D&D 5E We are betting a LOT on the DMG.... will it deliver?

[Mercule]

Some people have some high expectations of the DMG. I'm probably included in that group, but my expectations could probably be answered adequately in 10-15 pages.

Of those, I'd bet I'll get 80-90% of what I want, but another several answers to questions I hadn't thought to ask, yet, but really appreciate. So, I'm going with "meet", but that's more of an average of some bits that exceed and some that don't quite deliver. In other words, it'll be a quality product developed by human beings. I can live with that.

Now, if I still don't have any guidance on target numbers for opening locks and disarming traps, then it'll be a disappointment.

 

[The_Gneech]

Now, if I still don't have any guidance on target numbers for opening locks and disarming traps, then it'll be a disappointment.

I don't want to sound snarky, but you pretty much already do, on pp. 174 of the Players Handbook. As far as I can tell, 5E isn't using the "trap as an almost-monster with a stat block and a CR" model.

Target numbers for trap damage, yes, I'd very much like to see. The one thing I really liked from 4E was "Page 42."

-The Gneech

 

[Mercule]

I don't want to sound snarky, but you pretty much already do, on pp. 174 of the Players Handbook. As far as I can tell, 5E isn't using the "trap as an almost-monster with a stat block and a CR" model.

Well, I was being flip, so snarky seems acceptable.

Wow! I honestly hadn't noticed that table. I would have sworn I'd read the PHB cover to cover, other than some of the spells. I guess I missed a couple pages. Thanks, man.

 

[The_Gneech]

Wow! I honestly hadn't noticed that table... Thanks, man.

Pleased to be of service!

-TG

 

[Mercule]

Pleased to be of service!

-TG

NP. The XP thing isn't working for me, otherwise you'd have some.

 

[Thank Dog]

Target numbers for trap damage, yes, I'd very much like to see. The one thing I really liked from 4E was "Page 42."

I actually hope they don't go this route. I found that it made traps become very bland in 4e because they then became more about being "just another resource depletion mechanic traded for XP". I'd much rather have traps be interesting in some way rather than just being mechanically balanced damage output for an appropriate challenge rating. The original pit trap, for instance, wasn't about the damage you took from falling into it, it was about figuring a way to get across it without falling in. I want Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade traps, not "You spot trap. You disarm trap. You get XP from trap."

 

[The_Gneech]

I actually hope they don't go this route. I found that it made traps become very bland in 4e because they then became more about being "just another resource depletion mechanic traded for XP". I'd much rather have traps be interesting in some way rather than just being mechanically balanced damage output for an appropriate challenge rating. The original pit trap, for instance, wasn't about the damage you took from falling into it, it was about figuring a way to get across it without falling in. I want Indiana Jones & The Last Crusade traps, not "You spot trap. You disarm trap. You get XP from trap."

Page 42 was supposed to be something the DM could grab on the fly when traps or hazards appeared in the middle of a session, not the hard and fixed value of any and every trap people came upon. If people were making boring traps with it, that's because the traps were boring, not because there was a guideline for how much damage an off-the-cuff trap should do at a given CR.

-The Gneech

 

[Teflon Billy]

Honestly, there's not much more that I need. I'm hoping for a good selection of magic items, some guidelines on monster building...

That's all I really need too.

I hope they don't spend too much of the space on optional rules that I'll never use.

Again: me too

 

[Doc_Klueless]

I've been thinking about the "optional rules that I'll never use" thing and, while I'm not in disagreement, I've come to a conclusion for myself: those optional rules may be rules I hadn't thought of and actually become something I might use and/or they're just good enough to inspire me to some other end.

Hopefully.