) seem simple and intuitive for a change.
- Critical hits have become really ... critical! Perhaps a bit too overwhelming, except that the additional damage only applies to PCs and monsters with character classes.
- TWF is actually straightforward, though you'll be rolling a lot of dice. We'll see how it comes out in playtest. I suspect it plays pretty well.
- I don't see why you have to have 1 hp to take a long rest, when you heal to 1 hp in 2d6 hours from zero. Why not just allow a long rest?
- Lots of monsters! The numbers look more reasonable; hard to tell without actual play.
Overall ... still a love child of B/XD&D and 3.5E, perhaps a bit too close to 3.5E in complexity, as complexity grows with each playtest release. It looks/feels like D&D, though it still needs some tweaks (wizard & rogue, I'm looking at you). I suspect I could be happy playing it, though I'd like to see some more classes to be sure.
Discuss!
A running set of observations as I read:
- Classes seem to be getting closer to their 3E counterparts as they grow.
- The Fighter's expertise die looks better balanced. But then the Rogue killed him and took his stuff. Really, they should try and make the two more distinct; instead, they have the same mechanics even if the maneuvers are different. The fighter has a few more but the rogue's are more flexible because you can pick instead of being on a fixed progression Boooring.
- How is a maneuver every other level different than a feat every other level? (Again ... flash back to 3E design).
- Woohoo! Proficient with thieve's tools at 1st level! We need this ... why?
- Wizards as tough as rogues? Well, they're more survivable, I guess. A max of two spells per day per level really sucks, though. That's not much magic for the casting, even with at-willls. It doesn't allow for enough flexibility for the wizard, IMO. I don't want him to overshadow other characters, but I'm not sure he looks as fun as before. I'm a fan of more spells/choices, but weaken the spells to achieve balance rather than reducing the number available.
- We've renamed feats to maneuvers and gotten ... feats. Sneak attack os more powerful -- flanking not required, just an enemy in reach. Rogues will rule in cooperative fighting (though fighters can beat them with Deadly Strike all the time, so at least they are overshadowed). But we've gone from feats that work all the time, to feats that work only on rounds when you spend dice. More dice rolling, less consistency. Erm. Of course, there are feats still, too, whether tied to backgrounds or not.
- I like the various background specialists. It certainly looks like they can be applied to multiple class types.
- It's remarkable how the spell power levels, effects, damage die, etc seem to be drifting back to 3E-equivalents. The lack of scaling is a net positive, I think. 1st level spells aren't as overwhelming (except perhaps Thunderwave); I'm not sure Fly should come back as a 3d level spell with an hour duration, though since it only affects one creature and at most you get two per day, it shouldn't completely break an adventure.
- I think the armor balance is pretty much right on at this point. All the armor categories fit. Weapons look about right, though I miss 2d6 Greatswords and one/two-handed Bastard swords -- unless I'm a small character, there's no reason to pick a Bastard sword when a greatsword is available.
- Maneuvers in combat (grab, disarm, etc) seem simple and intuitive for a change.
- Critical hits have become really ... critical! Perhaps a bit too overwhelming, except that the additional damage only applies to PCs and monsters with character classes.
- TWF is actually straightforward, though you'll be rolling a lot of dice. We'll see how it comes out in playtest. I suspect it plays pretty well.
- I don't see why you have to have 1 hp to take a long rest, when you heal to 1 hp in 2d6 hours from zero. Why not just allow a long rest?
- Lots of monsters! The numbers look more reasonable; hard to tell without actual play.
Overall ... still a love child of B/XD&D and 3.5E, perhaps a bit too close to 3.5E in complexity, as complexity grows with each playtest release. It looks/feels like D&D, though it still needs some tweaks (wizard & rogue, I'm looking at you). I suspect I could be happy playing it, though I'd like to see some more classes to be sure.
Discuss!
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