D&D 5E With the Holy Trinity out, let's take stock of 5E

[SilverfireSage]

while i haven't seen the final DMG yet, i can say for sure that it's my favorite edition and i'll be playing it for years to come.

the art has sort of let me down, though. it's all cartoonish, deviant art slush. there's hardly any pieces in the phb or mm that have really blown me away or stood out as being in the spirit of dnd.

I know! This new edition is so cartoonish.

 

[Stormonu]

I don't have the DMG (There's always Christmas, though!) yet, but I'm pretty happy with 5E. I've got my nitpicks, but I've had worse so far with previous editions. I really like the starter set adventure so far. I won't say its the best D&D ever, but it's pretty damn good.

 

[Serendipity]

So far so good - unless the DMG secretly turns into a rare polished dragon turd sixteen days after acquisition this is easiily my favorite modern incarnation of D&D.
It doesn't replace OD&D or AD&D for me, but right now it's about neck and neck with AD&D for my second favorite incarnation of the rules. And, much as I don't like to admit it, it will probably see a lot more play than either of the others will at my table, at least for the immediate future. Which is quite a switch from where I was toward the end of the playtest (i.e. "Skipping this one.") - more than happy to be wrong.

 

[Raith5]

I like 5e a lot. It pretty much replaces my need to play any pre-4e D&D (except for the occasional nostalgia game). However I don't find it an adequate replacement for 4e D&D. There are stil so many things that edition does that I like that 5e doesn't. Right now 4e and 5e are tied for my favorite edition. They are both great but different games.

This is my view as well. While 5e feels more polished than 4e (thanks to the beta process no doubt), and reads better, I have always found (from level 1 -28) that 4e is just a blast when I play. Sure 4e feels over the top and gonzo at times, but I have enjoyed the focus of fun over realism (or D&D's traditional take on realism) and the way it made martial characters so much fun. I am enjoying 5e as well, edition comparisons go out the window once the game starts, I just find it a little step down in the excitement stakes at times.

 

[Psikerlord#]

I've played 2e, 3e, 4e. I genuinely believe this is the best iteration of DnD yet, but i need to DM for a while to tell.

 

[delericho]

With the DMG out* and the Holy Trinity finally assembled, what's the verdict?

Epic fail - they weren't able to give me any time to actually play the game.

Is the most play-tested version of D&D a creative success?

Yes.

Does it bode well for the future of the edition?

Yes.

Is this the One Edition to Rule Them All?

No.

Given the seemingly overwhelming accolades for the Trinity as a whole, will 5E be a wild financial success?

I thought it already had been?

And while we're at it, another round of...What next? Where to now, WotC?

Hopefully, they'll just keep following their plan, whatever that is. It seems to be working for them pretty well.

 

[Moorcrys]

Loved Moldvay Basic, love AD&D, love 2nd, love (playing, but not DMing) 3rd, love 4th.

I think this is my favorite core version of the rules. Well done WOtC.

 

[Giltonio_Santos]

With the DMG out* and the Holy Trinity finally assembled, what's the verdict?

So far, pretty good. We didn't have so much fun since the days of 2E.

Does it bode well for the future of the edition? Is this the One Edition to Rule Them All?

I don't think so. There will never be the one true edition, in my opinion. But we have a really solid framework, and 6E and beyond should definitely look at polishing 5E instead of trying to change the game again. I believe this is an invaluable lesson from 4E that WotC people should take seriously: D&D is not your indie RPG, don't try to tell people how it should be played.

Given the seemingly overwhelming accolades for the Trinity as a whole, will 5E be a wild financial success? And while we're at it, another round of...What next? Where to now, WotC? The DMG is out, we want to know what else is coming down the pike!

It seems that they're doing pretty well for their past standards, but as Mearls himself stated, there's a trend of every new edition selling more books than the previous one, and we have no idea of what WotC would categorize as financial success.

That said, I hope that they keep their promise of avoiding the splat bloat and try to create a game line focused on good adventures, including standalone modules that have no storyline or that relate to the storyline only if the DM want to. And settings. I know it's probably my impossible dream, but I'd love to see support for old and new great campaign settings.

 

[The_Gneech]

Love it. So happy to "come home" to D&D.

-The Gneech

 

[Umbrathys]

I've played since 1978 (yep, I'm old) and DM'd since 79 (yep, really, really old). This is the first edition of the game in decades that has absolutely captured my imagination. My few concerns (no spell list by school, no notes in the list for concentration or ritual, the "non-offensive" art is sometimes rather odd or bland, some rules are vague (of course you add Shield or Cover to AC when using Barkskin. Seems like a simple sentence to add ) are exceptionally minor. I have had an absolute blast just rolling up characters with all of the options pre-made in the apparently simple rules.
This is not the end-all-be-all rule-set. A 6E will come along in time. But, for now, it is an amazing edition.
Overall, I would score the PHB a 4.5/5.0. The MM at 4.8/5.0. The DMG at 4.5/5.0.
I hope, as mentioned above, that they avoid over splat-book-ing us Only splat books I would like to see are those that serve an obvious purpose (i.e., psionics).
Having played basic, 1E, 2E, 3E, 3.5E, 4E, loads of Pathfinder, I can say that this edition will comfortably replace all at my table.