D&D General How has D&D changed over the decades?

[HammerMan]

This is concept is why I think 6e with have triple prof or mastery but for NPCs only.

Another way that D&D changed is that it tends to mechanically fill holes over time over just having DM fudge stuff forever.

I have my own house rule where any noncombatant NPCs just 'get' 1-3HD and what ever modifires I want to skills and checks... including any/all special features.

I have (in an upcoming session PCs have not meet them yet) a pair of gamblers who have +9 to dice and +12 to cards on one and oppisite +12 on dice +9 on cards on other... and BOTH have skill mastery so they count anything 1-9 as a 10... but they have 11's and 12's in all stats and 2d8Hd... one of them has the lucky feat.

two of the 5 characters like to gamble and will find playing them HARD... but if they end up wanting to just beat them up and take back the winnings that would be Super Easy, barely an inconvenience.

 

[Helldritch]

Yes, I was talking about that last paragraph. Being truly surprised in play would mean that you'd not foresee what the adventure was even going to be when you sat down to play.

Ho but we all know the adventures, we built (or buy) them. But the players will, sometimes, find unexpected ways to finish and succeed an adventure in an unexpected way. Do not tell me that this has never happened to you.

Also, a lot of adventures I do are almost purely improvisational. So yes, sometimes, the adventure is something I don't know in advance as I have to make things up on the fly. I take as much notes on the adventure than my players when I am going full impro mode. I do try to plan a bit in advance but most of the time, a random dungeon is just that, a random dungeon and the players usually love that as they too do not know what will get to them, what treasure they will find because they know it will be all random.

 

[Vaalingrade]

In 5e those NPCs can be built exactly like that since they do not have to be built like a PC.

Yeah, I was going to say, I didn't think 5e regressed on that.

 

[HammerMan]

In 5e those NPCs can be built exactly like that since they do not have to be built like a PC.

yes and no... I left 5e as nebulas but the Prof is supposed to be based on CR... so there are a bit of both as you see above I am doing it, I would like the DMG to point it out more

 

[DarkCrisis]

It has become more of a superhero game, which is fine. In general it can also be more gameist, less focused on narrative and story telling. As always, the tone elements are highly dependent on the DM.

For players, there tends to be more reliance on skill checks and class powers versus ingenuity around interacting with the environment.

Coming from playing AD&D and joining a group that started with 5th, it blows their minds when I think around an issue instead of relying on a save or skill check.

Poison needle trap? I wear a metal gauntlet. I specifically say Im looking for false bottoms instead of just "I roll for that."

Etc etc

It actually kind of bums me out that Im generally the only one who really interacts with the enviroment instead of relying on dice to do it for me.

Same with combat. Bull rushing in works just fine. Tactics barely exist anymore.

Heck younger players Ive played with are so ready to get going they just activate traps and rush into combat, knowing their saves and hp and easy access to heals etc will save the day.

Used to be afraid of traps, now they are just an annoyance.

 

[Guest 7034872]

Coming from playing AD&D and joining a group that started with 5th, it blows their minds when I think around an issue instead of relying on a save or skill check.

Totally. This was probably the first thing I noticed: I came into the room with all sorts of problem-solving approaches and they came in with all sorts of stats, weapons, and dice. It was only after our first full campaign that I really started to adjust.

 

[beancounter]

Another thing that changed is the expected availablity of magicand magic items in the civilized worlds due to the influence of video gamges.

Final Fantasy 1, a very old game, has a potion shop, white magic shop, and black magic shop in the starter town. Almost every fantasy game does this.
This implies that there are enough fighters thieves, mages, and priests around to keep these shops open.

At least half of the games I pay now have magic shops in every town or city and a potion shop in every village. This is different from when I started 20 years ago where there was no guarantee a random farming or mining or fishing village had a shop selling potions or 1st level scrolls.

I don't see this. Yes potions seem to be readily available, but not all magic items.

In 5E, all classes have magic or magic like abilities which has mostly replaced the need to seek out magic items to increase the PCs power.

 

[overgeeked]

Coming from playing AD&D and joining a group that started with 5th, it blows their minds when I think around an issue instead of relying on a save or skill check.

Poison needle trap? I wear a metal gauntlet. I specifically say Im looking for false bottoms instead of just "I roll for that."

Etc etc

It actually kind of bums me out that Im generally the only one who really interacts with the enviroment instead of relying on dice to do it for me.

Same with combat. Bull rushing in works just fine. Tactics barely exist anymore.

Heck younger players Ive played with are so ready to get going they just activate traps and rush into combat, knowing their saves and hp and easy access to heals etc will save the day.

Used to be afraif of traps, now they are just an annoyance.

Totally. This was probably the first thing I noticed: I came into the room with all sorts of problem-solving approaches and they came in with all sorts of stats, weapons, and dice. It was only after our first full campaign that I really started to adjust.

I miss players having to think to solve problems. I miss that leading to gamers having wild problem solving skills. Now players will press the buttons on their character sheet until it works or give up. I had one of my West Marches groups decide to just sit and wait in a location for a week, waiting for the plot to come to them rather than trying anything more involved than “I roll to search”. It was literally one roll followed by “welp, I’m out of ideas…let’s just wait.”

 

[overgeeked]

I don't see this. Yes potions seem to be readily available, but not all magic items.

In 5E, all classes have magic or magic like abilities which has mostly replaced the need to seek out magic items to increase the PCs power.

And yet, the players still do. Because the game increased everyone’s base power level…and magic items make them even more powerful…so the players continue to seek out magic items.

It’s the basic video game assumption that every town, no matter how small will have a magic shop.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Most video games made since 1990 typically just have garbage if any special items for sale because the game wants you to beat mobs or craft for the good stuff. Except for the D&D games.

And potions are available in such numbers in D&D because D&D healing is crap.