D&D 5E Starter Set Character Sheet Revealed!

[TrippyHippy]

It’s weird. A good character sheet tends to sell me on an RPG more than any other aspect of the game itself. I like it.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

The character sheet looks really good, one of the best official ones I've ever seen, albeit strangely White Wolf-y.

Second Wind is a much better design but really seems like it should use some kind of long-term resource.

 

[Mercurius]

I think you just perfectly described what Basic D&D is. which is why we will have a PH to augment it.

Right. It also makes me realize that as much as I appreciate the aesthetics and simplicity of a rules lite game, I like a bit of crunch in my cereal - and part of the fun of D&D for me (and most, I would think) are all the fiddly bits.

 

[MoonSong]

Those attribute requirements to multiclass + standard array put a major damper on powergaming & having characters that scale well and that can make the necessary saves. Also, one does not get everything when multiclassing.

The attribute requirements don't really stop anybody from powrgaming, want to snag two levels of fighter but you won't get the str 15? simply stat as a Mage but take your first two levels as fighter, if you did right you'll have that 15 in int to go mage. Two sessions as a pure fighter are a small cost to pay.

Yeah, I'm so not allowing multiclassing in my games where I DM. Except for my villains.

And it is statements like these that make me lose faith in the new edition. It isn't even out and everybody is already excluding stuff left and right.

Not allowing MCing doesnt fix the problem. Action surge will still be OP for fighters, along with second wind. They both need rewrites.

I don't know, but somehow having Overpowered and fighter in the same sentence feels right.

Right. It also makes me realize that as much as I appreciate the aesthetics and simplicity of a rules lite game, I like a bit of crunch in my cereal - and part of the fun of D&D for me (and most, I would think) are all the fiddly bits.

There is much to love in the basic game as it is. But yeah many of us are spoiled by a lifetime full of many different flavors and comboing stuff, going back to just vanilla, strawberry chocolate and neapolitan is kind of hard as a player.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

But yeah many of us are spoiled by a lifetime full of many different flavors and comboing stuff, going back to just vanilla, strawberry chocolate and neapolitan is kind of hard as a player.

Spoiled seems like a totally inappropriate word for this, to me, being ultra-negative and implying we are children.

Someone who has seen the world and is longer happy living Small Town, USA is not "spoiled". Nor is someone who has seen all the options D&D has, and doesn't want to go back to Basic-only.

 

[Kobold Stew]

Several observations on the skill list.

This will definitely be a part of the game that I'm going to rework for my home games. Quite possibly just let players select four 'Aspects' of their character that go along with their Background, rather than set skills.

Just need to write up some guidelines on aspects... I'm sooo stealing this for my home game

Aspects like this are a key mechanism in FATE games. Check out FATE Accelerated (free download) the SRD to Spirit of the Century or Diaspora for a place to start.

Character chooses "Sailor" background, then chooses: Acrobatics, Intimidation, Perception, and Slight of Hand. During play, character attempts to tie down a chest on the back of a carriage while said carriage is careening down the road, horses at full gallop. Player says, "I am a sailor, can I get my proficiency bonus to this check since sailors are often securing things with rope in rough seas". I would grant that (whatever the check would be...straight dexterity check? whatever).

This is pretty close to the approach in Barbarians of Lemuria. Also a solid hack that cleans things up and can be satisfying in play (where proficiency bonus becomes the number of levels you have in the given profession.) It also shares features with PDQ, as was noted:

After I started playing a very simple RPG called PDQ, I now take this approach to skills in my games. It works really well indeed. <snip>
I could go on for hours about the virtues of the PDQ skill system, I might even fork this off to a new thread to rant further.

If nothing else this shows me that the designers (and the players) are looking at indie games and learning from them. It doesn't need to be a line in the sand, and the "modular" design is going to allow a lot of interpenetration of ideas. I see that as a good thing.

I don't like having a skill list. I would prefer proficient skills just be listed like tool proficiencies. Less clutter on the sheet, but it understand this sheet is for beginners and maybe this is better for them. I hope the official sheet doesn't have the full skill list.

I do like it -- it shows (in this case) how a solid stat can make up for lack of proficiency. It also helps new players, giving them prompts for actions they might try. One of my groups is my son and his friends, and this sort of stuff is really helpful for them.

It's not a restriction, either: it lets them see possible actions and ask for more: my experience suggests it encourages creativity, at least in 11-13 year olds.

Riding's not on the skill list. Rolled into Animal Handling? That would be one way of increasing its use.

Riding is covered by the mount (land) proficiency.

I expect riding and the mounts proficiency is rolled into Animal Handling.

 

[jodyjohnson]

The character sheet looks really good, one of the best official ones I've ever seen, albeit strangely White Wolf-y.

Second Wind is a much better design but really seems like it should use some kind of long-term resource.

LIke a six-pack of Red Bull or Monster. Wait until we see how broken Intoxication is.

 

[Jack99]

The fighter in my group has it, and it's pretty bad since it costs an action to use.

Now with them adding more stuff that uses this "bonus action" aka minor action, the game has moved one step closer to 4th edition. It's getting dangerously close now, because it the PHB level 1 fighter can get lay on hands without even reaching 3rd level as an eldritch knight, or taking a feat to have access to Cure Wounds, then we have an insane incentive for mages to multiclass into fighter for two levels.

I've built a battlemage, all you need are two levels of fighter, then five levels of mage, then three more of fighter (in whichever order), and you have a supremely tough character who can pretty much win any one on one battle vs an enemy spellcaster due to con and str saves as well as much higher HP, a nova capability which is the only way in the game to cast two spells in one round (three if you include swift), or a spell and a normal series of attacks as a followup.

Blasting two sculped and empowered fireballs in a row is pretty much guaranteed to wipe the floor with any number of monsters, and those that are left are going to have a very hard time finishing off the PC with the highest defenses of the group. Getting a concentration / constitution saving throw onto your saves list is the icing on the cake for mages to multi into fighter.

You do realize that you have never been able to cast a normal spell and a swift spell in the same round?
Swift Spells. A swift spell requires but an utterance. A spell that has a swift casting time can be cast as your action or as part of another action. If you cast the spell as part of another action, that other action cannot involve casting a spell or activating a magic item.

 

[Wraithdrit]

I made a blank version of this.

Enjoy,
- Wraith

 

[sidonunspa]

Aspects like this are a key mechanism in FATE games. Check out FATE Accelerated (free download) the SRD to Spirit of the Century or Diaspora for a place to start.

Why thank you!

I'm planing on writing a system agnostic document combining Aspects (Referring to FATE)
and tweaking the flaws/plot die system I developed for Rotted Capes.

I can simply write around the 5e system by writing it in a way that it would works as an optional rules set for every version of D&D...

again, thank you for pointing me in the right direction!