D&D 5E (2024) Blast from the past

[dave2008]

4E's AEU Powers (not a typo. The D part can go away forever).

I used to think so too, then PF2 proved me wrong.

 

[Vaalingrade]

I used to think so too, then PF2 proved me wrong.

How so?

 

[dave2008]

How so?

Lack of attrition if everything recharges becomes less interesting

 

[Ancalagon]

Flanking - advantage is too good IMO, but it's a shame that flanking does nothing otherwise (the optional rule in the DMG)
Low light vision vs darkvision
Morale checks
Monster ecologies
A bit more importance to damage type.
edit: how can I forget: Dex not adding to weapon damage. Dex is WAY too good in 5e. Also, a way to make int less of a dump stat for many characters.

 

[Azzy]

• Default morale scores for monsters and better morale rules
• Mass combat (in the same vein as BECMI's War Machine/Siege Machine)
• More monsters from 1e and BMCMI
• More spells from previous editions
• A psionic base class (modeled roughly on 3.5's psion)
• Skill challenges
• Domains and rulership
• Simpler monster math for creating monsters and determining CR/XP (like 4e)
• A better armor chart
• More weapons
• 4e's minions
• Environment/habitat listings for monsters
• Feats seperate from ASIs
• 4e-style fighters
• 3e-style familiars (and psi-crystals)

 

[UngeheuerLich]

Thanks, I forgot that one in my response! Yes, minions definitely should make a comeback in some form. They were awesome, especially when you cranked up their damage output.

The challenge of doing minions in 5E is that 5E has gone back to the old paradigm of D&D, which is that a monster's stats reflect actual discernible traits of the monster. That is, if an ogre has 1 hit point, it tells you something about that ogre--she's badly injured, or physically very frail, or something like that. This was not true in 4E, where a monster could have 1 hit point simply because its job in the adventure was to be an easily-slain mook. The same ogre could be a solo monster or a minion depending on when and where it was encountered. Trying to apply that model to 5E would provoke a lot of backlash.

But that doesn't mean 5E can't have minions; there just needs to be a different implementation. Back in the days of yore, 1E fighters had a special ability where they got a whole lot of extra attacks any time they were fighting very low-level foes. That would be the approach I would take--an optional rule where any damage dealt by a character of level X or more, to a monster of CR Y or less, reduces that monster to zero hit points automatically. Instead of modeling the monster's frailty, you are modeling the badassery of the PC.

It's a mechanical sleight of hand--the end result is the same--but I think it would be a lot more palatable to a lot more people. In fact, now I think about it, I may have to try this as a house rule next time I run a game.

Minios as used in 4e were problematic.

Rather than being different monsters, monsters could be reduced to minions if you are x level higher. Or tge damage should scale in a way, that minions a tier below don't survive longer than a round or two on average and thus are outright killed by an attack.

For creatures below CR 1, in 5e it is more or less true due to bounded accuracy, but then there are enemys like the thug, who have more than 30 hp for a 1/2 CR creature. But it has quite low AC. So at least you need a default ability to turn accuracy into damage.

 

[dave2008]

edit: how can I forget: Dex not adding to weapon damage. Dex is WAY too good in 5e. Also, a way to make int less of a dump stat for many characters.

That would be a good one. Not likely to happen, but it would be a nice update.

 

[d24454_modern]

Monster templates, just yah know, balanced-ish.

Nah, Templates by nature are for either amping up enemies or making them more narratively interesting. They really don't need to be "balanced".

 

[d24454_modern]

Yep! And there's nothing wrong with that.

Which is why they should bring back Divine Ranks in the game.

 

[Shardstone]

@DEFCON 1 is such a gaslighter sometimes. Any problem someone has with 5E you will make sure that the person knows its their fault.