D&D 5E My biggest gripe with 5e design

[Paul Farquhar]

We have played many adventures were a lot of travel is required and so "battles" are only once in a while. The game more centered around role-playing, intrigue, etc. I would never consider any kind of game a waste of time if the players are having fun with it.

Yes, when travel features heavily one encounter per day is the norm, and there isn't really any story-coherent way to change that.

 

[5ekyu]

I think this is what it comes down to.

If the party is long resting after every encounter then yes, 5e is easy.

But then, what kind of adventure are you having and why are you wasting time at the table playing it out?

"If the party is long resting after every encounter then yes, 5e is easy."

Imx this would be true if the GM does not adjust the difficulties for it. The reason they gave the 6-8 encounters info in the CR section, whatnot gives the GM, is not a prescription but a baseline. A GM seeing his setting or even a particular engagement as "all out with full rest" knows this will be easier and that if the goal is a difficult encounter, then it needs to be higher threats than the baseline 6-8th encounter would be.

 

[Maxperson]

It's something to keep in mind when trying to compare editions. 1e and 2e were just so wildly varied depending on the table. I mean, we tended to use the 1e psionics rules. Which meant that at least 1 PC in nearly every group had psionics. 8 (ish) players most of the time, and around a 10% chance of being psionic? Yeah, nearly every 1e group I played in had at least one psionic character. Which, right there, is going to wildly skew my view of the game.

Really? In an 8 player game every last person had an unmodified 16 in wisdom, charisma or intelligence? Which by the way gave a 1% chance of being psionic. Having all 3 stats at an unmodified 18 allows an 11% chance and 18, 18, 17 is 9%(you drop fractions), so for all 8 players to have around a 10% chance is pretty far fetched I think.

 

[Oofta]

Yes, when travel features heavily one encounter per day is the norm, and there isn't really any story-coherent way to change that.

"If the party is long resting after every encounter then yes, 5e is easy."

Imx this would be true if the GM does not adjust the difficulties for it. The reason they gave the 6-8 encounters info in the CR section, whatnot gives the GM, is not a prescription but a baseline. A GM seeing his setting or even a particular engagement as "all out with full rest" knows this will be easier and that if the goal is a difficult encounter, then it needs to be higher threats than the baseline 6-8th encounter would be.

When I have long travel sessions (before I switched rest options) I had a few options. I still use them now and then while mixing things up a bit.

Encounters while traveling are just narrated. If there's no real risk of death and resources are recovered the next day, why bother?

The group stumbles across or is ambushed by something truly dangerous. It's a deadly encounter, frequently coming in multiple waves. Sometimes triggered because precautions were not successful. If the group is going through enemy territory they have to figure out how, I may even play out a minor skirmish or two if I think there's a possibility of an enemy getting away triggering a bigger fight unless they can figure out how to avoid it.

A mini dungeon. Depending on the locale, if I can come up with a flavorful mini dungeon that will take an entire days worth of adventuring I'll use it. Going through they haunted forest? Well maybe they get attacked and lose the trail for a bit. Crossing a land plagued by goblins? A child was kidnapped in a hamlet where they're spending the night. I always try to integrate it into the bigger story though.

Or some combination, frequently combined with some kind of out-of-combat challenge.

 

[Oofta]

Really? In an 8 player game every last person had an unmodified 16 in wisdom, charisma or intelligence? Which by the way gave a 1% chance of being psionic. Having all 3 stats at an unmodified 18 allows an 11% chance and 18, 18, 17 is 9%(you drop fractions), so for all 8 players to have around a 10% chance is pretty far fetched I think.

You're assuming they followed the rules. For us those rules (or what it took to be a paladin for that matter) were more like the pirate's code. More of a suggestion, really. I thought that was how most people played the older editions.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

When I have long travel sessions (before I switched rest options) I had a few options. I still use them now and then while mixing things up a bit.

Encounters while traveling are just narrated. If there's no real risk of death and resources are recovered the next day, why bother?

Because it creates a sense of time passing.

A mini dungeon.

But not that much time.

 

[Maxperson]

You're assuming they followed the rules. For us those rules (or what it took to be a paladin for that matter) were more like the pirate's code. More of a suggestion, really. I thought that was how most people played the older editions.

He didn't say he used their psionic house rules. He said he used the psionic rules, which most groups I played with didn't. If he used the psionic rules, there was no way that each of 8 players had around a 10% chance of having psionics.

 

[Oofta]

He didn't say he used their psionic house rules. He said he used the psionic rules, which most groups I played with didn't. If he used the psionic rules, there was no way that each of 8 players had around a 10% chance of having psionics.

Just relaying what we did at our table. If someone wanted to play a psionic or a paladin, they did.

 

[JiffyPopTart]

Just relaying what we did at our table. If someone wanted to play a psionic or a paladin, they did.

Same as out table. Roll your 4d6, assign to stats. If you need to bump them from that point to be the class you want then just ask the GM and you are good to go.

I'd guess in our 1e and 2e games we varied from using 50% to 75% of the rules in any given session.

At my table....
No weapon vs armor adjustments.
No weapon speed adjustment.
No monster morale checks.
No hirelings in combat. Never followers or strongholds.
No pre-stating your intentions in combat then parsing the results in a batch.

 

[Tony Vargas]

"If the party is long resting after every encounter then yes, 5e is easy."

Imx this would be true if the GM does not adjust the difficulties for it.

Easier, then.

It will also distort class balance.