D&D 5E What (if anything) do you find "wrong" with 5E?

[Ondath]

Speaking of which, that's something I find wrong with 5e: they mostly dropped the 4e philosophy that monsters don't have to follow the same design rules as players. That was one of the best features of 4e, and I miss it.

The rule seems to be making a combeack since Monsters of the Multiverse with things like enemy offensive spells no longer counting as spells (and thus being uncounterable), weapon attacks dealing unusual damage types at the hands of NPCs etc.

Can't say I'm a fan. It ruins the rules-fiction consistency IMO.

 

[payn]

Something I wish I'd realised in 3e was that you didn't need to follow the rules for building monsters. It would have been so much easier to create something like an orc assassin if I just ignored the number of skill points/feats and just gave them some hit dice, base Stealth equal to level +3, and maybe a couple of feats to help with things, like two-weapon fighting and weapon focus (dagger) though even then, all you really need is the attack bonus for their attacks, no real need to list any feats. Even saving throws could have just been Fort/Will = half their level, Ref = their level. The ease of creating NPCs/Monsters is one of the things I really liked about 4e, and to a lesser extent 5e. 4e had a lot of the calculations for hit points and things essentially done for you.

I loved the Paizo NPC Codex they put out for PF1. That book had all classes and levels mapped out so you could easily grab whatever you needed and go. The monster manuals and bestiaries didnt quite cover NPCs of the non-monster variety.

 

[Hussar]

Couple of thoughts.

Perhaps the issue isn’t so much rules completeness but rather transparency. The DMG does an very poor hub of explaining why this or that rule is the way it is. Add to that the fact that rules are written in a plain English style that can be vague coupled to having the rules sometimes scattered about in different locations can make the game very opaque.

For example the bonus action spell rule, to me, is a pretty clear attempt to rein in casters. Being able to double cast spells would put casters so far ahead of non casters it’s not even funny. 3e’s LFQW was an issue for a reason.

But one of the most ironic things I see I this thread is the fact that nearly all the complaints were addressed in 4e but then rehected in 5e because they had 4e cooties but are now getting stealth added back into the system to fix things yet again.

 

[payn]

But one of the most ironic things I see I this thread is the fact that nearly all the complaints were addressed in 4e but then rehected in 5e because they had 4e cooties but are now getting stealth added back into the system to fix things yet again.

No. They really were not fixed for everyone, and wish folks would stop saying this like its a fact.

 

[Vaalingrade]

No. They really were not fixed for everyone, and wish folks would stop saying this like its a fact.

Nothing is ever going to be fixed for everyone in D&D because of the nature of nerds.

 

[Maxperson]

Having a discussion with some players this evening and I wanted to ask the general community here:

What do you find "wrong" with 5E?

Now, "nothing" is a perfectly acceptable response if you are completely happy with 5E as it is.

But, if there is something (a class, features, mechanics, or whatever) that bothers you or you feel was not handled correctly, and you feel like sharing, please do.

I find the game being balanced around 5-7 encounters in an adventuring day to be the worst thing about 5e.

 

[payn]

Nothing is ever going to be fixed for everyone in D&D because of the nature of nerds.

I suppose you are right. Nerds are the only types that try and fact peoples tastes and preferences.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I find the game being balanced around 5-7 encounters in an adventuring day to be the worst thing about 5e.

That's pretty terrible all right.

 

[Hussar]

No. They really were not fixed for everyone, and wish folks would stop saying this like its a fact.

I did say nearly all.

But again a lot of the big ones were fixed

• encounter calculations? Fixed
• short rest time? Fixed
• class balance? Fixed
• guidelines for resolving exploration and social pillar events? Fixed
• rule transparency? Fixed

Did I miss anything? Note 5e certainly fixed a lot of 4e’s issues too. Hp bloat. Far, far too many different damage sources and status effects. Ridiculously over complicated combats due to said status effects causing huge slow downs in play.

5e absolutely is an improvement on a lot of 4e’s issues. But there was a fair bit of baby getting ejected along with the bath water because of 4e cooties.

 

[payn]

I did say nearly all.

But again a lot of the big ones were fixed

• encounter calculations? Fixed
• short rest time? Fixed
• class balance? Fixed
• guidelines for resolving exploration and social pillar events? Fixed
• rule transparency? Fixed

Did I miss anything? Note 5e certainly fixed a lot of 4e’s issues too. Hp bloat. Far, far too many different damage sources and status effects. Ridiculously over complicated combats due to said status effects causing huge slow downs in play.

5e absolutely is an improvement on a lot of 4e’s issues. But there was a fair bit of baby getting ejected along with the bath water because of 4e cooties.

Yes, I couldn't stand many of these fixes. They didnt work for me. Some of that is a mechanical perspective, and much of it is a subjective taste perspective. That doesn't make me a child, or stupid, or an a hole. I really want to extend an olive branch to 4E folks because I know y'all got an unfair shake and mountain of crap you didnt deserve, but postings like these makes it really, really, difficult.