The Playtest: How extensive will it be?

[Majoru Oakheart]

I suspect there will be a lot of disappointed people come a month from now when the playtest comes out. Not because they don't like the mechanics of 5e but because I suspect the playtest will contain very little of the game.

My best guess is that we might see 4 classes, and the ability to play them at first level, possibly the first 2 or 3 levels. We will have 4 themes to go with them. We will have a basic combat system and a couple of spells listed. Then there will be a list of maybe 10 monsters.

There will be an implication that there are modules coming at some point in the future that contain things like feats you can choose instead of being part of your theme.

I'd like to be wrong, but I suspect that the playtest will include enough information to play one or two sessions before running out of information. WOTC will then promise a new module that contains something like a new level for the classes or a new set of 3 monsters once a month for the next year.

 

[Kaodi]

I would guess that we will be able to play at least up to level 5, since level 6 is when you get a new theme. Even if they only give you each class up to level 3, you might be able to mimic a level 5 character by multi-classing.

 

[Dragonblade]

I'd rather have the core races (human, elf, dwarf, halfling) and classes (fighter, wizard, rogue, cleric) fully playable with all mainstream modules (skills, feats, tactical rules, etc) up to level 20 or 30.

Higher level is always neglected in playtests and its always the most problematic area as a result. This has been true for four editions now.

 

[Rhenny]

I agree with Dragonblade (can't xp you sorry). If we get to play test a foundation and we help to make it as solid as possible, we'll be more excited, and then WoTC can develop from there. It makes good sense for design purposes, and for marketing purposes.

 

[Majoru Oakheart]

I agree with Dragonblade (can't xp you sorry). If we get to play test a foundation and we help to make it as solid as possible, we'll be more excited, and then WoTC can develop from there. It makes good sense for design purposes, and for marketing purposes.

I agree. I'd like to see at least all the levels of the base classes and races with a somewhat extensive list of monsters and traps to allow us to create enough adventures for the next couple of months of play so we can work out kinks in the math as people go up levels.

What I suspect is that the game isn't nearly complete enough for them to give us that information at the end of May and that the lawyers will object to giving that much of the game away for free and we'll instead end up with the equivalent of one 1st level adventure's worth of information.

 

[Vael]

I think we'll be disappointed, but not because of that, we'll be disappointed because we're going to start with "The Core", and that movie sucked.

Okay, what I really mean, is that all the additional modules like grid combat and such are not going to be parts of the initial playtest. For one good reason, 5e needs to have a solid core for all these modules. But, that means we're going to be playing a very simplistic and stripped down game for a bit, and that may not make for the most enjoyable play, depending on your tastes.

 

[Kaodi]

I think we'll be disappointed, but not because of that, we'll be disappointed because we're going to start with "The Core", and that movie sucked.

Tread carefully, ye that heap scorn upon the work of our man, jonrog1.

 

[Crazy Jerome]

Merely because they have a big series of playtests for "the core" and associated parts, leading up to launch ... it does not follow that they can't then have smaller playtests for things that come later.

Perhaps the people that provide useful feedback will be seen as a great resource going forward.

 

[am181d]

Can the people who signed NDAs talk about the *types* of materials they've received? Without indicating the content.

Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if Wizards gave out pre-gens but no character creation or advancement rules.

 

[MatthewJHanson]

Can the people who signed NDAs talk about the *types* of materials they've received? Without indicating the content.

Personally, I wouldn't be surprised if Wizards gave out pre-gens but no character creation or advancement rules.

It's possible, but I also think it would upset a lot of people. I'm guessing 4 race and 4 classes. I'm not sure how many levels to expect.