D&D 5E E6 and 5e (Things I've noticed)

[Ari Kanen]

So after a full session of 5e, and reading through pretty much all new edition info that is out there, I've come to the determination that DMing 5e is pretty much the experience I was trying to capture with all the E6 variants I've attempted over the years.

Combat seems fast (much faster that mid level 3.5 or 4e), math is much easier to manage, the spells don't seem to blow the roof off a game (though more testing is needed). The classes seems balanced against each other to the point that optimization won't put one player to far ahead in terms of group contribution or leave players behind that aren't that interested in system mastery.

All-in-all, I'm happy with how things have turned out and look forward to the release of the hardcovers over the next few months. And thanks to everyone that playtested and provided feedback.

 

[Hrothgar Rannúlfr]

Glad to hear this.

I've been a huge fan of E6 ever since reading about it, on EN World, years ago.

If 5E accomplishes what E6 promised, I'll be highly pleased.

 

[doctorhook]

I never looked into E6 very closely, but I did spend a bunch of time trying to accomplish the same things on my own with 4E and especially 3E. A few months ago I checked back on the 5E playtest and just said, "Ah, **** it. This is so much better than what I was cobbling together."

 

[Ari Kanen]

I never looked into E6 very closely, but I did spend a bunch of time trying to accomplish the same things on my own with 4E and especially 3E. A few months ago I checked back on the 5E playtest and just said, "Ah, **** it. This is so much better than what I was cobbling together."

Yup. This is what happened to me as well. Matter of fact I looked at the playtest document thinking I would try E6 with that, except then I saw bounded accuracy, and realized if other components, such as feats and spells, stayed in like with it, the the philosophy of E6 was pretty much baked in.

Having read through most the material, it just seems like they did a really good job tempering the power curve of the game. What I dreaded about DMing other editions was that character creation and advancement usually became an arms race between players, even if players somehow thought they were having an arms race against the DM (or her creatures).

And one of players said, "This reminds me of what I loved most about playing 2e as a kid." That was a cool thing to hear.

 

[Psikerlord#]

Yup. This is what happened to me as well. Matter of fact I looked at the playtest document thinking I would try E6 with that, except then I saw bounded accuracy, and realized if other components, such as feats and spells, stayed in like with it, the the philosophy of E6 was pretty much baked in.

Having read through most the material, it just seems like they did a really good job tempering the power curve of the game. What I dreaded about DMing other editions was that character creation and advancement usually became an arms race between players, even if players somehow thought they were having an arms race against the DM (or her creatures).

And one of players said, "This reminds me of what I loved most about playing 2e as a kid." That was a cool thing to hear.

what is e6?

 

[Quartz]

what is e6?

At its most basic, take 3.5E, limit level advancement to 6th level (I preferred 8th level), then add feats every 5000 XP.

 

[Sadras]

what is e6?

I recommend you Google it. There is a free source book available. My own opinion is that it is a brilliant concept, funny enough DMs have been doing something similar for years (especially the ones who stick to the lower levels of any edition), but it really depends what your group really desires out of D&D.

I have attached a link for you - but there are many many others.

http://www.enworld.org/forum/showthread.php?206323-E6-The-Game-Inside-D-amp-D

 

[Psikerlord#]

thanks for the e6 info dudes, very interesting

 

[TerraDave]

character creation and advancement usually became an arms race between players, even if players somehow thought they were having an arms race against the DM (or her creatures).

Thats a good way of putting it.

 

[Xodis]

Sadly I only recently learned about E6, its exactly what I thought the game needed. I am however very happy from what I have seen with this edition so far, and look forward to playing it as much as possible. Now to find a group.... lol