D&D 5E D&D Basic DM rules updated

[occam]

One huge change that was made is how the easy, medium, hard, and deadly xp thresholds are used in encounter building.

In v0.1, the guidelines said that anything under one of the thresholds was an encounter of that difficulty...

In v0.2, the guidelines say that if you cross an XP threshold, it is an encounter of that difficulty...

Good find! That's a substantial change to the encounter-building rules.

 

[sidonunspa]

No more spamming the Wand of Magic Detection either.

Good!!

 

[Emka]

Actually, what the spell scroll used to say was:



This was interpreted by most to mean that anyone could cast the spell with a successful Arcana check. The addition of "Otherwise, the scroll is unintelligible." to the current version makes it clear that you need it on your spell list to make use of it at all.

EDIT: Ninja'd by jimmifett.

"Otherwise, the scroll is unintelligible." is also in the Starter Set rules, I was going with that. Kinda assumed v0.1 was the same as the Starter Set.

 

[jimmifett]

The addition of "Otherwise, the scroll is unintelligible." to the current version makes it clear that you need it on your spell list to make use of it at all.

All the more reason to have Artificers (and Eberron) back

 

[Quickleaf]

I was very surprised the encounter building guidelines were updated and yet the same problem of "A Lich and 3 Skeletons" remains. In other words, the encounter difficulty estimating guidelines are still wonky when combining high CR and low CR enemies. Fortunately fan efforts have addressed this, but it's a glaring oversight for a game that's supposed to be about bounded accuracy allowing monsters to be used across a broad spread of levels.

 

[Tormyr]

I was very surprised the encounter building guidelines were updated and yet the same problem of "A Lich and 3 Skeletons" remains. In other words, the encounter difficulty estimating guidelines are still wonky when combining high CR and low CR enemies. Fortunately fan efforts have addressed this, but it's a glaring oversight for a game that's supposed to be about bounded accuracy allowing monsters to be used across a broad spread of levels.

There is a specific note in section 4. Modify Total XP for Multiple Monsters. Don't include XP for monsters of a significantly lower CR than the average unless you think they significantly contribute to the difficulty of an encounter.

 

[Psikerlord#]

v0.1

Spell Scroll
Scroll, varies
A spell scroll bears the magical words of a single spell,
written in a mystical cipher. Using an action to read the
scroll allows you to cast the spell without components.
If the spell written on the scroll appears on your
class’s spell list, and the spell’s level is one that you
can normally cast, you cast the spell successfully.
Otherwise, you must make an Intelligence (Arcana)
check to see if you can successfully cast it. The DC
equals 10 plus the spell’s level. On a failed check,
reading the scroll only consumes its magic with no
other effect.

v0.2
Spell Scroll
Scroll, varies
A spell scroll bears the words of a single spell, written in
a mystical cipher. If the spell is on your class’s spell list,
you can use an action to read the scroll and cast its spell
without having to provide any of the spell’s components.
Otherwise, the scroll is unintelligible.
If the spell is on your class’s spell list but of a higher
level than you can normally cast, you must make an
ability check using your spellcasting ability to determine
whether you cast it successfully. The DC equals 10 + the
spell’s level. On a failed check, the spell disappears from
the scroll with no other effect.

That is a much narrower scope clarification for casting spells from scrolls. In v0.1, "Otherwise" could apply to any portion of the if((boolean) spellInClassList() && spellLevel <= castingLevel) clause, allowing anyone to use a scroll.

The newer wording makes the limitations quite clear now and closes that loop hole.

I'm glad this was clarified, it was very poorly worded before.

 

[Quickleaf]

There is a specific note in section 4. Modify Total XP for Multiple Monsters. Don't include XP for monsters of a significantly lower CR than the average unless you think they significantly contribute to the difficulty of an encounter.

It's awfully nebulous language, particularly for a new DM who is going to be uncertain of what constitutes "significantly lower CR" or whether monsters will "significantly contribute to the difficulty of an encounter."

Even after playtesting and playing one game of 5e, I am not entirely certain how to apply that guideline. The example of a Lich and 3 Skeletons clearly qualifies, but what about 12 Skeletons? Or what if the CR was only 5 different?

 

[jelmore]

The Boots of Striding and Springing have been reworded; they explicitly set your minimum walking speed to 30 feet, and you can't jump farther than your remaining movement for a turn will allow.

The Potion of Flying will now drop you like a hot potato when it expires, instead of letting you gently drift to the ground.

Potion of Vitality is clarified; only the maximized Hit Dice effect lasts for 24 hours, not the whole effect.

Rings of Resistance are now Rare instead of Uncommon (this was foreshadowed in the Rise of Tiamat supplement and the DMG previews on the Wizards site, though).

And people have noted the changes to Spell Scrolls and Wand of Magic Detection already.

 

[Tormyr]

It's awfully nebulous language, particularly for a new DM who is going to be uncertain of what constitutes "significantly lower CR" or whether monsters will "significantly contribute to the difficulty of an encounter."

Even after playtesting and playing one game of 5e, I am not entirely certain how to apply that guideline. The example of a Lich and 3 Skeletons clearly qualifies, but what about 12 Skeletons? Or what if the CR was only 5 different?

The DM has to ask, "Are these skeletons going to significantly contribute to the difficulty of this encounter?" If all 12 will be flattened by a fireball without doing anything to the PCs, then the answer is, "No." Would a Doppelganger still contribute something to a fight with an Assassin? Probably. It doesn't matter if they do not get it perfect the first few times. Besides which, cold or hot dice will throw off encounter balance just as well as anything else.