D&D 5E 3 Questions on how 5e is being used

I have some burning questions for 5th edition gamers. Hopefully, you guys can answer them. It'll help me prepare for the Cha'alt kickstarter launching just before Thanksgiving...


1) Back in the day, when playing AD&D many gamers defaulted to the basic version of the game, similar to original D&D, rather than using all the extra mechanical bells and whistles contained within the AD&D rulebooks.

What I want to know is how many 5e gamers play their D&D in a simplified or old school / OSR way?

Specificly, would you consider full 5e stat-blocks to be essential in a 5e compatible product, or would providing the most important stuff be an option / acceptable?

2) Since official D&D 5e settings are few and far between, how much campaign setting material would you like to see in a published adventure?

3) How much guidance (or hand-holding, if you prefer) would be ideal, in your view? A sentence here and there about the designer's intention or what's going on in general? Paragraphs on setting things up before each chapter? Or pages about how to run scenarios with boxed text and sidebars containing GM advice throughout the book?

____


Thanks for taking the time to answer this questionnaire! Keep an eye on this blog for mentions of the upcoming Cha'alt news.


VS

1: Back in the day, we switched to AD&D from basic, mostly since we did not know better and TSR did not do a great job explaining to versions to a 8 year old, or even my father who bought all the books. I remember feeling that it was better than the older edition since I could be an elf and a fighter rather than just an elf. Same as when I switched to 3e and found that my dwarf cleric could now get to 20th level, or I could be a dwarf mage. I like 5e where you can spend all the time you want designing a character or get one going in 5 minutes and start playing. Players fall between the 2 extremes I think and some are more into gaming than others and some just want to come and play.

2: In adventures I would want little world setting material if it is for a homebrew or 3pp setting. Right now I'm playing in FR and can use those modules fine and new ones that take place there are fine, but I still do not need a ton of story. I sometimes take a module and insert it into an ongoing campaign so anything I play needs to modified some already to fit into the region and setting I have started. Contained elements such as a shop and the owner can be more fleshed out, but the world elements such as mages are hunted out of fear is something I do not need.

3: I have been playing for a long time and still find having some notes on how the writer was planning things to be something I could use. I still like descriptive text or boxed test to lead into an encounter, but may will tell you they do not like it. I like to read about playtesting and how things ran compared to what was designed.

1) If a product advertises itself as 5e compatible I would expect the full stat blocks and 5e conversion to be there so that I don't have to do the work myself. But if it was billed as a more generic adventure my expectations would be different.

2) A summary of setting details that are relevant to the adventure is always appreciated. While I mostly run in homebrew settings this type of broader context is nice to understand and can help inspire me to make things work with my own world. I find that some of the WotC APs struggle with this a bit. A lot of the time it's "you have to defeat villain X" without being told who they are and why they are bad.

3) For me, a chapter introduction should be about a page maximum to explain things at a high level. Any more than that and it becomes tedious.
For low level details I like when scenarios are well fleshed out so that when the unexpected happens I have a full understanding of whats going on to respond.
I generally prefer to have leeway to interpret NPCs in a variety of ways to tune them to interact with the party in a fun way.

VengerSatanis said:

I have some burning questions for 5th edition gamers. Hopefully, you guys can answer them. It'll help me prepare for the Cha'alt kickstarter launching just before Thanksgiving...


1) Back in the day, when playing AD&D many gamers defaulted to the basic version of the game, similar to original D&D, rather than using all the extra mechanical bells and whistles contained within the AD&D rulebooks.

What I want to know is how many 5e gamers play their D&D in a simplified or old school / OSR way?

Specificly, would you consider full 5e stat-blocks to be essential in a 5e compatible product, or would providing the most important stuff be an option / acceptable?

2) Since official D&D 5e settings are few and far between, how much campaign setting material would you like to see in a published adventure?

3) How much guidance (or hand-holding, if you prefer) would be ideal, in your view? A sentence here and there about the designer's intention or what's going on in general? Paragraphs on setting things up before each chapter? Or pages about how to run scenarios with boxed text and sidebars containing GM advice throughout the book?

____


Thanks for taking the time to answer this questionnaire! Keep an eye on this blog for mentions of the upcoming Cha'alt news.


VS

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1 I prefer at least full stat block for new or custom foes (there should be these) but can be fine with abbreviated statblocks for std or wandering.

2 i value portability so i want at least one site (village or crossing or dig with npcs and fun stuff) that i can grab and move plus the traditional main conflict map. If ehat i get is only usable for this one thing, i feel it wadnt worth it.

3 for me, the big value is in synopsis, summary, timelines and "other options and wing it" suggestions. Give me a good framework to play in.

Scene text blocks, meh.

1) Stat blocks for new stuff, line descriptions for standard monsters is fine. Minor customizations like "Ogre, but double HP and +2 AC" are OK as line descriptions.

2) Less setting the better. I don't look at adventures for the setting.

3) Designer notes to explain reasoning and expectations for how certain locations might play out are always appreciated.

1) I tend to use more complexity where possible. Old School is nice, but we stopped doing some things that way for a good reason.
I like full statblocks in my products, but not necessarily in line during the adventure. Flipping to the back for an appendix is fine. Or just have a reference to the MM. Using an existing monster buy adding a trait or tweaking the numbers is also fine.

2) As much as necassary to play. Published campaign adventures should supplement a full campaign product, expanding lore on the location, but also be able to function alone.

3) Personally, I love designer diary notes and behind the curtain notes.

1) Content is better than stat blocks. If you're talking about an Elf priest at 6th level instead of 5th level, wouldn't need a full stat block, just the important modifications from the default (e.g. +6 hp, + whatever spell slots and either replace this spell with that or have your own stat block spell list). Of course, the best of all worlds is content + free web enhancement for monster stat blocks like "Red Hand of Doom" did in 3rd edition.

2) Little. An adventure is purchased for the puzzles, combats, challenges, maps, NPCs, and so on, that can be inserted into any ongoing campaign with little effort, whether it be Forgotten Realms or a homebrew world.

3) I prefer a strategy blurb and perhaps a roleplay tic for NPCs, which could be in the stat block (e.g. enemy wizard will cast Misty Step to the top of the barn where he has stashed a Potion of Healing for emergencies; NPC spits on the ground often when he talks). If it's higher level and/or has some unique combat terrain feature, you may put in a designer note about unexpected player actions (during playtest) and how to handle.

VengerSatanis said:

I have some burning questions for 5th edition gamers. Hopefully, you guys can answer them. It'll help me prepare for the Cha'alt kickstarter launching just before Thanksgiving...


1) Back in the day, when playing AD&D many gamers defaulted to the basic version of the game, similar to original D&D, rather than using all the extra mechanical bells and whistles contained within the AD&D rulebooks.

What I want to know is how many 5e gamers play their D&D in a simplified or old school / OSR way?

Specificly, would you consider full 5e stat-blocks to be essential in a 5e compatible product, or would providing the most important stuff be an option / acceptable?

2) Since official D&D 5e settings are few and far between, how much campaign setting material would you like to see in a published adventure?

3) How much guidance (or hand-holding, if you prefer) would be ideal, in your view? A sentence here and there about the designer's intention or what's going on in general? Paragraphs on setting things up before each chapter? Or pages about how to run scenarios with boxed text and sidebars containing GM advice throughout the book?

____


Thanks for taking the time to answer this questionnaire! Keep an eye on this blog for mentions of the upcoming Cha'alt news.


VS

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1.) I am always searching for a way to encompass the most info I can in the most condensed possible version. I’ve settled on the monster cards from battlefront miniatures for now. I often use post-its - my MM is full of post-its.

2.) How much setting is tricky. I will not read 20 pages of setting info prior to running a module. I prefer setting incorporated into scenes at the beginning and lightly reinforced throughout thereafter. So instead of reading two pages of backstory on the haunted forest, the players first scene should be haunted AF and foresty like mad. Subsequent scenes in that area should have bits of setting detail that reinforce or give additional perspective that comes through during play. That’s how I’d want it, if I had my druthers. That’s how I try to write it for my home games. I remind myself “if the back story were so G D interesting it would be in the main story,” and I go from there. Same true for setting.

3.) for scenario writing, I like a mix of encounters. Some large scripted set pieces and some conflicts that arise through the natural course of play. Some intent/design is often useful: “The orc thunderfist defends the monastery gate, using his mighty strikes to knock interlopers down into the crevice below the path. He will not fight to the death but will yield to the mighty.”

TBPH, I stop reading the text the moment I stop caring about what’s in it. And the more pre-reading I have to do before I play, the less likely I am to play.

VengerSatanis said:

I have some burning questions for 5th edition gamers. Hopefully, you guys can answer them. It'll help me prepare for the Cha'alt kickstarter launching just before Thanksgiving...


1) Back in the day, when playing AD&D many gamers defaulted to the basic version of the game, similar to original D&D, rather than using all the extra mechanical bells and whistles contained within the AD&D rulebooks.

What I want to know is how many 5e gamers play their D&D in a simplified or old school / OSR way?

Specificly, would you consider full 5e stat-blocks to be essential in a 5e compatible product, or would providing the most important stuff be an option / acceptable?

2) Since official D&D 5e settings are few and far between, how much campaign setting material would you like to see in a published adventure?

3) How much guidance (or hand-holding, if you prefer) would be ideal, in your view? A sentence here and there about the designer's intention or what's going on in general? Paragraphs on setting things up before each chapter? Or pages about how to run scenarios with boxed text and sidebars containing GM advice throughout the book?

____


Thanks for taking the time to answer this questionnaire! Keep an eye on this blog for mentions of the upcoming Cha'alt news.


VS

Click to expand...

1) I use the 3 core books only and for me 5e is old school enough, so I expect full stats for new monsters and unique NPC. Otherwise for non-essential NPC or those who are minimally different fromstock, just refer to existing stats in core and mention small additions. Saying "Doris Lewis" is an NPC Thief (see MM page X) with extra proficiency in Medicine and a cloak of resistance is OK.

2) Haven't bought a published adventure since 3e. The problem for me is that if they are setting specific then you obviously need to hit a setting I like. If you put the Eberron label, you alienate me as a potential buyer, but you obviously attract others. I prefer generic adventures and no "new" settings because frankly they are all the same in which case I 'd rather homebrew.

3) I appreciate guidance as long as it's not pathetically obvious. I am many years past the basics of DMing and basic advice is already plentiful in every DMG, so from an adventure I want only advice specific to such adventure.

1) I don't see a full 5E statblock as essential, but for a new product you are probably better off having it available. While a lot of groups are using the simpler options for 5E (no feats or multi-classing), a significant number of groups like all the options (like mine).


2) Personally, I like it when products expand the setting, rather than using it as a backdrop. For example, if the party is going to have a set of encounters in a city, I want to know quite a bit about that city (including its place in the world). This helps to expand the encounters, because players often go off script, or ask annoying questions that i don't have answers to.


3) In general, I like an adventure summary at the start of the adventure. This gives me the idea of designer intent before I start reading the details. That way if I want to make changes (or have to if the players go off script), I know what I'm trying to steer them back to. A quick description at the start of each chapter is pretty useful as well.