D&D 5E What direction should 5th edition take?

[invokethehojo]

These are the core elements of 4th edition's feel, at least imo.

1. Play is be very tactical, with movement, power usage and position all factoring into combat effectiveness.

2. The rules are simplified, the complexity is in the powers mostly.

3. The system is close to being player and DM proof, meaning that players have a hard time building an ineffective character and DM whims have less of a chance of changing the face of the game.

4. Everything is very defined, meaning that there is a rule for most situations, and if there isn't those situations are frowned upon.

These are my opinions, and you may not agree with them, but I'm sure you all agree that 4th edition feels different from other editions. Rather than discuss what we like or dislike about 4e, I'm curious to hear what direction do you think 5th edition should take?

Should it build upon 4e, or go in a different direction? Would you like to see things going back to the "old school" way of doing things, or continue to emulate "video game" inspired mechanics? Should gold, items, powers, tactical combat and other mainstays continue to be core elements, or should they try something different?

Thoughts?

 

[pascale]

I'd like to see it keep the encounter based balancing that Tob and the powers system brought with it. However i want a more modual less restrictive system, like 3.5/pathfinders multiclassing. I want them to have many many options, the more the better. The system should be able to do any and everything, within reason. Basically I'd like to see ToB meets pathfinder in that all classes have good options aplenty, both combat and a non combat. And at the same time having so over balancing that it completely invalidates soemthing else.

 

[Ryujin]

5e should build off the strengths of 4e, rather than taking a backward step to previous versions. Making abilities granular tends to make the game munchkin proof.

I'd rather not think of 5e though, given the hit my wallet takes every time that a new edition comes out.

 

[RangerWickett]

I still feel that overly reined-in character options is less fun, but that's just my opinion. I'd rather have crazy options, coupled with guidelines that say "A total attack bonus of +x is too high at level y. Average damage z is too high," instead of childproofing the game.

But as for an actual 5e, which will probably come out after 2014? Well, seeing as the apocalypse will happen in 2012, I guess the gamebook will need to be short so people can more easily copy it by hand, and we'll need to use rocks instead of dice.

 

[Flipguarder]

But as for an actual 5e, which will probably come out after 2014? Well, seeing as the apocalypse will happen in 2012... and we'll need to use rocks instead of dice.

So I'm confused, Why if somehow, enough humans survived to become interested in games again, would we have 0 dice left in the world, in addition to nobody who would be able to make them.

Hell, I CAN MAKE DICE.

 

[Mort_Q]

I'd like to see something classless. Hard to balance I suspect.

 

[Garthanos]

But as for an actual 5e, which will probably come out after 2014? Well, seeing as the apocalypse will happen in 2012, I guess the gamebook will need to be short so people can more easily copy it by hand, and we'll need to use rocks instead of dice.

Bones dude.... bones...( umm you know how many apocalypses have come and gone.. humans are boss monsters to hell with doom or fate - were gonna be settling other planets before cthulu comes to gets us we are.)

 

[Garthanos]

Bones dude.... bones...( umm you know how many apocalypses have come and gone.. humans are boss monsters to hell with doom or fate - were gonna be settling other planets before cthulu comes to gets us we are.)

heck we will be rolling holographic dice or playing in real holodecks before never never land takes over earth.

 

[Garthanos]

I'd like to see something classless. Hard to balance I suspect.

It would eat HERO games for lunch though...
You have to have flavor built in... Hero while mechanically nice always lacked real flavor keeping classes and going with skinnable power lists in 4e they avoided that problem. How would you suggest maintaining all that flavorlishousness that makes it newbie friendly... and going classless.

 

[AbdulAlhazred]

I still feel that overly reined-in character options is less fun, but that's just my opinion. I'd rather have crazy options, coupled with guidelines that say "A total attack bonus of +x is too high at level y. Average damage z is too high," instead of childproofing the game.

Hasn't the disaster that was 3.5 taught us anything? The object of rules that actually work is not "childproofing", it is building a game that is functional so that everyone can be playing more or less the same game. So you know when I go out and buy a module it is actually playable because it doesn't have to assume my players are either munchkins or I slap them on the hand every time they get more than +X to hit? And exactly how do you go around telling your players "Well, no, you're actually good at the game, so I'm going to have to nerf you're characters."???!!!! I don't need to pay for a set of rules if that's as good as it gets.

Anyway. I agree with whoever said that if there is a 5e it should build on 4e. There are any number of mechanical things that probably could be improved. What 4e REALLY brought to the table though was a far superior approach and view of what the game rules were supposed to accomplish. Narrative control, lack of idiotic "plotbuster" mechanics, etc. That's what any putative 5e needs to really stick to. The worst thing they could do would be to regress back to days when the rules of the game were something you had to fight with, ignore, or rewrite before you could run an adventure.