D&D 5E Starter Set Character Sheet Revealed!

[Iosue]

This is a part of gamer culture that saddens me. The value of a stat being no more than the bonus it provides and systems that reinforce this assumption via the mechanics.

It's not my cup of tea, but I can't say I give a damn one way or the other what other people like or prefer. I mean, on the scale of changes in D&D culture that actually make me sad, this is far down the list. The complete and seemingly permanent removal of the caller and mapper from the game is much higher.

What I do like about this character sheet is that, while the Starter Set pre-gens have the bonus writ large and the ability score writ small, the sheet itself in no way induces you to fill it out that way. It would work just as well for writing the ability score big, and the bonus in the small box.

And the fact that 5e chargen lends itself quite handily to just writing a character down in a ruled notebook is an even more welcome change.

 

[VengerSatanis]

I tend to agree, and I do like the look of the suggested house rules for that type of game. If Jack Daniel can mod Next to fit that style, and I can mod it enough to make it passably like 4e, then I think WotC might actually just pull this whole thing off.

As much as I hate to admit it, I don't think the OSR and 3rd/4th edition D&D tribes can meet in the middle. It would be a compromise pleasing only the moderates, leaving out about half of the hardcore old school gamers and half of the 3/4e crowd.

If the free online Basic D&D had been predominantly old school with Advanced techniques just within the PHB and DMG, that would have made a lot more D&D fans happy. But the Starter Set pre-gens with Second Wind, Action Surge, etc? I think a lot of OD&D, AD&D, and many 2nd edition gamers will be turned off. They might still try it, but it won't be a love-fest success story for Mearls, Wizards, Hasbro, etc. like they hoped.

VS

p.s. Just blogged about this exact issue (see my signature for details).

 

[sidonunspa]

Rotted Capes... what's that?

I keep hearing good things about 13th Age. Have any experience with that?

VS

Rotted Capes I was main rules designer for it.

I'm planning on taking the way I did flaws and plot dice and adding them to my 5e game.

once the rules for 3rd party 5e docs are out I plan on making my optional rules pack a pdf product

 

[TwoSix]

The complete and seemingly permanent removal of the caller and mapper from the game is much higher.

The what now?

 

[Dausuul]

The what now?

Waaaaaaaaaaaay back in the day, there were special hats* that certain players wore. The Caller's job was to inform the DM what the party was doing, so the DM didn't have to listen to half a dozen players yelling at once. The Mapper was just that--the player who listened to the DM's description and drew a map of the dungeon as the party explored.

A Caller made it a lot easier to handle a larger table; you don't need one when you've got 3-4 players, but when you're trying to manage 8-9, it gets really chaotic without somebody to ride herd on them (other than the DM, who's got plenty to do already). Obviously, you only need a Mapper if you're doing a traditional dungeon crawl where an accurate map is important.

[SIZE=-2]*Not literal physical hats. At least, not at most tables.[/SIZE]

 

[Ruin Explorer]

The what now?

I've literally never seen either, even playing with aged 1E players. They may just be a myth.

 

[Kobold Stew]

I've literally never seen either, even playing with aged 1E players. They may just be a myth.

We are real, and we still exist. (We were twelve at the time.)

 

[TwoSix]

Waaaaaaaaaaaay back in the day, there were special hats* that certain players wore. The Caller's job was to inform the DM what the party was doing, so the DM didn't have to listen to half a dozen players yelling at once. The Mapper was just that--the player who listened to the DM's description and drew a map of the dungeon as the party explored.

A Caller made it a lot easier to handle a larger table; you don't need one when you've got 3-4 players, but when you're trying to manage 8-9, it gets really chaotic without somebody to ride herd on them (other than the DM, who's got plenty to do already). Obviously, you only need a Mapper if you're doing a traditional dungeon crawl where an accurate map is important.

[SIZE=-2]*Not literal physical hats. At least, not at most tables.[/SIZE]

I hear stories like this, but people actually sat at the table and drew maps? Damn. Sometimes I'm very happy I've never done a dungeon crawl.

 

[sidonunspa]

If the free online Basic D&D had been predominantly old school with Advanced techniques just within the PHB and DMG, that would have made a lot more D&D fans happy. But the Starter Set pre-gens with Second Wind, Action Surge, etc? I think a lot of OD&D, AD&D, and many 2nd edition gamers will be turned off. They might still try it, but it won't be a love-fest success story for Mearls, Wizards, Hasbro, etc. like they hoped.

but you also run the risk of turning off new players who want to be able to do something "cool" on their action.

right now I'm playing a 1e game, and to be honest, I would lose my mind as a fighter (all you do is attack)... while playing an gray-elf cleric/magic-user the lack of options in cleric spells (god clerics sucked in 1e) is driving me nuts!

 

[Tony Semana]

When the argument of 'multiple short rests in a row' came up early in the thread I expected an quick quote of the short rest definition from the playtest rules (pg 23 - How to Play). Instead it took 299 posts (30 pages) before someone actually did, and was ignored by subsequent responses. So I think it's worth reposting jbear:

I don't know if Second Wind is an issue if you interpret what a short rest to mean "1 or more hours", not "1 hour multiple times for multiple recharges.

That seems to be the intent to me at least, and from what I understand of the shift in 5e philosophy, DM rules is what goes. The wording of the text seems to back up this interpretation of the intent.

So...

Players: "We take an hours rest... and then another hours rest ... and then another hours rest ... then we continue."

DM: "Great. During those 3 hours you have taken a short rest. The abilities of your characters that can be used again after a short rest are available once more as you are feeling refreshed and energised."

If the DM is letting you get away with anything else ... well it seems to me that is because that is what the DM has chosen to let you get away with, rather than smething broken in the baseline rules.

For questions about what delineates one short rest from another. Well, There are 3 'pillars' of the game; exploration, combat, and interaction. If you haven't done any of those between rests then you haven't stopped resting.

As for the short-rest-second-wind-short-rest-second-wind idea, Second Wind's description specifically cites it's use as a bonus action which, as per one of Mearl's or Rodney's articles, is a specific key-word onto actions (like the rogue's cunning action or two-weapon fighting's second attack) to avoid stacking actions. If you apply that to the reading of Second Wind's description, then it can only be done while in combat.

On to the actual topic: I really like the character sheet for a lot of the reasons already cited. I also like that the first page has all the information the players and the DM (if they hold a copy of character sheets) need to play through all 3 of the pillars. Combat stats (obviously), the skills and ideals, bonds and flaws for exploration and interaction.