D&D 5E State of D&D

[Jabborwacky]

And also, 5e DOMINATES online discussions on all forums, and that includes this forum and Reddit in the analysis. See here.

It's fine as long as it serves as a gateway into tabletop roleplaying for a lot of new players. A complete monopoly would not be good for the hobby.

 

[Scribe]

It's fine as long as it serves as a gateway into tabletop roleplaying for a lot of new players. A complete monopoly would not be good for the hobby.

Depends on your local area. Having a single strong provider can really help forge a community that doesnt exist if everyone wants to do their own thing. Competition is great, fragmentation, less so.

 

[GAZ082]

*sigh* I just want the core books in PDF or any other electronic format. I hate checking my books when writing an adventure for my players. I like the books to read and to hand over other players, but they are cumbersome when "researching" for an adventure.

 

[darjr]

I want PDFs too. How is Fantasy Grounds as an electronic reference?

 

[hawknsparrow]

Paizo does sell the pathfinder society modules. Something I wish WotC could find a way to do. However Paizo has said that they lose money on them anyway, chalk it up to a marketing expense.

Or did they stop this too?

Great point. As was probably mentioned before...the smaller 5e modules are currently released via the Adventure League. The only way to experience those is to show up at a local gaming store or find a DM online that supports them. Maybe they could sell a pdf with all those adventures after the League has moved on to the next season or adventure series. Folks could use a print by demand service or something if they wanted a hardback.

 

[hawknsparrow]

I want PDFs too. How is Fantasy Grounds as an electronic reference?

FG breaks up content into modular and customizable story bites. It allows DMs to drag and drop content. And now that the DM Guide content is out, the possibilities are endless. Now I can use the random tables to whip up content with a click. To me, this truly justifies the expense surrounding FG.

 

[lobo316]

5E is balanced around wearing the party down and using up their resources. You're never in a spot where "one mistake and this moment could be my last" in 5E. I find it quite boring as a player personally. I've joined a number of games and just couldn't get into it. Unless the DM is committed to burying the party under an onslaught of edless encounters, or a single encounter that could cause a TPK, there's no spot where a character is down to a hanful of hitpoints, and are brought to -10 outright, or you forgot to check that door for traps and die instantly. Mistakes in 5E can perhaps be felt in the long run as resources are depleted more quickly than they otherwise might if the players were competant, and working as a team, but I wouldn't use that to describe the system as "intense" by any stretch. 2E and 3.5 were rather thrilling. Any battle could be your last if you weren't on your toes, as it should be. When you came out on top you really felt like it was your quick thinking and solid teamwork that was responsible for your survival. That's a good feeling, and it's a feeling that I don't get from playing in 5E despite otherwise enjoying the edition. Thus the changes I made as a DM.

I dunno, I'm not sure I agree with that. I find that when I use "deadly" encounters, I can really push the party. I don't follow the DMG guidelines on how many "encounters per day" or anything like that (the party should know when it needs to back out and take a rest, especially with all their experience). The only thing I look at is how the encounter rates after I put it together. I don't care how may "deadly encounters" I use in a day, and most of my encounters probably end up on the hard side. Now, the party is just about to hit 6th level (after next session) and I have yet to kill anyone, but I have had several of them down and making death saves at one point or another (and, to their credit, they are VERY seasoned players).

Still, it is true, these games will likely never be as deadly as they were back in the 80ies. It's just the perception of the game nowadays. Players are more demanding and systems like 4e REALLY neutered the DM and created players with a sense of self-entitlement. 5e has put the power back in the hands of the DM.

I am curious as to what you do in your game to make it more deadly.

 

[Huntsman57]

I dunno, I'm not sure I agree with that. I find that when I use "deadly" encounters, I can really push the party. I don't follow the DMG guidelines on how many "encounters per day" or anything like that (the party should know when it needs to back out and take a rest, especially with all their experience). The only thing I look at is how the encounter rates after I put it together. I don't care how may "deadly encounters" I use in a day, and most of my encounters probably end up on the hard side. Now, the party is just about to hit 6th level (after next session) and I have yet to kill anyone, but I have had several of them down and making death saves at one point or another (and, to their credit, they are VERY seasoned players).

Still, it is true, these games will likely never be as deadly as they were back in the 80ies. It's just the perception of the game nowadays. Players are more demanding and systems like 4e REALLY neutered the DM and created players with a sense of self-entitlement. 5e has put the power back in the hands of the DM.

I am curious as to what you do in your game to make it more deadly.

1- greater chance at succeeding a death save but the first save needs to be made the moment you drop, and a single failure = death

2- less health recovery from resting

3- instituted Combat and Tactics and Spells and Powers critical hit system

 

[Wuzzard]

If at least one PC isn't down and making death saves, did you really have a battle?

 

[Jester David]

D&D and Reddit.
The DnD subreddit (https://www.reddit.com/r/dnd) recently hit the Top 400 subreddit: http://redditmetrics.com/r/DnD
That's 400 of 6000. It was created in 2009 and has been steadily creeping up since 2012.

D&D seems to be doing very well.