D&D 5E What Single Thing Would You Eliminate

[Reynard]

If you don't, the PCs just blow through the encounters. The game is designed for its use and it really throws things off if you don't.

In my experience, the CR system and encounter building guidelines are so inherently broken that using them for anything more than "eyeballing it" is a vain pursuit. Ultimately I just amp up the difficulty and assume the PCs are going to short rest after every encounter. But I also have eliminated meaningless resource drain fights from my games just because they waste too much time for too little benefit (fun or story wise). I have found that most players prefer fewer nail biting set piece battles to more bland average battles.

 

[DammitVictor]

As much as I complain about 5e, I can't really think of any one single thing that I could make the game noticeably better by removing. Even my perennial bugbear, Alignment, has been defanged to the point that it makes no real difference to the game whether it's there or not.

 

[Maxperson]

In my experience, the CR system and encounter building guidelines are so inherently broken that using them for anything more than "eyeballing it" is a vain pursuit. Ultimately I just amp up the difficulty and assume the PCs are going to short rest after every encounter. But I also have eliminated meaningless resource drain fights from my games just because they waste too much time for too little benefit (fun or story wise). I have found that most players prefer fewer nail biting set piece battles to more bland average battles.

I'm not talking about CR, though. The game game is balance around hit point and damage. If you grab one single encounter to survive a PC nova and "challenge" them, it will also dish out so much damage that TPKs are highly likely.

 

[Dausuul]

Less work than you'd think: just change proficiency to a 5-11 scale, use half proficiency for things that currently use ability mods without a d20, and you're technically good to go.

I used to think that, until I sat down and actually tried excising ability scores from the rules. It's not so simple. The tentacles of ability scores snake into countless systems and it doesn't always work to use half your modified proficiency bonus. Each individual case is simple enough to resolve--but there are so many of them.

In particular, many systems depend on MAD to create distinctions or balance abilities. Armor class, for instance, is carefully engineered so that martial PCs will have high AC by default, while most casters have to work to get their AC up. That whole system falls apart if you take Dexterity out of the equation. Paladin auras go bonkers if they aren't forced to weigh Strength against Charisma (one of the knocks against the hexblade warlock is that you can dip one level and remove this balancing factor). Etc.

And, of course, there's the effect of Constitution on hit points. If you think hit point bloat is bad now, imagine what happens if every PC's Con modifier scales to +5 automatically for free.

As I said, each individual problem on this list can be resolved without a ton of work. But by the time you get done, you have a laundry list of house rules reaching into every corner of the game.

 

[Ralif Redhammer]

Hrm. The Ready action. It has its uses, but I'd much rather people take active ran than reactive actions. It's fine-ish when one or two PCs use it, but when you've got everyone waiting to do something, the turn order starts to get jumbled.

 

[Reynard]

I'm not talking about CR, though. The game game is balance around hit point and damage. If you grab one single encounter to survive a PC nova and "challenge" them, it will also dish out so much damage that TPKs are highly likely.

TPKing 5E PCs after 5th level is not likely, in my experience.

 

[Reynard]

Hrm. The Ready action. It has its uses, but I'd much rather people take active ran than reactive actions. It's fine-ish when one or two PCs use it, but when you've got everyone waiting to do something, the turn order starts to get jumbled.

View attachment 134881

I feel like "side initiative" solves that issue. I might try it for my high (12th) level group and see how it goes.

 

[Undrave]

Alignment. I'd prefer my players to be role-playing a person, not a morality axis.

But Alignment's been dead for years! LE GASP! have you been talking to a ghost?!

If you don't, the PCs just blow through the encounters. The game is designed for its use and it really throws things off if you don't.

My group has tried making a long rest 7 days, and that helped since I can spread those encounters out over a 7 day period, making the encounters feel more organic rather than clumped up, but it was unsatisfying to the players who have played for a long time and want a long rest to be overnight. A long rest when the DM says so was even less satisfying for the players, since getting abilities back at irregular intervals makes no in game sense. But rushing all the encounters together is immensely unsatisfying to me. I want to be able to challenge the group with a single encounter or maybe a few encounters.

It's a big enough deal that if I can't figure out a good way to do it, the next 5e campaign might be my last. I've already told my players that I'm thinking about going back to 3e over this issue. And that's a real shame, because by and large I love 5e and am still buying books.

How about you make a long rest a full 24 hours? Basically, two nights? That way the PCs can control their pace a little more?

I used to think that, until I sat down and actually tried excising ability scores from the rules. It's not so simple. The tentacles of ability scores snake into countless systems and it doesn't always work to use half your modified proficiency bonus. Each individual case is simple enough to resolve--but there are so many of them.

In particular, many systems depend on MAD to create distinctions or balance abilities. Armor class, for instance, is carefully engineered so that martial PCs will have high AC by default, while most casters have to work to get their AC up. That whole system falls apart if you take Dexterity out of the equation. Paladin auras go bonkers if they aren't forced to weigh Strength against Charisma (one of the knocks against the hexblade warlock is that you can dip one level and remove this balancing factor). Etc.

And, of course, there's the effect of Constitution on hit points. If you think hit point bloat is bad now, imagine what happens if every PC's Con modifier scales to +5 automatically for free.

As I said, each individual problem on this list can be resolved without a ton of work. But by the time you get done, you have a laundry list of house rules reaching into every corner of the game.

Basically it's a change you make BEFORE you build the whole system.

 

[TheSword]

XP

Unnecessary.
Too much bookkeeping.
Rewards conflict rather than achieving goals.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

The ampersand.

I think that the game should adopt a more "Tasha's" style for conjunction. Instead of forcing an ampersand upon us, why not just have ...

DUNGEON DRAGONS ... and the conjunction can either be there, or not, and the type of conjunction (if any!) is entirely up to the person purchasing it.

Who wants to play some Dungeons So Dragons?