D&D (2024) GenCon 2023 - D&D Rules Revision panel

[Scribe]

It was also a chance to bring back people who had moved on like myself.

Yeah, depending on why one moved on.

 

[tetrasodium]

Have you seen anything in the playtests that makes it appear that 2024 will be a more significant departure than a5E or ToV?

Expressed contrition over some of the ways the 2014 stuff fails GMs. The packets themselves are marred by a god awful testing process where we see multiple versions of slightly differently worded elements that are all pretty much functionally identical like the weapon juggling rules alongside do nothing changes like the flight rules change. They have at least admitted that there will be GM targeted stuff at some point but I'm not sure if we will start seeing that before daggerheart & the MCDM thing or not.

I'm not holding my breath & packet7 needs to be a big step from packet6 IMO.
.

 

[Ashrym]

Best have no choices at all. 3d6 in order. Go.

That still leads to characters who roll lucky having a significant advantage over a set of low rolls. That also eats away feats needed to increase ability scores while another character can afford feats.

I started a campaign recently DM'ing for some never played before players and they opted for the 4d6 and choose ability allocation method after I explained it because they thought that would be more fun. We have characters with average spreads on that system, low sets, and high sets. 4 sessions in at 3rd level and the difference in the ability score spreads is noticeable.

Rolling can be fun and restrict munchkinism, but it can also be punitive to players who made no other mistake than rolling low.

 

[Mirrorrorrim]

That still leads to characters who roll lucky having a significant advantage over a set of low rolls. That also eats away feats needed to increase ability scores while another character can afford feats.

I started a campaign recently DM'ing for some never played before players and they opted for the 4d6 and choose ability allocation method after I explained it because they thought that would be more fun. We have characters with average spreads on that system, low sets, and high sets. 4 sessions in at 3rd level and the difference in the ability score spreads is noticeable.

Rolling can be fun and restrict munchkinism, but it can also be punitive to players who made no other mistake than rolling low.

I like my ability generation method. Everyone agrees on the way to roll the dice. Everyone rolls the dice publicly, writes them down, and presents their array to the group.

The resulting arrays are available to be chosen by anyone. If one is clearly better than the others, everyone can choose the same array. But if there is more than one valid option, it is up to the players to pick the one that is best for the build they want to make.

This way, everyone gets to have fun rolling, but in the end they are balanced with each other.

(I start with rolling only 3d6 six times, because with 4-6 people rolling 4d6 drop the lowest usually results in one array having reeeally good stats, and that makes everyone powerful. Of course, that can be good if that is what the group wants.)

 

[Stalker0]

Have you seen anything in the playtests that makes it appear that 2024 will be a more significant departure than a5E or ToV?

Probably the biggest thing is the level 1 feats, I would agree the A5e manuever schools and classes are much bigger departures than what we have seen in 2024.

My only holdout is maybe spells, though the few changes we have seen to spells has been more slight polishing than any course corrections. A5e made some decent changes to spells but I don't think it followed through on enough of them and a few of their changes are head scratchers to me, so we will see what 2024 does.

 

[Reynard]

That still leads to characters who roll lucky having a significant advantage over a set of low rolls. That also eats away feats needed to increase ability scores while another character can afford feats

I think you missed my joke.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I am guessing you are being cheeky, but between LevelUp and Tales of the Valiant, the community really is proving that the most important part of "D&D" is that it is official. Kind of depressing, really.

I don't know what everyone else's excuse is, but I have two problems switching from D&D: 1) I sell D&D books, and while I can sell (and HAVE sold) Level Up and many other D&D alternatives, I've always found that if I don't actively play D&D, I sell a LOT less D&D books. 2) My after-hours group won't switch, in spite of being casual D&D players who don't really particularly know the rules all that well.

Honestly brings me to something I’ve been thinking about. How much time investment is there in learning a new RPG?

Not much, but too much for a lot of people, unfortunately.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

If that turns out to remain true it kinda makes the 2024 version a rather pointless waste of everyone's time

I mean, a shiny new book with new art has its own appeal.

Personally, I'm most looking forward to the Larger Font & the 500-monster Monster Manual alone!

 

[Ashrym]

I think you missed my joke.

I think that's entirely possible.

 

[Parmandur]

I am guessing you are being cheeky, but between LevelUp and Tales of the Valiant, the community really is proving that the most important part of "D&D" is that it is official. Kind of depressing, really.

I mean, say what you will about various shenanigans...WotC still puts out a prodict that I want.