D&D 5E Mike Mearls' AMA Summary

[doctorbadwolf]

Other than that, how was the play Mrs. Lincoln?

Fun fact - John Wilkes Booth? Paladin.

Nah, Lincoln was more of a Paladin. Booth was a rogue.

Actually, I'd love a UA full of revolutionary subclasses. There is a ton of inspriration for abilities in Star Wars Saqa Edtion that translate just fine to fantasy gaming, IIRC in the book Galaxy of Intrigue, and also in the Rebellion Era Campaign Guide.

 

[Raith5]

Interesting observations. I agree that fighters and rangers need some rethinking. I dont think Druids play badly.

But I have to say that while I really still love and play 4E, I really do not like minor actions and I think 5E bonus actions are a far, far better design which save so much time at the table.

 

[HobbitFan]

I'm kinda concerned that Mike feels Druid spellcasting needs to be scaled back. I don't get that at all...

 

[FormerlyHemlock]

Stuff about 5e that bugs me:

• Cyclical initiative - too predictable
• Fighter subclasses - so bland!
• The divide in the warlock between the pact and the pact boon - boons should be options chosen from among stuff your specific pact can give
• Ranger - I'd rebuild it using the paladin as more of a model
• Druid - I'd make shapeshifting more central, maybe scale casting back to paladin or rogue level, use a nature domain for the guy with a scimitar and shield
• James Wyatt wrote a cool sample adventure for the DMG that we couldn't include. Wish we had.
• A better treatment of actions - action typing is still too fuzzy for more tastes.
• Bonus action - they're pretty hacky; I'd get rid of them and just design smarter. Prior editions always poke through your thinking and distort it. We were so dependent on swift/minor actions that it took a lot of work to stop framing concepts in their terms.

He's not wrong.

 

[pukunui]

I'm kinda concerned that Mike feels Druid spellcasting needs to be scaled back. I don't get that at all...

My only beef with druids' spellcasting is that way too many of their spells require concentration.

 

[Waterbizkit]

Meh, I wouldn't mind them taking a very different tack with the Druid. Emphasising those features which truly differentiate it from other spell casters seems like a good idea, as to me they feel like nature themed wizards and just about always have. And if putting an emphasis on those unique qualities means scaling down to a half-caster... I'm perfectly fine with that.

Anyway, I'm not too bothered either way really. And the rest of it was a pleasant read. I'd certainly be interested in seeing what his alternative for the current initiative system is.

 

[Cyvris]

As someone who loves the 4e Fighter/Ranger/Rogue etc, it's interesting to see Mearls sort of imply he feels that the 5e incarnations missed the mark. His comments on the Fighter being too "nothing" is very interesting. While I overall like the general parts of 5e, I'm frustrated by how much it "locks" some various "cool" features of a class away behind resting. The Druid gets hit with this (can't always shapeshift) as do the Martials. Would be cool to see Mearls and Co maybe address that at some point.

 

[Quickleaf]

Thanks for organizing and recording everything [MENTION=1]Morrus[/MENTION]!

I was really interesting by Mike's comments on making a newbie-friendly dungeon crawl balancing structure and flow-of-play. Definitely an area, like initiative, where there's lots of room for experimentation!

What is something you have tried putting in the game, but could never find the right mechanics to make it work?

I'd love to find a way to manage a dungeon crawl that's very newbie friendly, that provides enough structure to give new DMs the confidence to run the game, but that doesn't become a set of rules that devolves into playing the rules, rather than playing the game. Basically, a framework for the game that gives DMs a little more creative support without replacing the DM's creativity. It's a narrow path to walk. The rules for exploration in 5e are fine, but I think they're too much of a bother for experienced DMs and too mechanistic for newbies to really benefit from them.

 

[CrusaderX]

James Wyatt wrote a cool sample adventure for the DMG that we couldn't include. Wish we had.

I want this.

 

[ppaladin123]

Nobody asked about a half-caster arcane class......still dying for one.