D&D 5E Legends & Lore 4/21

[Fobok]

This article shows me everything I was hoping to see. I admit, it's been a long time since I successfully DMed, (so long I can barely remember the 3e rules, back before 3.5 came out I think), but I remember how difficult and time consuming adventure prep was in 3e.

4e made things a lot easier in encounter design, but I really prefer theatre of the mind when DMing, and 4e made that very difficult. (At least, for me.) Especially since I had (and still have) no local group and playing by something like maptool just replaced encounter prep time from designing adentures to setting up maps.

If this article is correct, (and I know that 5e supports theatre of the mind already), it might get me to try DMing again. There'll still be *some* prep-work, of course, but it seems much more manageable, and random tables are always great when running low on creativity.

 

[iwarrior-poet]

What would REALLY make the DM's job easier (and PC's too)

Would be slick, fully integrated digital aides available at launch...

 

[ambroseji]

Would be slick, fully integrated digital aides available at launch...

True, but, I always thought that the 4e tools were clunky and bad, yet all-but-essential. I would much rather see these tables (so that I don't need the online tools) in conjunction with slick online tools (that I can use, if it suits me).

Depending on what I am preparing for, I can have very different DMing prep needs and oftentimes having to depend on digital tools just slows me down. I fully support them on principle, but I don't want them to be essential.

 

[GX.Sigma]

There should be an online adventure builder, just like 4e had an online character builder. If it's an app for iOS and Android, that would be perfect.

 

[Sadrik]

There should be an online adventure builder, just like 4e had an online character builder. If it's an app for iOS and Android, that would be perfect.

I want this more than a character builder. More people willing to run the game is more important than more people who want to play the game by my estimation.

 

[Dausuul]

If the tables are well designed, then creating an online adventure builder that runs off those tables will be a cinch. I actually hope WotC doesn't try to build it. Technology has never been their strong suit; I think they would massively overbuild what should be a very clean, simple tool.

All they have to do is make those tables open content, and let the community take care of the rest. I guarantee there will be high-quality user-created dungeon builders online in a matter of weeks. Think www.d20srd.org.

 

[Rhenny]

I like using CR. For the playtest I've been adding class levels to hobgoblins and bugbears, and balancing the total hd vs the party to achieve very challenging encounters. Using classes seems to work. I estimate parity if I want 50% chance of TPK (so most of my tough encounters are set just below parity...I still want to give the PCs more chances to win even in the tough encounters).

I hope that WotC incorporates the same "class" like template for monsters. I'd love an Elite and Solo template that works just like applying a class template.

Additionally, as it seems from the article, it would be nice to have a menu of options (spells, abilities, increased AC, HP, etc.) that correspond to specific bonus CR values. It will be nice if a DM can just wing it with menu options, or use the template...the choice is awesome.

I hope it works!

I also like the idea of random tables and ideas for developing adventures/dungeons. Sometimes random results (or just looking over the lists) helps stir up the creativity. The DMs Guide should have tons of tools to help plan and run games and campaigns. Fill it with options.

 

[nomotog]

The random dungeon table is were my interest lies. The big question I have is will it be more then just dungeons? Will we have tables for sewers, forests, marshes, the elemental plane of fire? I find these tables useful because I don't always know what realistically goes in a dungeon, or in a forest, or on the plane of fire. You can get a general idea from looking at the table though. Also it helps if each item on the table comes with some detail to it. Oh a tree takes up one 5 foot space, provides 2/3 cover, is a 17 DC to climb, and has 200 HP with a hardness of bla bla.

 

[Ichneumon]

My future DMG looks like it may meet the fate of the 1st: sporting a raggedy spine thanks to the number of times I turn to the random tables. Yeah yeah, I know - look after your books. I'll just nod politely and buy a second as backup.

Random tables are, of course, great for yoinking stuff from. If you hadn't thought of staging a dungeon crawl in a floating asteroid with tunnels dug out by giant space hamsters, it's right there on line 34. But it's also viable to just roll randomly and see what level of crazy that chance coughs up. This can work well for a light-hearted hack'n'slash adventure where the dungeon's incongruity is part of the fun. But, as has been noted, a random result can spark ideas you wouldn't have otherwise had, even if you end up using the complete opposite of the result.

 

[howandwhy99]

I'm interested in how Monster CR will relate to XP. Also how they are rating dungeon levels, treasure, magic items, and the like. XP gave a finer granularity for rating monsters than simply level, but they were still grouped in a particular span.

The entire D&D Next system can be summarized as a series of d20 + ability modifier + proficiency bonus rolls.

This is strange, but I assume d4s, d6s and so on are still in the game, right? Are there rolls for anything that isn't linear 1d20? I like how they are using language that doesn't refer to "checks" anymore (not ostracizing old school players), but overly repetitive mechanics for the sheer sake of simplicity doesn't usually make for a good game IME. You fit the mechanic to the needs of the game, not vice versa.

Random tables and generation rules sound great. Definitely good news. I'd suggest one of the key characteristics of a table isn't that they are populated thematically. Quite the opposite really. Tables as game mechanics are expressions of mechanical results. Distributive ones normally. Look at AD&D DMG Appendix C. Those are monster demographics by climate, sleep cycle, and rarity: game stats. They were part of a generation system.

EDIT: Also, tables are to be built by the DM for specific campaign use. D&D's "official" temperate forest table of monsters might be nice, but each territory in a sandbox game would get their own. And my "Emerald Forest" has a table as part of its stats so I can determine wandering monsters as well as alter populations as the game is played. (So says Snurgly, scourge of the kobolds in a duchy where kobolds no longer exist)