Level Up (A5E) [+] What features should a "Advanced 5E" have?

[Helldritch]

Why not just call the current long sword a bastard sword as it has always been called and make the long sword (or arming sword) back to 1d8 finesse slashing weapon as it has always should have been. Elves would be quite happy and so would I.

 

[Minigiant]

Got another one.

Epic Destinies

Not just prestige class but characters joining the truly mythical via classes of legend.

Demigods
Archmages
Chosen
Liches
Living spells
Saints
Avatars
Godhunters
Undying Warriors
Wild Hunters
Really Really Strong Dude (Hercules, Samson, Gilgamesh, Hulk...)

 

[Haldrik]

Why not just call the current long sword a bastard sword as it has always been called and make the long sword (or arming sword) back to 1d8 finesse slashing weapon as it has always should have been. Elves would be quite happy and so would I.

The confusion happened because historically a "long sword" and a "bastard sword" are the same thing.

But yeah, there are two kinds of swords here. One is versatile, the other finesse.

longsword (aka bastard sword, claymore)
sword (aka spatha, viking sword, knightly sword, arming sword)

 

[ThatGuySteve]

Equipment
Meaningful differences between weapons. Differing the damage type isn't meaningful enough to be worth bloating the list as very few creatures have different resistance/vulnerability vs the different damage types. We don't need to bring back the 30 different polearms from earlier editions, nor 12 different swords to cover every combination of damage dice, finesse and light property.

Become an "expert" in a weapon group (axes, heavy swords, spears, etc) to unlock special abilities.

Make shields better, some kind of active defence rather than just a static +2 AC. Eg when you take the dodge action you gain resistance to the first attack that hits you until the start of your next turn.

Magic
Allow preparation classes to switch during the course of the day, such as one change per short rest. Can't see it unbalancing things wildly. From an in character perspective it doesn't make sense to me - this morning a memorised these spells but I can't read anything different directly out of my spellbook until I've had a full night sleep; I can't remove your Curse, I didn't pray for that power this morning; I can't nullify the poison I didn't *whatever druids do *.

Shorter spell lists generally for classes, longer lists for subclasses. Gate some of the better spells to subclasses to make the subclass more appealing. Too many subclasses have garbage options you would never pick over a regular list spell (looking at you, Dominate Beast, sneaking onto two warlock subclasses).

Let warlocks play with more than just Eldritch Blast, have invocations affect all damaging cantrips. Let other classes play with modifying cantrips as well.

 

[ThatGuySteve]

Culture/Background
Get rid of racial languages and common. Characters should speak their cultural language which is dependant on campaign setting. Saying all dwarves speak Dwarven strips away part of their identity.

Give generic examples of cultures that can be fit to any campaign, or very simple rules, eg learn 1 language and 1 skill/tool, players choice or defined by setting. See Nationality in Arcanis 5E.

Make backgrounds give some weapon and armour proficiency. A soldier background could grant culture appropriate proficiencies. Eg a soldier from Myth Drannor more likely to learn light armour and longsword, soldier from Mythril Hall will learn medium armour and axe. A merchant or scholar from either isn't going to know any more than what their class gives.

 

[TheSword]

I can live with all these updates. And they relieve the most pressing concerns.

My only question is, do you find Wisdom as moreorless Will defense to be on par with the other abilities?

I think the problem is that most of these changes have almost no impact on how the game is played.

You want to achieve equality in the stats, when in truth the stats aren’t expected to be equal and them being equal doesn’t make the game more fun. Homogenization is not characterful. We’re playing in Medieval low education societies, it doesn’t matter that Gandalf is the cleverest person in the party.

Don’t forget that spellcasters can generally be excellent investing all their points into their casting stat. If these stats were also awesome it would make already powerful caster even more so. More MAD characters like rogues, etc. need to get more out of their characteristics. Also, mental stats depend a lot on how your DM runs the game. If it’s a combat fest of course mental stats will be more important.

You’re also trying to be far more simulationist with physics and jumping and falling. These things don’t really matter in a fantasy game and the majority of players won’t thank you for complicating things in this regard.

 

[clearstream]

I should first say I'm envisioning an upgrade of 5E, not a supplementary toolset.

I'm in that camp, too.

From the player's viewpoint, what 5E lacks is more impactful decision points during all levels. Multi-classing helps a little, but isn't enough. Instead of just one major decision (subclass choice) there needs to be at least five, preferably ten (every other level). There's close to zero new mechanics subsystems since launch, and not very many to begin with.

Agreed. There are few meaningful choices in the levelling system.

You could retain broad compatibility with 5E while replacing advantage with a more granular system, re-adding back utility based magic pricing, and greatly upgrading the system's equivalent to a Monster Manual. The balance between melee and ranged characters probably need a tweak, too.

Yup.

One advantage video game developers have is feedback data. If an ability isn't used enough in World of Warcraft, it gets a facelift or a rewrite. So take the 50% of abilities, feats and spells that are considered less effective and boost them, without touching the 50% that works reasonably well. This alone means a huge vitamin injection in that lots of formerly dismissed choices again become viable (to more players than those that don't care about efficiency).

Strongly agree, albeit I would tweak Sharpshooter and Dual Wielder (as noted elsewhere).

As the DM I need much less out of an AD&D system than the players. Monsters designed with the actual abilities of player characters in mind. Utility-based magic pricing. These are the two big ones, and I've mentioned those already.

Agreed. With rare exceptions, monsters seem designed with no concern for what characters can do, which creates gaping holes in the challenge they can offer. A good example is that nigh-universal lack of ability to withstand special melee attacks.

 

[CapnZapp]

Homogenization is not characterful.

This.

I strongly believe the strength of D&D relies on resisting the temptation to make things generic.

Idiosyncraticities such as only the Rogue gets sneak damage while only the Ranger marks, only the Fighter gets Second Wind, etc is the cornerstone of making the game feel like D&D.

Sure they're all guys with a pointy stick, but that doesn't mean it's a good idea to let them fight the same.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Themes
Bring back Themes as a extra choice at character creation. Grant bonuses/special abilities as you level up. Vastly increases the range of archetypes achievable without creating loads of base classes. If you want a warlord mix Tactician with Fighter, Paladin or Ranger. Mix Tactician with Rogue to get your burglar who plans the perfect heist. Eg

• Tactician - Help as a bonus action, use action to grant allies a move/attack as a reaction
• Leader - bard style inspiration, grant temporary hit point Inspiring Leader style
• Bounty Hunter - bonuses tracking/attacking marked quarry
• Ritualist - learn and cast ritual spells

Rituals
Separate Rituals from regular spells.
Make rituals skill based, use passive skill on lower level rituals (Unseen Servant - Arcana check determines how many servants you summon. Water Breathing - Nature check determines how many creatures you can affect).
Make more utility spells into rituals (Secret Chest) and more high level rituals.

Race/Ancestry
Ditch ability score bonuses and make special abilities highlight the differences. Eg half-orcs Relentless Endurance and Savage Attacks tell you they are strong and tough. Skill proficiency/feat tell you that humans are adaptable. Wood Elves Fleet of Foot and Mask of the Wild/Keen Senses tell you they are nimble and in tune with their surroundings.

You can tell a lot more about an ancestry by giving them a unique special ability than just a generic stat bump. Stops players feeling like they need to pick the "right" race to get a decent score in their main stat.

I would actually be fine with separating rituals from other spells. They feel different anyway, and no one in my groups wastes a spell slot on a ritual. Make them castable by any class with an appropriate DC Arcana check, maybe starting at 10 and increasing by 2 per spell level (just off the top of my head). Ooh! Maybe an optional spell failure random table with hilarious effects!

 

[Micah Sweet]

Equipment
Meaningful differences between weapons. Differing the damage type isn't meaningful enough to be worth bloating the list as very few creatures have different resistance/vulnerability vs the different damage types. We don't need to bring back the 30 different polearms from earlier editions, nor 12 different swords to cover every combination of damage dice, finesse and light property.

Become an "expert" in a weapon group (axes, heavy swords, spears, etc) to unlock special abilities.

Make shields better, some kind of active defence rather than just a static +2 AC. Eg when you take the dodge action you gain resistance to the first attack that hits you until the start of your next turn.

Magic
Allow preparation classes to switch during the course of the day, such as one change per short rest. Can't see it unbalancing things wildly. From an in character perspective it doesn't make sense to me - this morning a memorised these spells but I can't read anything different directly out of my spellbook until I've had a full night sleep; I can't remove your Curse, I didn't pray for that power this morning; I can't nullify the poison I didn't *whatever druids do *.

Shorter spell lists generally for classes, longer lists for subclasses. Gate some of the better spells to subclasses to make the subclass more appealing. Too many subclasses have garbage options you would never pick over a regular list spell (looking at you, Dominate Beast, sneaking onto two warlock subclasses).

Let warlocks play with more than just Eldritch Blast, have invocations affect all damaging cantrips. Let other classes play with modifying cantrips as well.

We could add resistance/vulnerability to different sorts of weapon damage. It used to be a thing in previous edition for several monsters, most notably undead. An Advanced 5e would be just the place for it.