D&D 5E What Does the Game Need Now?

[Morrus]

For me it’s revival of all the old settings. I know it’s not the best business strategy, but it’s definitely what I feel I’d like to see.

 

[Parmandur]

But the point of alternate features is basically something you can swap in or out and is theoretically balanced. Like a different Fighting Style.

The sorcerer tweak is the opposite, as it’s just outright better. It’s not an alternate feature, it’s a replacement.

He was just throwing it out there, but he seemed to think it was a balance-neutral suggestion.

 

[Stalker0]

I would love a book that covers the very common and classic troupes that many many groups experience.

Example: Barbarian says "I want to break down the door!". Having a table of good DC for various door types....or for the crazy people who try to break down the wall around the door because the door is too well made.

Chases are a thing the DMG covers a bit, but there is more to do there.


Interrogating a prisoner
Escaping from Jail
Dealing with the surprise of meeting the enemy in a forest
etc

So many common moments that most Dnd players go through. It would be great to have a toolbox book that has specific rules or suggestions tailored for each scenario.

 

[Jester David]

He was just throwing it out there, but he seemed to think it was a balance-neutral suggestion.

Yeah. It’s not game breaking by any means.
But who would take the regular sorcerer if you can take the variant that has two bonus spells with no trade off?

 

[Quickleaf]

More kid and beginner friendly material for the tabletop game. Not a lot more - the Starter Set is really good - but something easy to pick up and run for a group of kids just being introduced to D&D. Even out here in Hawaii we have a kid-focused AlohaCon, and I’ve been looking at running HeroKids there because 5e (at least as presented in the core rules) is a bit too complex & too combat-focused for teaching young kids IMO.

 

[Draegn]

I second a new video game, however, one that does not have cut content and if possible allows you to continue on paths that are not part of the adventure. For example: the Bishop romance in NWN2 and being able to run away with him.

 

[Hjorimir]

1. The game clearly needs more DMs!
2. Yes, I'd cry tears of joy for a 5e Star Frontiers

I would love a book that covers the very common and classic troupes that many many groups experience.

Example: Barbarian says "I want to break down the door!". Having a table of good DC for various door types....or for the crazy people who try to break down the wall around the door because the door is too well made.

Chases are a thing the DMG covers a bit, but there is more to do there.


Interrogating a prisoner
Escaping from Jail
Dealing with the surprise of meeting the enemy in a forest
etc

So many common moments that most Dnd players go through. It would be great to have a toolbox book that has specific rules or suggestions tailored for each scenario.

Oh, please no! I get what you're driving at, but one of the fundamental things I love about 5e is rulings over rules. This would create a situation where players would argue with DMs on DCs for skill checks and such. Even if I didn't buy it myself, it if was published it enters the conversation. No thanks for me!

 

[doctorbadwolf]

So, what I would personally like?

I would like a few sourcebooks/campaign books with themed options. Specifically, Al-Qadim and Kara-Tur (Oriental Adventures).

On the one hand, I think this would be magical, amazing, and (especially for younger players) open up worlds of imagination and further exploration. I know that we've got some inklings of flavor in the published subclasses, but I want thematic wholes. I still remember how the publication of OA led me down an amazing and awesome rabbit hole of play and discovery.

On the other hand ... it would have to be approached with care because times have changed. Pretty sure you can't just call a book Oriental Adventures anymore, and for good reason. Still, it would be amazing.

I agree with this, and I’ll add that there are a lot of people making great products (from games to novels to comics) that draw on their own culture’s mythology and fiction by people of that culture, and I’d love to see someone like Saladin Ahmed brought in to help write an Al Qadim book, for instance. Dude knows his Djinn, and has already created some wonderful fantasy worlds with heavy inspiration from the Muslim Near East.

The other thing I want more of is more products that explore the depth and breadth of what dnd can be.
Modern dnd.
Space dnd. (Big dream would be wotc getting back the Star Wars RPG license)
DnD in a world rife with magic, where humans are a minority species.

more races that push boundaries, like pixies, and races that help fill out campaign themes, like Vryloka, Dryads and satyrs, thri-keen, nocturnal desert dwelling gnomes, fey ogres and goblins, weird stuff like Wilden, playable vampires and werewolves, etc.

a full summoner class, where summoning is at least as big a part of the class as Wild Shape is for Druids.

More rules and examples for tinkering, alchemy, and magic item crafting.

More Ships (incoming, it seems), taverns, businesses, organizations, followers, keeps and domains, with no hard level requirements. (Sometimes it’s fun as hell to let the party keep that ship or shop or castle they win from enemies, and make it both a group resource and a narrative device, from early levels.

There are still subclasses we dont have, like a more strongly magical Ranger, an Arcane/Eldritch Monk (not another elemental evocator), a ranged weapon Paladin, Dragon Warlock, Warlock Rod/Staff pact boon, Primal Spirits Warlock, heavily Fey Ranger Monk and Barbarians, a dagger master (thrown weapons expert) rogue, that acrobat rogue mike was working on, a fighter or Paladin subclass with a follower, some kind of proper witch that calls upon spirits and curses stuff, mixing stuff dnd puts in Fey options, Druids stuff, and arcane Warlock+wizard stuff, a rogue with exploits, a sohei Monk with some divine stuff and able to use polearms as monks weapons....

also feats. More race feats, class specialization feats, tool feats, more weapon feats (make crappy weapons good with feats!), and more weird RP focused feats.

More items! Or even a book that collects all published magic items with errata, with some new stuff, variants, advice on tweaking items and making new ones, advice on handling different magic item assumptions, and all that expanded material i mentioned about tinkering, alchemy, and other crafting.

More spells, especially for classes that have issues, like Ranger.

 

[robus]

I want behind the scenes discussion of the adventures they’ve created. Why certain choices were made, what was the objective etc etc. I also want much better adventures, the ones that are published should not be so random seeming IMHO.

 

[Guest 6801328]

More DMs.

Professional DMs. Highly paid.

Edit: Oh, and a low-magic setting. Not Burning Sun...that's just replacing magic with other exoticness. Just a simple, single-planet, single-plane setting with good guys and bad guys and dungeons.