The "Smell Test"

[Arlough]

The poll is not about whether you like it or not, just whether it "feels" like whatever D&D feels like to you.

If AD&D defines your gut-level of what make D&D, but that makes you want to drink bleach, you'd still check "smells fishy" if the playtest felt like a different game and you loved it.

Is it D&D? Not "do you like it?"

Sorry, I misunderstood completely. To me, all editions of D&D feel like D&D. They just feel like different editions of D&D.

I will say this, it didn't feel like WoD, or Palladium, or Fate, or Call of Cthulu. It just felt like D&D of some sort.*

As for the fish scale (sorry, had to) I found it fishy but not bad. That is to say, right now there are some very exploitable aspects to it, but hopefully they will fix those. I did, however, find much that I liked about it, as well. But given the potential exploits as well as WotC's splat based business plan, I am can't yet endorse it as "the next big system."

*For the record, I "identified" with 4e (As it is what I am playing now, and I am not very likely to go back to other editions) and I listed it as being fishy.

 

[Tequila Sunrise]

Sorry, I misunderstood completely. To me, all editions of D&D feel like D&D. They just feel like different editions of D&D.

Wish I could XP right now.

 

[Tony Vargas]

I wasn't sure how to answer this. I like 4e, probably because it isn't just like AD&D. I played AD&D a long time and enjoyed it, but, y'know, that was a long time, I've had all the AD&D I feel a need for.

The 5e playtest really felt like AD&D. I played the wizard, and, compared to AD&D, it was a lot more powerful with two classic 1st-level spells at-will, and 3 spells at level 1; while the Fighter, lacking the extra attacks of weapon specialization or TWFing was actually somewhat behind the late-1e or 2e fighter. Compare that to 4e where both get to be interesting and playable from level 1 on, and stay that way.

So, yeah, it 'smelled fishy,' because, at this point, old D&D just isn't the gold standard anymore.

 

[Mercule]

Sorry, I misunderstood completely. To me, all editions of D&D feel like D&D. They just feel like different editions of D&D.

No worries. And I'll say that all editions of D&D are D&D. My poll comes from a couple places.

The first is that, following the play test, I was struck by a sense of a return of something I'd been missing. For lack of a better way of putting it, the play test felt like D&D in a way that even 3e didn't, to me. Since I learned D&D way back in the early Reagan years, I wondered if that meant it was a rollback to that style of rules.

When I remembered that a fairly large number of folks (including most of my local group) said 4e didn't feel like D&D to them, and WotC has said 5e is trying to be the edition that unites all the editions, my poll was born.

 

[Steely_Dan]

I wasn't sure how to answer this. I like 4e, probably because it isn't just like AD&D. I played AD&D a long time and enjoyed it, but, y'know, that was a long time, I've had all the AD&D I feel a need for.

Well keep playing 4th Ed and stop with your anti-pre-4th Ed campaign you seem to be rolling with on this and the WotC site, please, for all of us (borders on...ya know...).

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[nnms]

I wasn't sure how to answer this. I like 4e, probably because it isn't just like AD&D. I played AD&D a long time and enjoyed it, but, y'know, that was a long time, I've had all the AD&D I feel a need for.

They really need to put out a tactical grid module, powers module, and an encounter balance math module ASAP. The longer they go testing the basic system of D&DN without bringing in modules for different edition play, the more they're going to alienate people.

So, yeah, it 'smelled fishy,' because, at this point, old D&D just isn't the gold standard anymore.

For me, it 'smelled fishy' because it still stank of new D&D too much.

 

[Tony Vargas]

Quote:
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So, yeah, it 'smelled fishy,' because, at this point, old D&D just isn't the gold standard anymore.
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For me, it 'smelled fishy' because it still stank of new D&D too much.

WotC has taken on a real challenge in trying to get both extremes - both those who want 'new and innovative' and those who want proven and familiar - on board with 5e.

This is just the very core of 5e, and already it's alienating people.

 

[Abstruse]

I like each edition for its own strengths and weaknesses, as they give each edition a different "feel" or "style". I like Next because (so far at least), it's taking the best of those different editions without any of the weaknesses giving it a feel and style that reminds me of each edition in turn in a good way.

 

[nnms]

WotC has taken on a real challenge in trying to get both extremes - both those who want 'new and innovative' and those who want proven and familiar - on board with 5e.

This is just the very core of 5e, and already it's alienating people.

They really should have lead with modularity. People keep talking about how the playtest is about making the core work and not to worry about modularity yet. But that makes me wonder...

If appealing to everyone through modularity is a key feature of 5E, then isn't testing it as part of the core pretty much be a given?

And the way Mearls tweeted about modularity related to regaining hit points spawning out of the playtest combined with his "rulings not rules" talk makes me think that they don't really have much planned in the way of designing modules specifically to produce a desired type of play.

I'm starting to think that 5E will just segment the D&D population further, dropping some 4E players and picking up some new ones and getting some back, but I don't think the "unite the editions" goal is really going to pan out.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Hmmh, I think you are judging too early and most probably wrong...

On the other hand: they should have given some different hp variants maybe. So old school: drop themes, background and -10hp