D&D 5E Of Wizards and specific 5e questions and musings

[cthulhu42]

First off, hello everyone and thanks for letting me bend your collective ears. I've been away from D&D since 3.5 due to general burnout (I've been playing off and on since AD&D), and being totally turned off by 4e. But it's been several years now, and recently a friend asked me to join his brand new 5e campaign. We've played maybe 6 or 8 sessions now, and are working our way through Horde of the Dragon Queen. This is my first experience with 5e, and for about half the group this is their first experience ever with a table top rpg. Also, I think this is our DM's first time running a game. Because of our inexperience and the newness of the edition, lots of ruling questions have popped up as well as my own thoughts on 5e vs older editions. I thought it might be interesting to keep a quick and dirty log of events here, as well as use this thread as a place to ask questions as they come up.

Please note, I might mention a specific instance here or there, so this may contain spoilers for HotDQ. In that same vein, please don't tell me anything about the adventure past what I'll have relayed here.

The PC's are
Caliapie - Halfling Wizard (me)
Ulktar - Half orc Fighter
Testecles - Dragonborn paladin
Dakhain - Elf Rogue
Zukamesh - Dragonborn Sorcerer
Gunner - Halfling Ranger

Currently we're 4th level and have just reached Balder's Gate and are attempting to insinuate ourselves into a caravan that is also being used by the cult of dragon.

Thoughts so far: I loved 3.5. And then it collapsed under it's own weight. As the (more often than not) DM, it became impossible to keep track of all the feats and PrC's to the point where I'd miss key strategies for bad guys and NPC's, and just when I'd get a handle on one thing, another splat book would come out and further muddy the waters. At a certain point it just got to be too much, and it contributed to my leaving the game for several years.

5e feels like a huge breath of fresh air and an utterly clean slate, setting itself apart from older editions even more than 3.x did. It's simple, streamlined, and makes pretty good sense, once you sort of let go of all the preconceived notions that the earlier editions conditioned me to.

I like the race and class selection. I like the character generation. I like the lack of scaling to hit chance and save DC's. I like the saving throw system. I like the halflings luck roll...a lot! It appears as if the to hit chance vs AC may be more balanced. I like the lack of endless combat modifiers. I love love love cantrips! I like Find Familiar. I like the new flexibility with which wizards can cast. I like the ability score bumps vs feats. I like ritual spells.

I'm sure I'll think of more and add them as I go.

That's not to say that it's perfect by any means. There are things I don't like about it.

As much as I just complained about the endlessness of 3.5, and as much as I don't miss books full of combat mods, it almost seems as if 5e has swung way, way, WAY in the oppisite direction. So much so that there's very little room to tinker with your character and customize him. There's a feeling of it being almost TOO simple. Also there's just a hint of the generic about it; as if it's meant to appeal to everyone and be all things to all people. It feels a bit watered down. I do realize that we're just seeing the first books, and undoubtedly more will come with more options. I only hope that WOC will know when to say when.

One specific example of this simplicity run amok is the fact that you can't lose your dex bonus to AC. Like, ever, apparently. That makes no sense to me, and it feels like the designers decided that we players just aren't smart enough to handle such a thing.

I play wizards, and while there are some really interesting things they've done for the class in 5e, they've also neutered it prety severely. The concentration mechanic is heart breaking! i understand why they did it, but did it have to be done for the sake of the game? I don't think so. I've played and DMed high level wizards in earlier editions, and somehow we made it work

I am also bemoaning the lack of magic item creation. One of the jewels of 3.x was the ability of a PC to craft magic items. Nothing makes a wizard feel like a WIZARD quite like crafting a unique magical item that he has poured gold, time and xp into. Yes, the formula was cumbersome, but, in my experience, it never got out of hand. The restrictions of gold, time and xp were such that most wizards PC's at least at my table) could never make a career out of it, or unbalance the game. I realize that the 5e DMG does mention ways in which a PC can craft an item, but so far the rules are so skeletal as to discourage a PC from even trying, not to mention that the overall attitude of the game seems to do everything in it's power to discourage it.

Which brings me to the generally low magic flavor of 5e thus far. Our party is now 4th level, and thus far we have not found a single magic item. Not one. I'm not asking for rings of protection and +1 swords, but how about a potion or scroll, just to let us know that they exist! My first order of business upon reaching Balder's Gate was to go hunting for scrolls to add to my spellbook, but nobody can seem to find any rules as to how much a freaking scroll costs! And all the while I am led to believe that I can buy a potion of healing for 50gp. There are no other potions for sale, mind you, but healing pots can certainly be found. That makes no good sense to me. The point is, it ought to be up to the individual DM to decide how much magic will be in his world, and yes, I know he still has that option, but in this, an official 5e adventure, the overall feeling is of a design team determined to make finding or crafting magic items not only difficult, but almost unpleasant.

Healing. The idea that you can gain back all of your lost hitpoints with a single 8 hour rest is ridiculous. Why not just give clerics a 1hp cantrip and call it good? I understand they didn't because the party would never need to rest again, but for crying out loud, 8 hours heals EVERYTHING? I have a much easier time believing that a cleric could have a 1hp cantrip than that.

Lastly, (and all of this is just off the top of my head, so I'm sure I'll think of more pros and cons as I go) I'd like to meet the group of low level PC's that Horde of the Dragon Queen is designed for. At least twice now we have come extremely close to a TPK. It's not as if we're just blundering in with no tactics at all, and granted, we have no cleric, but still! Taking on the female cult leader in the hatchery almost got us killed, and it was JUST HER vs our entire party. I believe she cast Spiritual Guardians, and that tore us a collective new one. Our DM had her flee, when in reality she could probably have killed us all. The very next day we encountered her right hand man (the guy who beat the tar our of Ulktar mano a mano in Greenest), and his 4 barbarian backups. We poured everything we had at one of the barbarians. Not the right hand man, mind you, but one of HIS lieutenants, and still couldn't bring him down. By the 3rd of 4th round the sorc and I are nearly out of spells, both fighters are down to a third of their hit points, everyone else in the party is at least wounded, and we haven't even started on the right hand man yet! What the what?! I could see in our DM's eyes that he was watching his whole campaign go down the drain, so when Ulktar threw out another challenge for a 1 on 1 rematch, the bad guy took it. I guess what i'm saying is that I feel like whoever designed this adventure maybe didn't think things through all the way.

Anyway, that's enough for now. I'll add to this as I can. I do have some specific ruling questions in mind which I will get to.

Oh what the heck, I'll ask one now: During our last session we found ourselves in rowboats trying to get to the shore of a river from a larger boat. We were attacked by underwater lizard man bad guys who tried to capsize us. During the fight one of the lizard dudes came up beside the boat to attack our fighter, who fights with a halbred. Now apparently, under normal conditions, he gets and attack of opportunity on an opponent that enters his range. But this bad guy just appeared from below the surface of the water and was already adjacent to Ulktar. Ulktar's player argued that he should still get the AoO (never mind that he's stnading up in a rowboat while in full armor swinging a halbred), while the DM wondered if he might not get it because the foe had passed from the 10' threat range to simply appear next to Ulktar. In another context, what if a foe were to teleport or dimension door to a spot adjacent to the halbred wielder. Does he still get the AoO?

Thanks in advance for any and all input.

 

[wedgeski]

I could see in our DM's eyes that he was watching his whole campaign go down the drain, so when Ulktar threw out another challenge for a 1 on 1 rematch, the bad guy took it. I guess what i'm saying is that I feel like whoever designed this adventure maybe didn't think things through all the way.

I think it's more like, the rules were still in flux during the development, and it suffers for it. I'm not excusing it (the launch adventures should always be rock-solid), but it's probably what happened.

With regards to your rules question, was Ulktar aware of the attacker before he appeared inside his reach? That answers pretty much any question on the matter in my mind.

 

[TreChriron]

First off, hello everyone and thanks for letting me bend your collective ears. ..

Welcome! Enworld is a great place to talk about RPGs.

The concentration mechanic is heart breaking! …

You can change that. For instance, you could say you can maintain an additional concentration spell for every 4 levels you have in a spellcasting class, making it more of a matter of experience. The rules are designed for balance, but balance is not always everyone’s goal. Personally, I don’t mind magic having a little edge up.

I am also bemoaning the lack of magic item creation. ...

Not sure how you handled it before, but personally I find item creation boring. It gives the wizard an excuse to be anti-social and disappear for a time while I come up with adventures for the rest of the group, who are invariably stuck close by. Then they wander off and it becomes difficult to get them back together. I want magic to be mysterious. Wise wizards who no longer adventure make the magic items. So do gods and spirits. Artifacts from a long ago more magical time. It fits the concept of exploring, discovering and adventuring much more than hanging about creating stuff. Focus on adventuring, retiring to make magical doo-dads is something old people do.

Which brings me to the generally low magic flavor of 5e thus far. ...The point is, it ought to be up to the individual DM to decide how much magic will be in his world, and yes, I know he still has that option, but in this, an official 5e adventure, the overall feeling is of a design team determined to make finding or crafting magic items not only difficult, but almost unpleasant.

My 4th level party has two artifacts, a ring of feather fall, dust of choking, several potions (hill giant strength, greater healing). One artifact is a dagger that stores up to 3 levels of spells from any class. The other is a scarf that casts invisibility on the wearer 3x a day. Powerful stuff. Hasn’t broken my game. You can play 5e as high or low as you want, you just have to adapt your encounters to make up for the power increase. Which, btw, I have found very easy to do.

Healing. The idea that you can gain back all of your lost hitpoints with a single 8 hour rest is ridiculous….

Me too! Search the forums here on hit points. There are several very awesome house-ruled alternatives. Also, the options in the DMG can tune this as well. 5e is easily modified.

… Ulktar's player argued that he should still get the AoO (never mind that he's stnading up in a rowboat while in full armor swinging a halbred), while the DM wondered if he might not get it because the foe had passed from the 10' threat range to simply appear next to Ulktar. In another context, what if a foe were to teleport or dimension door to a spot adjacent to the halbred wielder. Does he still get the AoO?

1. I would allow him the AoO in the boat. Why? It’s fun. It plays to his strengths and makes for a cool scene. That’s a “ruling” not a rule.

2. If someone teleports next to the fighter, he would NOT get an AoO in my opinion. Why? He’s surprised. Unless he has already engaged the opponent, seen them teleport around the battlefield or knows of them teleporting. In that case, I would let him because he’s a skilled warrior who should not be surprised by his opponents upon making the same move they did before. Again, this is a ruling not a rule.

Welcome back to gaming! D&D 5e is proving to be super fun for me as a GM. I’m loving it. My players are loving it. I am reading about so many new players on forums, and that is really encouraging. This version seems really focused on playing and having fun, which is the goal IMHO.

 

[Tony Vargas]

5e feels like a huge breath of fresh air and an utterly clean slate, setting itself apart from older editions even more than 3.x did. It's simple, streamlined, and makes pretty good sense, once you sort of let go of all the preconceived notions that the earlier editions conditioned me to.

The lack of bloat is perhaps the best thing about 5e - one reason all those complaints about the slow pace of new material are a little wrong-headed, IMHO. But, honestly, 5e is nothing but a giant tribute to the preconceived notions of prior editions (but that's from the PoV of someone who didn't dismiss 4e out of hand).

I love love love cantrips! I like Find Familiar. I like the new flexibility with which wizards can cast. I like the ability score bumps vs feats. I like ritual spells.

I play wizards, and while there are some really interesting things they've done for the class in 5e, they've also neutered it prety severely. The concentration mechanic is heart breaking! i understand why they did it, but did it have to be done for the sake of the game? I don't think so. I've played and DMed high level wizards in earlier editions, and somehow we made it work

I'm not sure how you jump from gleefully listing some of the goodies wizards got in 5e - at-will spell-casting, combined prepped & spontaneous casting, rituals that don't consume daily spells - to complaining about concentration as 'severely' nerfing the wizard. That's the wizard who has all the advantages of a 3.5 Wizard, plus the only advantage of the 3.5 Sorcerer, plus the at-will casting of a 3.5 Warlock, all wrapped up in one. And, though you didn't mention it, casting in melee is now a breeze: no OA, no concentration checks, no interruption, not even disadvantage - archers straight-up have it worse in melee than casters.

I've heard of player entitlement, but you wizard fans really take it up to 11.

Concentration keeps you from stacking up multiple spells. You have fewer spell slots in this edition, anyway - not that that adds up to any net loss, with spell slot recovery for the wizard, at-will cantrips, and non-slot-consuming ritual casting - so conserving spells by casting one powerful concentration spell instead of stacking up several spells with durations isn't such a bad idea, anyway. And, 'concentration' isn't much of a restriction at all. Under past eds, a concentration spell might be broken by taking any damage at all, and would preclude casting /any/ other spell - now it just means you can't cast another concentration spell.

As much as I just complained about the endlessness of 3.5, and as much as I don't miss books full of combat mods, it almost seems as if 5e has swung way, way, WAY in the oppisite direction. So much so that there's very little room to tinker with your character and customize him. There's a feeling of it being almost TOO simple. Also there's just a hint of the generic about it; as if it's meant to appeal to everyone and be all things to all people. It feels a bit watered down.

5e does take away just about everything melee types ever got, but it does give them some new toys, just not in the general combat rules as they were in 3.5, rather, if you pick the right archetype at 3rd, you can access a few tricks.

One specific example of this simplicity run amok is the fact that you can't lose your dex bonus to AC. Like, ever, apparently. That makes no sense to me, and it feels like the designers decided that we players just aren't smart enough to handle such a thing.

Just put on some heavy armor.

I am also bemoaning the lack of magic item creation. One of the jewels of 3.x was the ability of a PC to craft magic items. Nothing makes a wizard feel like a WIZARD quite like crafting a unique magical item that he has poured gold, time and xp into.

Nothing broke the game into smaller, more jagged pieces, either. (OK, that's hyperbole: lots of things in 3.x broke the game into equally tiny, jagged, razor-edged, poisoned pieces.)

But magic item creation was decidedly problematic from a variety of PoVs. Magic items were very powerful, so creating them was straight-up overpowered. Making magic items into commodities robbed them of some senseofwonder, even though they were so powerful. And, being able to equip precisely the item you wanted was gasoline on the optimization firestorm that consumed 3.5/Pathfinder.

I realize that the 5e DMG does mention ways in which a PC can craft an item, but so far the rules are so skeletal as to discourage a PC from even trying, not to mention that the overall attitude of the game seems to do everything in it's power to discourage it.

Yep, it's a return to the preconceived notions of 1e. That items are rare, can't be readily made/bought, and are the province of the DM - and represent power over and above what PCs can otherwise attain, and are thus 'really magical.'

Which brings me to the generally low magic flavor of 5e thus far. Our party is now 4th level, and thus far we have not found a single magic item. Not one.

While 5e doesn't /require/ magic items the 3.5 did, nor ration them out as part of wealth-by-level, it's hard to call a game where 33 out of 38 PC class archetypes use magic 'low magic.'

Healing. The idea that you can gain back all of your lost hitpoints with a single 8 hour rest is ridiculous. Why not just give clerics a 1hp cantrip and call it good? I understand they didn't because the party would never need to rest again, but for crying out loud, 8 hours heals EVERYTHING? I have a much easier time believing that a cleric could have a 1hp cantrip than that.

No, the idea that you can be 'hit' by 100 arrows and suffer not the slightest penalty for it is absurd. Until you go back and read your 1e AD&D DMG and realize that hps don't represent soaking up dozens of mortal wounds, but actually mostly represent /avoiding/ physical damage.

Once you refresh that old preconceived notion, you realize there's nothing wrong with a PC gaining piles of hps as he levels - and nothing wrong with recovering them fairly quickly. Even if you are still a little scratched up after your 8hr rest, there's no reason you luck/vitality/skill/speed/divine-favor/sixth-sense/whatever couldn't have been restored.

There's also no reason it couldn't take a lot longer to restore such things, if, as a DM, you wanted to change the definition of Short and Long Rests to make it take much longer.

I'd like to meet the group of low level PC's that Horde of the Dragon Queen is designed for. At least twice now we have come extremely close to a TPK.

I've seen multiple TPKs or near-TPKs avoided only by DM fudging, with HotDQ. My theory is that the poor guy who wrote it wasn't given the final version of the Encounter Guidelines, and that, following what they did give him resulted in the over-deadly encounters - especially in that first night in the 'Keep' when you were supposed to fight your way there through 8+ kobolds, then go on 6-8 'missions' in the course of the night with just the odd short rest.

 

[Kobold Stew]

First, welcome to ENworld!

Many of the issues you raise can easily be tweaked by your DM.

1. Concentration. I would suggest giving the mechanic a try. It's a good leveller, and it is a reasonable corrective to the uber-buffs we've sen in the past. Granted, not all want that corrected, but it does mean (IME) that fights become more dynamic, and strategies change mid-combat.

2. Magic Item creation. There are some rules, but they may not be satisfactory for you. If this is your thing, though, you can (eventually) encourage your ref give you means to make these things.

3. Low magic -- well, there's low magic and low-magic-items. The latter is certainly an issue for some. One of the grey things though is that when magic items are introduced, they are much deeper than before. You're not waiting for a +1 sword; but 5th encourage the DM to make it a +1 sword with a minor ability, a backstory, a distinctive appearance, etc. The game (again, IME) has shifted what high magic feels like: most classes have spells (at 4th level, they are available to EVERYONE in your party), and magic items are more easily filled out and made unique.

4. Healing. The DMG has variants for the pacing of healing, if what is in the PHB doesn't appeal to your table. Again, though, I think there is a real benefit to the rules as given: rests become important, and wandering monsters that come by to interrupt the rests become much bigger threats. The party is incentivized to play it smart, to spell each other off, and this becomes part of the challenge of an extended wilderness of dungeon campaign. So Yes, everything heals in 8 hrs works against verisimilitude; but for me the gains in the dramatic tension as you pray that you make it through an hour's rest undisturbed creates much more dramatic interest at the table.

All of this, of course, is spin, and I don't want to deny your experience. But for each of the main issues you raise, there are alternatives available or there are trade-offs that show that the issue is not something that exists in a vacuum.

 

[Zaran]

I think the main answer to all your problems is to House Rule the drek out of your game until you like it. Waiting on WotC to get off the butts to fix the problems is a lost cause. They have 8 people who are too busy working on how to put D&D on cereal boxes instead of add to 5e. In fact, people are starting to make money on fixing these problems. Enworld has it's own little patreon where they tackle stuff to make 5e more crunchy.

Hoard the Dairy Queen is back loaded with magic items. Once you actually find the hoard you will find a bunch of magic items then. Plus the bad guys start carrying magical items too. Lost Mimes of Fanta has quite a few magic items. The GM just has to add more if they feel the game is lacking. Magic Item creation is weak. Personally I think the DMG is the weakest of the three books all together. It feels like it was thrown together and all the good stuff was removed to make room for maps. But what can you do? Complaining here will just get a bunch of people coming to WotCs defense and accusing you of not being creative enough. I'd take what you liked about Pathfinder and make it work for 5e. Hit Points... Make a house rule that nerfs natural healing so no one gets hp back after a long rest, just half their hit dice. That way they can spend hit dice and then decide if that's good enough or choose to rest another day.

There are lots of things you can do to make the game better but you have to get away from relying on the stuff you don't like to be fixed in a book and do it yourself . Or wait for a third party to fill in the gaps.

 

[Shiroiken]

First off, hello everyone and thanks for letting me bend your collective ears.

Welcome back

As much as I just complained about the endlessness of 3.5, and as much as I don't miss books full of combat mods, it almost seems as if 5e has swung way, way, WAY in the oppisite direction. So much so that there's very little room to tinker with your character and customize him. There's a feeling of it being almost TOO simple. Also there's just a hint of the generic about it; as if it's meant to appeal to everyone and be all things to all people. It feels a bit watered down. I do realize that we're just seeing the first books, and undoubtedly more will come with more options. I only hope that WOC will know when to say when.

Actually, they plan a VERY slow release schedule of new rules and splatbooks, which should keep the bloat to a minimum. Also, 5E is harkening back to the days of "characters" not "builds." What makes your character unique and special is what YOU do with them, not what's written on the paper.

One specific example of this simplicity run amok is the fact that you can't lose your dex bonus to AC. Like, ever, apparently. That makes no sense to me, and it feels like the designers decided that we players just aren't smart enough to handle such a thing.

It is a sacrifice to simplicity. There are many other examples that you haven't run across yet (such as failing to hit an unconscious, unarmed, defenseless human with double 1s), but there is a VERY simple solution: change it. 5E is meant to be modular and to be adapted to the needs of individual games. Once you realize this, the basic chassis that is 5E becomes the perfect vehicle for your group after you modify it to your needs.

I play wizards, and while there are some really interesting things they've done for the class in 5e, they've also neutered it prety severely. The concentration mechanic is heart breaking! i understand why they did it, but did it have to be done for the sake of the game? I don't think so. I've played and DMed high level wizards in earlier editions, and somehow we made it work

The quadratic wizard and codzilla from 3E had to die in order for the game to survive. Concentration is a fine mechanic that balances spellcasting well, with 1 minor problem IMO (the loss of Concentration due to damage with a minimum 10 DC). You just have to pick your concentration spells carefully and not overload yourself with them.

I am also bemoaning the lack of magic item creation. One of the jewels of 3.x was the ability of a PC to craft magic items. Nothing makes a wizard feel like a WIZARD quite like crafting a unique magical item that he has poured gold, time and xp into. Yes, the formula was cumbersome, but, in my experience, it never got out of hand. The restrictions of gold, time and xp were such that most wizards PC's at least at my table) could never make a career out of it, or unbalance the game. I realize that the 5e DMG does mention ways in which a PC can craft an item, but so far the rules are so skeletal as to discourage a PC from even trying, not to mention that the overall attitude of the game seems to do everything in it's power to discourage it.

There is magic item creation. It's an optional rule in the DMG, where it belongs. Not everyone wants to have magic item creation (I felt it to be a major bane to 3E), and some want to run without magic items at all. The rules now allow for that, while allowing groups that want magic item creation to do so.

Which brings me to the generally low magic flavor of 5e thus far.

Either your DM had decided not to use magic items, the adventure doesn't contain them, or you just haven't found them. Magic items are now special. You don't need them at all; all they do is just make you better. Treasure the ones you do eventually get. (side note, I feel putting the Potion of Healing in the PHB was a TERRIBLE mistake! I don't allow PCs to just buy Potions of Healing like most equipment in my game)

Healing.

Again, change it. There are several options in the DMG that you can use, or you can make up your own.

HotDQ

Can't help you there. Never read it, but from what I understand, it was NOT a well written adventure.

 

[The Grassy Gnoll]

What @Tony Vargas said.
I personally went from AD&D to 5e directly so cannot comment on 3.5/4 etc, beyond what I've inferred from Order of the Stick, but that said, level 4 and making your own magic items seems a bit previous.
In my head you'd need to be at least 9th level with your own tower, or at least rooms (and associated teaching duties) at your local branch of Hogwarts before you could make your own magic items. Did previous editions allow this at that level? Wow. Here kids, here's the key to the chocolate factory.
But as others have said, "5e casa es su casa". Fiddle. Tinker. Tweak. Embellish. Just give it a decent go on its own terms first. You're not even ten sessions in yet.

 

[Staffan]

What @Tony Vargas said.
I personally went from AD&D to 5e directly so cannot comment on 3.5/4 etc, beyond what I've inferred from Order of the Stick, but that said, level 4 and making your own magic items seems a bit previous.
In my head you'd need to be at least 9th level with your own tower, or at least rooms (and associated teaching duties) at your local branch of Hogwarts before you could make your own magic items. Did previous editions allow this at that level? Wow. Here kids, here's the key to the chocolate factory.

3e allows magic item creation as early as level 1 (for scrolls), but requires that you spend feats in order to be able to make them - core 3e had eight of those feats (scrolls at 1st, potions and wondrous items at 3rd, arms & armor and wands at 5th, rods at 9th, rings and staffs at 12th), with some additional books adding new item categories with associated feats. There's no need for a fixed investment in a lab or anything like that - Pathfinder even specifically allows you to make items on the road, albeit at a slower pace.

Wizards get the Scribe Scroll feat for free at 1st level, and bonus feats every 5th level that can, among other things, be used for item creation feats. Other casters have to spend their "regular" feats in order to be able to make items.

5e lies somewhere between AD&D and 3e in this regard. There are level requirements based on item rarity (3rd, 6th, 11th, or 17th level), and you need to locate (or invent, I guess) a formula for creating each specific item - just because you have figured out how to create a wand of magic missiles it doesn't mean you can create a wand of lightning bolts. In addition to monetary costs, the game specifically includes the possibility of exotic ingredients. It also takes a loooong time, particularly compared to 3e. An "uncommon" item (low-power items like a cap of breathing, or a cloak of elvenkind) takes 20 days to make. For each tier higher than that, multiply that by 10. So a very rare item like a flying carpet would take 2000 days (almost 6 years), and a legendary item would take 20,000 days (55 years).

Most notably, compared to 3e and even 2e, all the stuff about making items is in the DMG, meaning most players won't have preconceived notions on the topic, and making it very easy to change. In 3e, the item creation feats were right in the PHB, with some having their rules and costs explained right there and then (scrolls, potions, and wands, all of which had very straightforward formulaic costs). 2e left most of the item creation stuff in the hands of the DM, but IIRC the PHB did say that you could make items starting at 9th level (7th level for clerics making healing potions).

 

[Riley37]

So much so that there's very little room to tinker with your character and customize him.

Your experience differs from mine. My 5th level character is Bard/Lore 3 + Druid (Moon) 2, with Sage background.
Just at that level of resolution... how many different sets of abilities are possible, for a 5th level character, depending on which class levels you take, and which specializations of those classes, plus a background? This PC is a half-elf, giving me several choices about which language proficiencies and skill proficiencies. If it were a Variant Human, it would have a feat instead. (Or any character who's 5/0 or 4/1 can have a feat.)

That said, the real individuality is NOT in the "build", it's in the character. Dexter the sage wants to ALWAYS LEARN MORE. As a half-elf and lore bard, she's able to learn several proficiences (plus two Expertise), and they are ALL about information and scouting:
Expertise in Stealth (to get into position to observe things) plus Perception (of course)
Proficient in Insight, and all the Intelligence checks: Arcana, History, Investigation, Nature, Religion (the last two also essential for Druidism).

Another player also runs a half-elf bard PC in the same party. When the PCs were third level, his character and mine were identical "builds": Bard 3 (Lore). But no one ever had trouble telling them apart, because his character, Hannibal, with the same "build", had a different personality and passions. He's the "face" character, with expertise in Persuasion, and more CHA than DEX. Where my character will sneak up and observe, his character will jump in, introduce himself, and just ask questions, as many questions as he can get in edgewise, to as many people as will answer. Oh, and his background is artisan, specifically heraldry, so he also asks people about their ancestry if there's ANY plausible chance they could have a family coat of arms.

One specific example of this simplicity run amok is the fact that you can't lose your dex bonus to AC. Like, ever, apparently. That makes no sense to me, and it feels like the designers decided that we players just aren't smart enough to handle such a thing.

Some of us are not. You sometimes meet those players at conventions. Sad, but true. Those who are smart enough, have added "lose DEX bonuses to AC, stat checks and saving throws," to the conditions Restrained and Incapacitated (and therefore to paralysed, petrified, stunned and unconscious, which subsume Incapacitated). Bam, problem solved!

I rather like the idea of an ability allowing a second Concentration. Maybe built in just by having class levels; maybe as a Feat; maybe conditional on stat checks, so the second Concentration is less stable.

Just add those rules to PHB p. 317!

Which brings me to the generally low magic flavor of 5e thus far. Our party is now 4th level, and thus far we have not found a single magic item. Not one. I'm not asking for rings of protection and +1 swords, but how about a potion or scroll, just to let us know that they exist!

That's a DM decision, not a 5E decision. The published Expeditions adventures hand out potions and scrolls as early as one's first session, and permanent items at a reasonable pace.

I'd like to meet the group of low level PC's that Horde of the Dragon Queen is designed for. At least twice now we have come extremely close to a TPK.

Again, DM choices. I was in a small party, 3-4 PCs, which breezed through the hatchery. My PC has *only once* taken any HP damage. Of course, I favor hit-and-run tactics, and high mobility + ranged fire works wonders, if you have the patience to "chip".

Ulktar threw out another challenge for a 1 on 1 rematch, the bad guy took it.

If the way to survive an impossible fight, was to RP instead of to min-max, then hurray!

under normal conditions, he gets and attack of opportunity on an opponent that enters his range.

If that's a hand-waved "because I paid for it" ability, then bribe the DM with pizza.

If the rule represents the fighter wielding a blade on the end of a long stick, and when anyone runs up to the fighter, then the fighter uses the stick to put the blade directly in the attacker's path...
...then you have a categorical guideline for when the fighter gets AoO. Teleportation and popping up out of water don't involve stepping through the area in which the fighter generally interposes the Popsicle of Edged Steel.