D&D (2024) Postmortem: 10 Ideas in 5e that didn't quite work...

[Benjamin Olson]

Interesting because I have the exact opposite experience. Granted my experience is probably extremely more limited than yours. My experience stems from talking my friends and family into playing. I've personally been playing the game since 2e, attempted 3e/PF (I didn't like it, neither did my players but it wasnt horrible), attempted again with 4e (my players absolutely bounced off it, couldn't get into it and building characters was a chore on its own), and once again with 5e. With 5e it stuck, they love it enough to keep playing it. Touching on experience again, I don't play with random people because my area doesn't have a game shop. I feel like I'm not seeing the whole picture of what is and isn't popular within 5e. In my circle extra options are largely ignored.

It partly depends on the situation in which characters are being made, I think. At one extreme: If a new player is handed a PHB and told to have a character in 2 days I would imagine they would pick a prewritten background 90% of the time or more. At the other extreme: If a new player arrives at a game and needs to make a character on the spot and someone is walking them through the process and making it clear that they can just make up a background I think the majority find it easiest to just say what they want to be rather than read through backgrounds weighing which one appeals to them most.

 

[Reynard]

12. Ranger. I think we know the Ranger didn't work out as intended. But they've made lots of changes, and the result (with Tasha's optional abilities) is pretty solid -- unique abilities and not overpowered. And they have a mechanism for Beastmaster that they've replicated for other core classes to (Firewarden druid, artificer).

For as often as people online complain about the ranger, I have NEVER had someone in a real game complain and I almost always have at least one in the party. It's a meme, not a real problem.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

For as often as people online complain about the ranger, I have NEVER had someone in a real game complain and I almost always have at least one in the party. It's a meme, not a real problem.

 

[Lojaan]

Hit dice. It is so difficult to explain this to new players. Needs at least a name update.

 

[pgmason]

Yeah STR needs something to stop DEX being even more UBER.

I personally think that finesse weapons should use Dex to hit, but still use Str for damage. That would go a long way to making Str more useful.

 

[ReshiIRE]

I personally think that finesse weapons should use Dex to hit, but still use Str for damage. That would go a long way to making Str more useful.

This is what Pathfinder 2e, though they go further and make it so that most ranged weapons don't add bonuses to damage from STR automatically, and it takes either feats or specific weapons to do that iirc.

However, it should be noted that Pathfinder 2e's ability score system is very different. Essentially every ability score boost level gives you four different +2 boosts that you can give to any stat (though you only add +1 if the stat in question is 18 or over). That means that the damage modifier gap by following this rule would be much larger in 5e if implementing this rule, especially since weapons in 5e do not have a way to increase their damage built into the game, meaning melee characters rely on multiple attacks.

And the difference in damage over multiple attacks per round and over multiple rounds would be quite noticiable for Dex based characters in the current system and your purposed change.

 

[fluffybunbunkittens]

Hit dice. It is so difficult to explain this to new players. Needs at least a name update.

Healing surge..?

 

[doctorbadwolf]

But odd to have a postmortem for a thing that isn’t dead, but okay.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

For as often as people online complain about the ranger, I have NEVER had someone in a real game complain and I almost always have at least one in the party. It's a meme, not a real problem.

Well, no. They are getting enough feedback to keep tinkering over 8 years. It’s a real issue.

It’s good to remember that your experience isn’t representative of the broader community of millions of people.

 

[John R Davis]

For as often as people online complain about the ranger, I have NEVER had someone in a real game complain and I almost always have at least one in the party. It's a meme, not a real problem.

Agreed. It's the ruddy 5e memes that need to not be carried forward!!
The 5e bard are just so stupid and untrue.
Oh yeah and don't have theory-crafting either.