D&D 5E (2014) 5e: Setting the Dials

[Redbadge]

I posted this in another thread, but the more I thought about it, the more I thought it might be interesting enough to warrant its own thread:

"I don't think it'll take that much effort to select modules or excise options. In many cases, I assume you'll have to make a decision about what to include in your game.

For example, under the Health and Long Rest dial, I'd expect to see something like the following:

Heroic <--> Balanced <--> Gritty (Choose one):

A. Heroic: Regain all HP and HD after a long rest.
B. Balanced: Regain all HD after a long rest (you may spend them to regain HP).
C. Gritty: Regain 1 HD per long rest (you may spend it to regain HP).

Sidebar--> Explains each option on the dial and how to place the dial in between options, or even lower or higher.

Now obviously, you will have to excise some of these, since it would be hard to use all three simultaneously. Also, note that all three healing systems are default, core systems, so noones preferences are out of the spotlight, so to speak (new players are introduced to all three simultaneously, etc.) Rinse and repeat with other aspects of your game, such as ability scores and races. The rarity system of the races already points to this:

A. Include Rare, Uncommon, and Common Races
B. Include Uncommon and Common Races
C. Include only Common Races

If the "packages" are properly aligned, it might even be so easy for you to tell your players, "We're going for all C packages for this campaign."

Are there any other things you would like to see dials for? I can imagine a core system just loaded with cool options. Just like a character sheet, a DM might have "campaign sheet" he hands out to his players, listing where all the separate dials are set. Here are just a few of the things I thought would be interesting (once again these could all be presented as core/default so someone doesn't feel like their D&D preferences are relegated to some unloved niche):

Gritty <--> Balanced <--> Heroic (in general)

Ability Scores: Rolling <--> Point Buy <--> Array
--Rolling: 3d6 <--> 4d6 drop lowest <--> 4d6 reroll 1s and 2s
--Point Buy: 22 <--> 25 <--> 28
--Array: Mook <--> Standard <--> Elite

Races (as above)
Long Rests (as above)

Starting HP: Hit Die <--> Con Score <--> HD plus Con Score

Cantrips: Ability Modifier Per day <--> Ability Score Per Day <--> At-will

Themes: None<--> Listed Packages <--> Custom
Backgrounds: Same


Just the important ones off the top of my head, though I'm interested in hearing what others people would be excited about or how they would change those I've listed above.

One problem I see with this is that you'd be paying for a book full of rules, but you'd only be using about 1/3 of them at any given time. In other words, some people would never use the rare races, etc. Any problems with that?

 

[CypherWulf]

I am fully in favor of this. Allowing the GM to control the game is one of the best aspects of what Dungeons and Dragons is. a standardized lexicon of what type of game you're walking into would be invaluable to prospective players.

 

[the Jester]

Off the top of my head:

Lethality.

Dice-vs.-roleplay in interactions.

Alignment.

Item creation.

 

[Redbadge]

Do people feel that this topic has already been adequately addressed, or are you just not interested in the topic?

Perhaps I should have worded the thread title as a question:

What elements would you want to see have "dials" in core 5e, and what would those dials look like?

Thanks for any responses.

 

[jodyjohnson]

I think it's going to look like a 1e Heward's Mystical Organ with so many stops (dials), switches, keys, and pedals that most will only play it if the default settings are all matching the type of music they want to play without touching any of them.

And that's a pipe-organ dream.

 

[jadrax]

Do people feel that this topic has already been adequately addressed, or are you just not interested in the topic?

Perhaps I should have worded the thread title as a question:

What elements would you want to see have "dials" in core 5e, and what would those dials look like?

Thanks for any responses.

Unfortunately, my honest answer at the moment is, I don't really know.

To me, it probably depends upon the campaign and the players.

 

[Redbadge]

I think it's going to look like a 1e Heward's Mystical Organ with so many stops (dials), switches, keys, and pedals that most will only play it if the default settings are all matching the type of music they want to play without touching any of them.

And that's a pipe-organ dream.

I like your imagery. However, when I envision the default "switch/key/pedal" positions for the 5e dials, I envision that they are all off. In otherwords, you can't make music at all without throwing some switches and turning the machine on.

In other words, the switch for race starts at "none". The DM (maybe with the input of his players) has to choose something. Whether or not some of the possible race settings include dwarves, gnomes, or dragonborn shouldn't really be an issue, should it?

There is a famous thread on the Wizards forums from a guy named Oakspar77777: Whoops! Browser Settings Incompatible.

His first post contains one way in which the "settings" of the campaign might be set. I suggest checking it out if you've never seen it.

Edit: That link works for me; can anyone tell me if it works for them as well?

 

[Mengu]

A. Heroic: Regain all HP and HD after a long rest.
B. Balanced: Regain all HD after a long rest (you may spend them to regain HP).
C. Gritty: Regain 1 HD per long rest (you may spend it to regain HP).

I would need another "super heroic" option, regain all HP after a short rest, HD can be spent as an action.

A few of the knobs and dials I want to see are regarding recovery, volume of options (0-1-2 themes, 0-1-2 backgrounds, etc), use of magic items (none-some-lots), amount of magic in the world (high-mid-low), and the necessary adjustments that need to be made on the DM side for monsters, adventure elements, encounter design, and the like.

Problem is going to be keeping all the house rules straight when I'm running one game, playing in two others, and participating in organized play.

 

[Minigiant]

Unrestricted - Codes of Conduct - Severe Deity/Patron Punishment

No magic buyers - Rare Magic Merchants - MageMart

 

[Redbadge]

I would need another "super heroic" option, regain all HP after a short rest, HD can be spent as an action.

A few of the knobs and dials I want to see are regarding recovery, volume of options (0-1-2 themes, 0-1-2 backgrounds, etc), use of magic items (none-some-lots), amount of magic in the world (high-mid-low), and the necessary adjustments that need to be made on the DM side for monsters, adventure elements, encounter design, and the like.

Problem is going to be keeping all the house rules straight when I'm running one game, playing in two others, and participating in organized play.

Oooh, super heroic is a good one, my group might like something like that. I could also see including "super-gritty", 1 HP per level per day, until full, then start regaining HD. People have also talked about automatically losing HD when becoming bloodied/knocked unconscious/etc, although I don't know which dial you'd put that under.

I like having a bunch of options, which is why I also recommended a sidebar detailing how to deviate above, below, and between the 3 given dial settings. One problem with having more than 3 detailed, specific settings for each dial (say 5) is that now you're only using 20% of the rules for any given campaign.

As far as keeping campaigns straight, I agree it might be difficult. However, I envision a "campaign sheet" that you could also keep with your character sheet:

Name: Dave's Campaign
Ability Scores: Point Buy (25)
Race: Common/Uncommon (no half-elves)
Background: Choose any 2
Theme: Custom
Healing: Balanced
XP Advancement: Accelerated (x2)

etc, etc.

With a standardized sheet or "block" people would know what to look for and expect, and you could include such a block in the first post of a PbP for example (obviously many people already do something similar, but in this case it would be standardized with all the available "dials" present).

Also, one of the things I really like as a player of D&D is just creating characters and making up character sheets for PCs I never intend on playing. With enough different options, this might be a fun thing to also do as a DM with campaigns; i.e. try to develop the grittiest campaign I can, the most superheroic etc. I could file the results of this fun "minigame" (often what PC generation is also called) right alongside the files for all the PCs I've generated.