D&D (2024) Mike Mearls “…it’s now obvious how to live without Bonus Actions”' And 6th Edition When Players Ask

Osgood · May 30, 2017

I think bonus actions are fine. The idea was a little tricky for my players to grasp at first (and conflated with minor/swift actions) but everyone gets it now. I certainly don't think we need a 6th edition anytime soon--frankly, in a lot of ways I don't feel like even fully realized yet (plenty of character, story, and especially setting options yet to be explored).

I get that there are things in the rules they want to tweak, but I think it's a bit like George Lucas wanting to fiddle with Star Wars... some things may be a good idea (refreshing some bad fx, windows in Cloud City) other things not so much (Greedo and Han, Bad CGI-Jabba and Han, musical number). If only there was a way to present optional rule variations without changing the edition, like a book of arcana that had been unearthed...

CydKnight · May 30, 2017

Desh-Rae-Halra said:
I'm ready and formally asking for 6th Edition

Be careful what you wish for.....

techno · May 30, 2017

wedgeski said:
I loved that one guy on Twitter: "I'm ready and formally asking for 6E." Get over yourself, pal.

Mearls just responded to this guy saying: Alas, you have quite a long while to wait. Not on the horizon. #wotcstaff

Matrix Sorcica · May 30, 2017

Scott_Holst said:
So now lets further split the hobby apart, we will have 1E, 2E, 3.5/ pathfinder, 4e (worst edition ever), 5E and now 6E.

Oh, the irony.

ZeshinX · May 30, 2017

Mearls is like the Steward of Gondor. He's done well, but now he's losing his mind. Time for him to step aside and let another take up the mantle, lest he meet a similar, though metaphorical, end as Denethor.

Alchemist's Fire · May 30, 2017

To be fair, he said "nowhere near that now" in regards to a new edition. I think 3 years is too short a lifespan for any edition, and he just meant that Wizards has no intentions to make an edition-to-end-all-editions. I believe the point of his message is that anyone who wants to do-away with bonus actions can without needing a 6th Edition to remove them - in essence, he's just saying you can homebrew-them out and still enjoy 5th Edition, not wait for the next generation.

MonkeezOnFire · May 30, 2017

I can see what he's saying with regards to bonus actions that require a trigger. If a feature has to be triggered by something specific like attacking why does that require an action? If the trigger has been met that thing should just happen. But I do like bonus actions how they appear in other parts of the system. Bonus action spells and things like the rogue's cunning action are all great.

Queer Venger · May 30, 2017

beware hubris with talk of a 6th edition...

Warpiglet · May 30, 2017

I cannot be too critical. I think the game is a masterpiece. I have been buying up things I may or may not use.

However, if they move to a new edition well before the market is saturated with product, I am out. I will keep my 5e books, buy any I missed and be done with it. My group would not tolerate a new edition any time in the anywhere near future. I am talking a significant number of years ahead and maybe even then, this may be the end of the trail for me.

How can I say this? We played AD&D into the nineties/early 2000 and then switched to third for a while. A good game can last. We house ruled in spell points, critical hits, max hit points at first level and a few other things in 5e.

I am hoping his qualifier of being nowhere near a new edition is not hyperbole.

If they wanted to do an updated player's handbook that incorporated some new tweaks and the books remain compatible, then fine. I could buy that. But this is coming from the guy that DID NOT by a single 3.5 product (and did collect but rarely played 4e---just was not a good fit for me).

Time will tell. I have been very surprisingly pleased with their releases the last few years. For my, 5e is really just taking hold in our group and gearing up...looking for long support for it...

CapnZapp · May 30, 2017

Dragonblade said:
My biggest issue with 5e is the lack of self-contained stat blocks. Monsters and NPCs with spells I have a look up is just poor design, IMO.

It's not right at the top of my list, but yeah, it's annoying.

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