D&D 5E Another Critical Hits 5E Report

[Hassassin]

F o u r h o u r s g o n e.

I laugh about it every time I think about it.

I think that's a better result that most of my 4h preps.

Usually the fight lasts longer, but rarely is it really that memorable. More often it's the no-prep on the fly things that are memorable in my games.

 

[Truename]

I sincerely hope that was the case, because an actual combat of five minutes is nothing. I just took part in a ten minute combat last Sunday: my first level character slew the giant worm guarding the entrance in one normal blow. We all were completely deflated.

I disagree. I'm using an alternate combat "module" in my paragon-tier 4e games where we run interesting, flavorful multi-round combats in less than ten minutes. Each turn takes about 20 seconds; a round takes a few minutes; and combats take less than five rounds. That's in contrast to my normal 4e combats, which take a minute or two per turn.

I can totally see an interesting fight happening in five or ten minutes as long as each player's turn is fast.

To be fair, though, I only use my "skirmish module" for filler battles. I break out the standard 4e rules for climactic set-pieces. In 5e, I can imagine using the tactical combat module in the same way.

 

[M.L. Martin]

*Wizard casts sleep on the ogre.
*Halfling rogue slits the ogre's throat.

Hmmm...this is the more worrisome part than 'paladin gets flattened' for me.

Was this all the wizard could do in all the encounters put together, or did he
have other options in the other encounters?
Was the success of the sleep spell against an ogre likely, or was this more of a desperation move?
And was the rogue's success a combination of skill, special abilities, and a bit of luck, or was it a fait accompli once the ogre was taking a nap?

 

[TheFindus]

I playtested 5E at DDXP and really enjoyed it. I didn't read my NDA terribly closely, so hopefully I won't get in trouble for sharing this.

We successfully explored one cavern complex, dealing with a variety of kobolds. We were chased out of a second cavern complex by orcs. After regrouping, we approached a third cavern. Sitting outside in a hollowed out rock, with back turned to us, was an ogre. The fight wents something like this...

*We approach as a group.
*The ogre notices us, stands, and limbers up his club arm.
*Somewhat injured paladin charges the ogre and gets flattened (i.e. dead).
*Halfling rogue slips around behind the ogre.
*Wizard casts sleep on the ogre.
*Halfling rogue slits the ogre's throat.

This information together with the info in the blog suggest that the new edition will probably please players of very old versions of DnD. Judging from the marketing WotC is doing, this seems to be one important target group for them, so they seem to be catering to their taste.
It will be interesting to see if the new version will be able to satisfy players of younger versions of the game as well, especially those who are WotC's actual loyal customers right now.
I do not think that the combat example above will impress those who like 4E for example. Neither will they be awed by having to use 10' poles again.
In trying to please all tastes, the designers are aiming very high. I really hope they can deliver.

 

[gloomhound]

4e seems to put a strong emphasis on having only conflicts the character can solve with no planning, and without having to run away.

So what happens if you don't win the conflict, can't you run away? Or is not winning also not possible?

 

[Jack99]

This information together with the info in the blog suggest that the new edition will probably please players of very old versions of DnD. Judging from the marketing WotC is doing, this seems to be one important target group for them, so they seem to be catering to their taste.
It will be interesting to see if the new version will be able to satisfy players of younger versions of the game as well, especially those who are WotC's actual loyal customers right now.
I do not think that the combat example above will impress those who like 4E for example. Neither will they be awed by having to use 10' poles again.
In trying to please all tastes, the designers are aiming very high. I really hope they can deliver.

It's really getting annoying when some people put everyone else in boxes.

I am a 4e customer. In fact, I have bought every single WotC 4e book/boxset released and 100+ third party products. And I am still buying products. I am also a fan of 4e - a big fan. C4bal, f4nboi, 4venger etc. Been there and done (or at least called) that. And yet, I am very much looking forward to dndnext, and I have absolutely no issue with the combat example that Mike posted.

Maybe it's because I have realized that just because 4e is great and so far the edition that has worked the best for me, it doesn't mean that dndnext can't be even greater, even though it looks and feels like other editions. I don't judge an edition based on whether it has THACO or Vancian magic or healing surge. I base my opinion on how the game as a whole runs and works for me.

/shrug

 

[FitzTheRuke]

In general use I agree fully but in this (the first chance to show off your new edition/sytem) it's kind of dumb to not follow that formula. It's like when playing a rock concert. You don't end on a sappy ballad or run-of-the-mill song, you nail them with a big hit and adrenalin-pumping anthem for the finale so they last thing they remember (and often most vividly) is a climactic high point.

We continue to agree in principle. But for all we know, he didn't even get to the real BBEG of the module and meant "A" boss fight. Not "the" boss fight.

At any rate, I getchya. I just don't think we can tell anything about 5e from his statement, other than it's likely that you CAN run combats fast. "Should you" or "can you run them slow" are another matter.

 

[Gamer McSmartypants]

...

 

[Lord Mhoram]

One thing to remember/consider on these reports - notably if you are 4E fan - is that this is the "base" game. The simple version. I was expecting a very OD&D or 1st ed vibe from that. It is the base everything else builds on and has options to change.


I suspect once the tactical modules and some other later stuff, it can feel much more 4E-ish. We just haven't seen any of those yet as the playtest of the basic game is being run.

 

[JamesonCourage]

I still strongly dislike the way they seem to be handling ability scores, but we'll see if their implementation is different from my interpretation. As it stands, I think it breaks down too much (it's too swingy) on opposed checks. 1d20+0 (Dex +0) and 1d20+4 (Dex +3, specialization +1) aren't that far apart, and doesn't make the rogue that much better at sneaking than the Fighter. And, if they are lowering ability score advancement, it might remain similar over many levels.

The upside:

• I have no concrete idea on how they're handling it. I might be very wrong.
• I think they'll be implementing a skill module. That's a good thing, because I love skills.

On a separate note, I actually dislike the idea of a boss battle taking up 5 minutes in real time. I'd rather the "lesser" fights take less, but we're okay devoting time to "that one awesome fight" that things seemed to build naturally around for a couple months. We look back fondly on those fights, when they go well, and the PCs barely win but everyone is messed up, stumbling away from the fight, carrying an unconscious comrade or two.

At any rate, I'll just have to see how it unfolds. I'm guessing we're missing things right now, and that's not even counting the unstable state the game is currently at. I'm looking forward to finding out more. As always, play what you like