Which D&D "sacred cows" will be sacrificed in 5E?

[outsider]

I doubt they'll kill many at all. They didn't hesitate very much to get rid of what they didn't like with 4e. The only ones I think will go are the ones that 4e merely gives lip service to. For example, the option for rolling for attributes. Have you taken a look at that rule recently? The 4e implementation makes it clear that random attributes really don't belong. So, that'll be gone. I suspect if you really want to know what sacred cows will be gone in the next edition, you should look for stuff like that. There's probably several more examples of stuff they really didn't want to include, but did out of tradition.

 

[ggroy]

There's probably several more examples of stuff they really didn't want to include, but did out of tradition.

What would be specific examples of this, besides the rolling for attributes?

 

[Minirogue]

I would say alignment would be something to go, perhaps getting only mentioned as a optional thing.

Hmm...I kinda thought it was pretty much optional for 4e anyways...at least that's how it's treated

 

[outsider]

I don't have any other examples off the top of my head. That's the one that really jumped out at me when I originally read the PHB, but it wouldn't surprise me if there's a couple more(though not many, as they definitely weren't afraid to slaughter sacred cows in this edition). I'll pull out my phb and read a bit, see if I can come up with any others.

 

[TwinBahamut]

I think +x items will probably go. We may still see tiered equipment, similar to the way 4E treats masterwork armor (I don't want to see even that, but it might exist), but I really do think that +x benefits need to go for significant game design reasons. If nothing else, they just limit certain class concepts (anything that doesn't use a weapon has to jump through hoops) and force the need to constantly upgrade items along a predetermined track, allowing the possibility of getting ahead of that track or falling behind it. Limiting stat-boosting items in 4E opened up the magic item system a lot compared to 3E, and removing +x items would help just as much if not more.

While I don't quite expect it, I wouldn't mind seeing the Fighter class, as in a single class that is designed to embody as many combat styles and archetypes as possible, get diminished even further. It should get broken apart into several different classes the same way the Wizard was broken up in 4E.

Honestly, I would really like to see them break down the "Dungeons and Dragons is an exclusively fantasy genre game" barrier, so that fantasy, modern, and futuristic settings and concepts could all be melded together seamlessly.

 

[Fallen Seraph]

Honestly, I would really like to see them break down the "Dungeons and Dragons is an exclusively fantasy genre game" barrier, so that fantasy, modern, and futuristic settings and concepts could all be melded together seamlessly.

I don't see it happening. But that would be great. Or even just breaking out beyond just traditional high-fantasy and having many different types built into core. To be able to pull off a game like Perdido Street Station from just core D&D be awesome.

 

[Jan van Leyden]

Depending on where technology is in a few years, I'm almost ready to suggest the very idea of the in-person tabletop game will - if not disappear - be relegated to no more than an option, with the primary game being via a virtual tabletop and, of course, subscription-based. I'd not be at all surprised if the virtual game had elements and rules that were only accessible that way, and not included in the printed version - as in "We'll sell you this in-print introductory game for cheap, and it's quite playable; but if you want to play the *real* game you'll have to go online, and subscribe..."

This. WotC will move away from being a publishing company to performing as a service company. They'll probably sell you some infrastructure (core books with information on the real mechanisms but without game data [classes, races, powers], plus perhaps guide books to world buiolding and adventure writing) and provide you more stuff (character management, adventures, game data) in form of a rented service. A free demo version will give you access to a subset of the game data. You'll be able to make personalized printouts of the game data (character folio with all specific rules pertaining to this character, printed version of your aself-made adventure), if you insist on playing on your dinner table instead of in front of your screen.

Oh, and Paizo will release a completely revamped Pathfinder 2.0 which looks remarkably like D&D 4E.

 

[Plane Sailing]

As Piratecat says here http://www.enworld.org/forum/general-rpg-discussion/258492-how-many-pages-will-5e-phb-have.html, lets ditch the "5e" threads for a while, please.