D&D 5E What Single Thing Would You Add

[Faolyn]

I've been feeling cringey about using "shaman" and "witchdoctor" for a while - not sure about animist, but good to know other folks are looking for different terminology that does not lean on problematic cultural assumptions.

As an interesting fact, the term was used to indicate people who protected others from English witches.

Witch doctor - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

"Charles Mackay's book, Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, first published in 1841, attests to the practice of belief in witch doctors in England at the time.​

In the north of England, the superstition lingers to an almost inconceivable extent. Lancashire abounds with witch-doctors, a set of quacks, who pretend to cure diseases inflicted by the devil."​

(Yes, I know it's since been overwhelmingly used as a name for "stereotypical African healer/shaman," so I understand the cringe.)

 

[Krachek]

Add a feat when you get an ASI.

 

[kenada]

If we only get to pick one thing: reaction rolls. Bring back the encounter procedure where creatures in a dungeon aren’t assumed hostile by default, and PCs have the opportunity to parley, retreat, or whatever makes sense.

 

[Faolyn]

Real psionics.

I've said it before, but: If you made a poll where the options for how to use psionics were "power points," versus "spell slots, just renamed," the votes would be split evenly between them.

I don't think it's possible to make a psionics system that is distinguishable from the existing magic systems, isn't overpowered, feels like it would fit a fantasy game (instead of relying on all the modern and SF terminology like it always has in D&D), and can be run in a way that isn't clunky and will be liked by a majority of the players.

 

[Faolyn]

If we only get to pick one thing: reaction rolls. Bring back the encounter procedure where creatures in a dungeon aren’t assumed hostile by default, and PCs have the opportunity to parley, retreat, or whatever makes sense.

...You run your monsters as being assumed hostile by default?

I literally can't remember the last time my players assumed a monster was hostile without first seeing it do something actively evil.

 

[kenada]

...You run your monsters as being assumed hostile by default?

I literally can't remember the last time my players assumed a monster was hostile without first seeing it do something actively evil.

No, not necessarily, but it seems to be the default assumption in “modern” games. Having an expected number of encounters per day doesn’t really make sense unless they’re all expected to involve combat.

 

[Minigiant]

A fully fledged fantasy science system.

 

[embee]

Or aging

Why bother when most PCs get retired by level 15?

D&D 5E - Nobody Is Playing High Level Characters

According to stats from D&D Beyond, above 5th level characters start to drop off sharply, and above 10th level, the figures are very low. The exception is level 20, which looks like it's probably people creating experimental 20th-level builds. Some of them say 0%; this isn't strictly...

www.enworld.org

 

[DammitVictor]

A full slot-based Proficiency system where characters can expand and/or enhance their starting proficiencies-- not necessarily at the expense of bounded accuracy, if investing more proficiency slots into a given proficiency gave you more options/abilities or bonuses that didn't affect checks.

 

[Stormonu]

I've said it before, but: If you made a poll where the options for how to use psionics were "power points," versus "spell slots, just renamed," the votes would be split evenly between them.

I don't think it's possible to make a psionics system that is distinguishable from the existing magic systems, isn't overpowered, feels like it would fit a fantasy game (instead of relying on all the modern and SF terminology like it always has in D&D), and can be run in a way that isn't clunky and will be liked by a majority of the players.

Sure it can. It’s been done before and can be done again. If decent effort is put into the system, people will use it too - even if it isn’t what they originally claimed they wanted. <Edit> Look at how many people would like to get rid of Vancian wizards, but that’s what everyone uses.

The current 5E psionics work at a basic level, a bit more work (base classes - using power points, additional abilities unique to psionics added to what exists, psionic items, monster [variants] and expand the magic initiate to cover wild talents) and we’d be there.