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General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
5e - Just Missing the Mark
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<blockquote data-quote="Haffrung" data-source="post: 7558790" data-attributes="member: 6776259"><p>The issue isn't so much the rules as the presentation of the rules. </p><p></p><p>I'm glad 5E looked back to pre-4E editions for most of its inspirations and approaches to play. What I'm not so glad about is WotC also took a few steps back in terms of presentation, burying its rules content in walls of descriptive text. In terms of instructional design, D&D 5E is about 20 years behind the times. Where are the numbered steps, bulletted lists, and compact summaries of rules mechanics? </p><p></p><p>I've been playing 5E since the Next playtests, and I still have to parse paragraphs of text to learn how a Wizard gets new spells and how many they learn at each level. </p><p></p><p>With effective information design techniques, WotC could summarize the core non-class-specific rules of D&D on two 2-sided sheets of standard letter-sized paper. But they seem to believe people want to read their rules content buried in walls of descriptive text. And maybe some readers do - the ones who buy RPG books for reading material and not as resources to be used at the table.</p><p></p><p>Maybe WotC will eventually overcome its aversion/embarrassment to all things 4E and take a page out of D&D Essentials by publishing a digest-sized softcover Rules Compendium. One can hope. </p><p></p><p>And yes, DM screens are awful. They're so consistently and universally awful that it can't be explained by simple incompetence. My sense is most RPG publishers have a deep-rooted opposition to their rules being made available in compact formats, presumably out of fear that it will cut down on the need for PHBs and DMGs.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Haffrung, post: 7558790, member: 6776259"] The issue isn't so much the rules as the presentation of the rules. I'm glad 5E looked back to pre-4E editions for most of its inspirations and approaches to play. What I'm not so glad about is WotC also took a few steps back in terms of presentation, burying its rules content in walls of descriptive text. In terms of instructional design, D&D 5E is about 20 years behind the times. Where are the numbered steps, bulletted lists, and compact summaries of rules mechanics? I've been playing 5E since the Next playtests, and I still have to parse paragraphs of text to learn how a Wizard gets new spells and how many they learn at each level. With effective information design techniques, WotC could summarize the core non-class-specific rules of D&D on two 2-sided sheets of standard letter-sized paper. But they seem to believe people want to read their rules content buried in walls of descriptive text. And maybe some readers do - the ones who buy RPG books for reading material and not as resources to be used at the table. Maybe WotC will eventually overcome its aversion/embarrassment to all things 4E and take a page out of D&D Essentials by publishing a digest-sized softcover Rules Compendium. One can hope. And yes, DM screens are awful. They're so consistently and universally awful that it can't be explained by simple incompetence. My sense is most RPG publishers have a deep-rooted opposition to their rules being made available in compact formats, presumably out of fear that it will cut down on the need for PHBs and DMGs. [/QUOTE]
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