D&D (2024) Do you plan to adopt D&D5.5One2024Redux?

[FitzTheRuke]

I tend to suspect that the material in Bigby's is a preview of what the new DMG will be doing in terms of suggestions for NPC interactions.

The problem with the Features, for.me, ia thst they read like ironclad meta-currency or something, but not only do they not work that way...any reasonable DM will work with players to to replicate the effect if it makes sense in context. Basically doesnadd anything.

I agree. I sympathize with someone like @Hriston who has found use in them, but I never found them to bring much to the game, beyond (I will grant) reminding players (and their DMs) of who their character is, relative to the world they inhabit.

 

[Parmandur]

I agree. I sympathize with someone like @Hriston who has found use in them, but I never found them to bring much to the game, beyond (I will grant) reminding players (and their DMs) of who their character is, relative to the world they inhabit.

I love, love, love the Baclgrounds as part of Character creation, and separating ao much from Class: such great inspiration to contemplate a Con Artist Paladin, an Outlander Wizard, an Entertainer Warlock, an Acolyte Rogue, an Artisan Fighter, etc...

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I love, love, love the Baclgrounds as part of Character creation, and separating ao much from Class: such great inspiration to contemplate a Con Artist Paladin, an Outlander Wizard, an Entertainer Warlock, an Acolyte Rogue, an Artisan Fighter, etc...

Oh yeah, don't get me wrong - I really enjoy Backgrounds being part of the game. It's the very very basics of multiclassing (the part that I like, as opposed to actual multiclassing, which I'm not a fan of). It's just the 2014 "Feature" that I don't think works very well.

 

[James Gasik]

I never said backgrounds were a bad idea. I said groups should discuss backgrounds and talk about how much the background feature will be useful. I think the Background Features as presented in the earlier backgrounds were potentially limited because it's based too much on being recognized or who you know. I don't like how they were done, newer backgrounds are better. I still like the concept and the flexibility they give to character design (e.g. a dex based PC with criminal background being a reasonable replacement for a rogue).

But yeah, there are no libraries in Barovia so being a researcher is of no benefit. Same as being a sailor in the desert or any number of scenarios.

Well, I assume Mr. von Zarovich has a library, but that probably won't do you much good.

 

[tetrasodium]

Not sure why you take this claim over the other however... personal preference?

We can make that pretty simple, if you are being teleported to a different plane and have the Criminal background, do you think the following still works / applies?

"You have a reliable and trustworthy contact who acts as your liaison to a network of other criminals. You know how to get messages to and from your contact, even over great distances; specifically, you know the local messengers, corrupt caravan masters, and seedy sailors who can deliver messages for you."

Spoiler

ALTERATIONS TO MAGIC
The land of Barovia resides in its own demiplane,
isolated from all other planes, including the Material
Plane. No spell-not even wish-allows one to escape
from Strahd's domain. Astral projection, teleport, plane
shift, and similar spells cast for the purpose of leaving
Barovia simply fail, as do effects that banish a creature
to another plane of existence. These restrictions apply
to magic items and artifacts that have properties that
transport or banish creatures to other planes. Magic
that allows transit to the Border Ethereal, such as the
etherealness spell and the Etherealness feature of incor
poreal undead, is the exception to this rule. A creature
that enters the Border Ethereal from Strahd's domain is
pulled back into Barovia upon leaving that plane.
For the purpose of spells whose effects change across
or are blocked by planar boundaries (such as sending),
Strahd's domain is considered its own plane. Magic that
summons creatures or objects from other planes func
tions normally in Barovia, as does magic that involves
an extradimensional space. Any spells cast within such
an extradimensional space (such as that created by
Mordenkainen's magnificent mansion) are subject to the
same restrictions as magic cast in Barovia.
While in Barovia, characters who receive spells from
deities or otherworldly patrons continue to do so. In ad
dition, spells that allow contact with beings from other
planes function normally-with one proviso: Strahd can
sense when someone in his domain is casting such a
spell and can choose to make himself the spell's recipi
ent, so that he becomes the one who is contacted.

Ravenloft is more than just "a different plane", it's more like a self aware prison that feeds on karmic misery& revenge. You can't planeshift or even Wish out☆ of ravenloft unless The Dark Powers allow it & even then it's probably only going to happen if allowing it can put the screws to you or someone else it wants to target.

☆ Trying to get in is unlikely to work either & I think there were examples of broken individuals who spent their life & prime failing at just that until they were too far gone to do more than regret wasting so much time attempting to now that they have been pulled back against their will

 

[Parmandur]

Oh yeah, don't get me wrong - I really enjoy Backgrounds being part of the game. It's the very very basics of multiclassing (the part that I like, as opposed to actual multiclassing, which I'm not a fan of). It's just the 2014 "Feature" that I don't think works very well.

And this is one area where looking st Backgrounds published between 2014 and 2024 explain the new revisions: it basically codifies how newer Backgrounds have evolved in the past half decade.

 

[Kurotowa]

And this is one area where looking st Backgrounds published between 2014 and 2024 explain the new revisions: it basically codifies how newer Backgrounds have evolved in the past half decade.

Indeed, this is something they've been obviously iterating on for years. Look at Van Richten's Guide for a snapshot of the development. It has Dark Gifts as an additional starting feature, very much like a Background Feat. Meanwhile the two new Background Features are carefully worded so as to not actually require anyone to have heard of you to benefit from them. Haunted One describes it as civilians being able to see the horrors you've survived just by looking into your eyes, and Investigator has you getting access with "fast-talking, determination, and official-looking documentation" instead of any specific authority.

So much of what's in the Revised PHB is the culmination of stuff they've been testing out bit by bit across the various books.

 

[Parmandur]

Indeed, this is something they've been obviously iterating on for years. Look at Van Richten's Guide for a snapshot of the development. It has Dark Gifts as an additional starting feature, very much like a Background Feat. Meanwhile the two new Background Features are carefully worded so as to not actually require anyone to have heard of you to benefit from them. Haunted One describes it as civilians being able to see the horrors you've survived just by looking into your eyes, and Investigator has you getting access with "fast-talking, determination, and official-looking documentation" instead of any specific authority.

So much of what's in the Revised PHB is the culmination of stuff they've been testing out bit by bit across the various books.

Yup, I think you can see the decisive shift between Explorer's Guide to Wildemount and Mythic Odessey's of Theros: every book since Theros has had Level 1 Feats in one form or another, and shifting language around the Background Feature.

 

[Faolyn]

First, citing extraplanar adventure as an example is a corner case. Second, I have a hard time believing Barovia is completely lacking in either "a library, scriptorium, university, or a sage or other learned person or creature." Finding out what or who and where those things are shouldn't be all that difficult for a sage.

Barovia is a very backwards place with almost no formal education unless you can pay for a private tutor. Vallaki used to have bookstores, some filled with arcane and eldritch tomes, but got changed radically in 5e--you'd have to bring 2e/3x stuff into 5e or make up stuff.

 

[Scott Christian]

I haven't read all the published adventures, so I don't know this to be true, but assuming you're right, as I suspect you are, I think this rather undercuts @Oofta's claim that it "simply isn't an option" for his Sage character to use their background feature because his group is running through Curse of Strahd, a published adventure which is set in Barovia, that "most background features simply don't apply" in that setting, and that the existence of published adventures set in places like Barovia is evidence that background features are "a bad idea".

I specifically stated that it might take work on the DMs part.

There are DMs that might not be able to figure out how to incorporate the background feature. Or there are DMs that don't want to do the extra work it will take to incorporate the background feature.

But to say a background "doesn't work" in a specific setting is silly. The features listed, just like skills, are transferrable. They can work in a variety of settings and situations.

Not sure why you take this claim over the other however... personal preference?

We can make that pretty simple, if you are being teleported to a different plane and have the Criminal background, do you think the following still works / applies?

"You have a reliable and trustworthy contact who acts as your liaison to a network of other criminals. You know how to get messages to and from your contact, even over great distances; specifically, you know the local messengers, corrupt caravan masters, and seedy sailors who can deliver messages for you."

The answer is how hard does the DM want to work. Off the top of my head: You meet a local in Barovia who has a sending stone. And, by coincidence, he too was from your home plane, and maybe even the same area. He will contact this person for you - for a price? Done. Now suddenly the criminal background can come in handy.

I never said backgrounds were a bad idea. I said groups should discuss backgrounds and talk about how much the background feature will be useful. I think the Background Features as presented in the earlier backgrounds were potentially limited because it's based too much on being recognized or who you know. I don't like how they were done, newer backgrounds are better. I still like the concept and the flexibility they give to character design (e.g. a dex based PC with criminal background being a reasonable replacement for a rogue).

But yeah, there are no libraries in Barovia so being a researcher is of no benefit. Same as being a sailor in the desert or any number of scenarios.

I agree with you here. They should discuss their backgrounds with the DM, and if they want, each other. The DM can steer them or explain how some backgrounds might not be useful. That is actually what I was talking about. As for the sage, it could be slightly modified. That would be easy. In the description it says the information might come from a creature. Boom. Add a lore creature. Suddenly it's useful again. Add a tomb of scrolls to study and now it's even more useful. (I would also like to add that in the description it even tells the player you might have a hard time getting this information.)