D&D 5E [+]Exploration Falls Short For Many Groups, Let’s Talk About It

[doctorbadwolf]

do think one of the most successful ways to get a game to work the way you would want it to work is by just creating condensed spell lists for each class/subclass.

I think they should do this regardless of exploration and balance concerns tbh.

 

[Zardnaar]

As long as there is an actual concept, I have no issue with curated campaigns. I’ve run a few myself.

I just ones that are just “I don’t want to deal with XYZ” ones to be outside my tastes

I did that campaign in 3.5 I was experimenting in ways to tone down the crazy.

Easiest was was just say no to splatbook stuff and use the UA Druid.

Hence why I'm a big proponent of just say no (twilight clerics, silvery barbs, flyers, large chunks of tashas).

 

[Hussar]

I've done this. Three lists for wizards and clerics, each. Plus a curated druid list. 12 spells each for spell levels 1-6, 9 spells for cleric spell level. It took some work, but the classes have much stronger themes.

That said, all of the "problematic " spells are still there but often segregated into different lists. There are changes to some, but I think I only outright banned one spell, forcecage.

I don't suppose you could share that list? I like the sound of this and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

 

[Hussar]

As long as there is an actual concept, I have no issue with curated campaigns. I’ve run a few myself.

I just ones that are just “I don’t want to deal with XYZ” ones to be outside my tastes

Fair enough. Like I said earlier, I had just had enough and was/am incredibly tired of having to deal with it over and over and over again. Years of it. So, I perhaps over corrected to some degree and simply banned all the core caster classes. It's not like the game doesn't function. We still have the half-casters which pretty much cover most needs anyway. And NPC's can still be from the banned classes, so, if you need to teleport somewhere for some reason, you can go find an NPC who can cast it for you.

I just no longer have to deal with it on a session by session basis.

And, in the interests of clarity, this Phandelver campaign is supposed to be a fairly quick side campaign until work stops beating me about the head and shoulders and I can go back to my regularly scheduled campaign. I called it a palette cleanser in my elevator pitch to the players. The fact that two players simply bowed out and told me to give them a call when I start back to my Spelljammer campaign has somewhat taken me a bit aback. They are really enthusiastic about using the full casters and have zero interest in playing anything else. Which... honestly... is kinda making me feel a lot less enthusiastic about going back to my regularly scheduled campaign.

We'll see how I feel in a couple of months.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I did that campaign in 3.5 I was experimenting in ways to tone down the crazy.

Easiest was was just say no to splatbook stuff and use the UA Druid.

Hence why I'm a big proponent of just say no (twilight clerics, silvery barbs, flyers, large chunks of tashas).

Yeah I’ve seen nothing in 5e actually cause any noticeable balance issues, so I don’t worry about that stuff.

I have considered banning bards and cleric because I dislike them, but that would just be petty.

Fair enough. Like I said earlier, I had just had enough and was/am incredibly tired of having to deal with it over and over and over again. Years of it. So, I perhaps over corrected to some degree and simply banned all the core caster classes. It's not like the game doesn't function. We still have the half-casters which pretty much cover most needs anyway. And NPC's can still be from the banned classes, so, if you need to teleport somewhere for some reason, you can go find an NPC who can cast it for you.

I just no longer have to deal with it on a session by session basis.

And, in the interests of clarity, this Phandelver campaign is supposed to be a fairly quick side campaign until work stops beating me about the head and shoulders and I can go back to my regularly scheduled campaign. I called it a palette cleanser in my elevator pitch to the players. The fact that two players simply bowed out and told me to give them a call when I start back to my Spelljammer campaign has somewhat taken me a bit aback. They are really enthusiastic about using the full casters and have zero interest in playing anything else. Which... honestly... is kinda making me feel a lot less enthusiastic about going back to my regularly scheduled campaign.

We'll see how I feel in a couple of months.

That would dampen my enthusiasm too. Genuinely sorry you have that going on, man.

 

[Zardnaar]

Yeah I’ve seen nothing in 5e actually cause any noticeable balance issues, so I don’t worry about that stuff.

I have considered banning bards and cleric because I dislike them, but that would just be petty.

That would dampen my enthusiasm too. Genuinely sorry you have that going on, man.

There's curious combos that are overpowered, broken or just plan ol annoying and slow the game down.

Flying races. Fly is a level 3 spell. I don't see any race that can cast fireball at will.

Silvery barbs is a pain by itself very annoying on an order cleric.

And then there's oddball interactions lije Arcana clerics and nature clerics being better at melee combat than say war clerics.

Twilight cleric and summoning Druids are majors pains in backside espicially togather.

Tashas mind whip is another PitA spell.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

There's curious combos that are overpowered, broken or just plan ol annoying and slow the game down.

Flying races. Fly is a level 3 spell. I don't see any race that can cast fireball at will.

Silvery barbs is a pain by itself very annoying on an order cleric.

And then there's oddball interactions lije Arcana clerics and nature clerics being better at melee combat than say war clerics.

Twilight cleric and summoning Druids are majors pains in backside espicially togather.

Tashas mind whip is another PitA spell.

I wasn’t trying to invite a repeat of the many arguments we have had on this subject. You know I disagree that any of that is overpowered.

 

[Zardnaar]

I wasn’t trying to invite a repeat of the many arguments we have had on this subject. You know I disagree that any of that is overpowered.

And you're free to allow then in your games. I'm free to say no.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

And you're free to allow then in your games. I'm free to say no.

Never said you weren’t

 

[Zardnaar]

Never said you weren’t

Rereading 3.5, 2E even 4E there's stuff there one should just say no to from a mechanics PoV.