D&D 5E My New Players Have Quit 5th Edition

[Thaumaturge]

I am guilty of this. It can be tough to thoroughly read something that is 80% the same as something you've recently read and catch every difference. It's one reason I like to steer clear of beta rules.

I agree.

When 3e came out, I was jealous of those who had been in the beta. With my experience with the 5e rules, I'm so glad I wasn't in the alpha rules. My table mostly wants to play and cares little about subtle rules changes. We wouldn't have been good at alpha testing.

Thaumaturge.

 

[billd91]

The very first session of 4E I ever ran, the fighter died on the third encounter. Rats ate him*.

So he was e-rat-icated?

 

[Tormyr]

I'm going to reiterate my earlier post about everyone needing to actually read through the rules and not assume earlier rules from earlier editions automatically carry through.

Especially for dying / unconscious / death, and especially for critical hits (Modifiers DO NOT double, JUST the dice).

Read the rules before you start playing; you will find lots of little things that have changed from earlier editions that can add to some serious changes within the game itself.

I did read the rules. I remember going through death saves think, "yep that's the same; that's the same." I just missed that coup de grace had gone AWOL. Not that I miss it. The current method works just fine.

 

[ExploderWizard]

So he was e-rat-icated?

Take 6d6 bad pun damage immediately.

 

[billd91]

Take 6d6 bad pun damage immediately.

No, no. I think you mean I inflict bad pun damage. Whether you thrown sharp, heavy objects at me in response... Well, maybe.

 

[Joe Liker]

I'm going to reiterate my earlier post about everyone needing to actually read through the rules and not assume earlier rules from earlier editions automatically carry through.

snip

Read the rules before you start playing; you will find lots of little things that have changed from earlier editions that can add to some serious changes within the game itself.

I would advise taking it a step further, especially if you are the DM.

Don't just read the rules. Read them and take notes. Make yourself a cheat sheet listing every rule that is different from whatever edition you are accustomed to. Even if you never look at the cheat sheet again, the act of creating it will help cement the differences in your mind.

Also -- and I know this is asking a lot -- encourage the players to read the rules. They stand a much better chance of surviving if they know what all their options are. But even if they don't read the 100-page pdf, at least you can provide them with a handy cheat sheet, right?

 

[Mark CMG]

Also -- and I know this is asking a lot -- encourage the players to read the rules. They stand a much better chance of surviving if they know what all their options are. But even if they don't read the 100-page pdf, at least you can provide them with a handy cheat sheet, right?

I've given my players some incentive, not that they need much. For those that print out the Basic Rules and bring them to the table, each session they get one re-roll (though they cannot bank them from game to game).

 

[Obryn]

I've said before and I'll say it again.

D&D should have fairly simple newbie on-ramps. It should allow for "fantasy f'ing Vietnam" style play. But I don't think those should be the same thing, and I'm continually puzzled why, through the game's evolutions, they've remained so.

 

[Emerikol]

Maybe they believe that fantasy vietnam is the best way to learn D&D. Maybe you just have a preference for a style of game and that results in a bias in your assumptions about D&D players in general.

There are lots of possible reasons the game keeps refusing to go your way in the design. They could be wrong in their assessment of the playerbase and newbie needs. They could be spot on and your out of touch.

My personal gut bias is that players are adults and character death is not the end of the world.

 

[Charles Wright]

I've said before and I'll say it again.

D&D should have fairly simple newbie on-ramps. It should allow for "fantasy f'ing Vietnam" style play. But I don't think those should be the same thing, and I'm continually puzzled why, through the game's evolutions, they've remained so.

That's pretty much what GMs are for. I don't think that the game rules should coddle players, character death is part of the learning curve. It's not like you can't NOT just pretend it didn't happen and start over with the same characters.