D&D (2024) Do you plan to adopt D&D5.5One2024Redux?

[UngeheuerLich]

How does one 'measure' complexity?

Only in comparison.

Subjectively, complexity and simplicity are Goldilocks terms. They mean different things to different people.

Of course.

There are bound to be people who think 5e is complex compared to their favorite RPG.

Yes.

As I compared LevelUP with vanilla 5e, I guess it was clear enough.

And compared to 3e and 4e, 5e is simpler and more accessible. One of the design goals of Mearls. I remember him saying that he wants to design a game that can be played in 2h sessions. And this is exactly what I do. Or in 45 minutes in the school D&D club that currently has 7 players.

So mission accomplished.

 

[Maxperson]

Are you "mansplaining" Level Up to... Morrus?

(Please consider this post a gentle nudge in the ribs and not a literal criticism).

Wouldn't that be editionsplaining?

 

[UngeheuerLich]

It's just a bunch of course corrections for 5e issues. That's........................errata. A half edition change is just a bunch of errata for the edition.

That's not relevant to whether or not it's errata.

Not even close. It's an opinion. You can agree or not, but it's a valid opinion and not at all disingenuous.

Nobody is saying it should be free.

This is completely agree with and includes the artwork. If you like what they are making, buy it. If not, not. I will not be, because it doesn't change enough and doesn't at all touch on the primary issue 5e has for me which is balance around the adventuring day and resource attrition.

Dude. None of that is what he said. He just said he wasn't interested in paying for what is essentially errata, not that they should give it to him for free.

Errata should be free. That is my base assumption. As there were errors in the product. And the designers should fix them.
If he and you think you should pay for erratas, I am sorry.

 

[Blue]

Notice, I mentioned "15 encounters", not 15 combat encounters. It can be any kind of encounter, social, exploration, puzzle, or combat. Any encounter that, in hindsight, turned out to feel satisfying. This is especially useful if the players have a habit of going off the adventure railroad.

But no, it can't be. Because in D&D, combat has always been about resource management and attrition. And combat encounters use up some types of resources like spell slots and HPs at a rate that is found nowhere in the other pillars of play.

So other challenges are, at most, a fraction of a combat encounter in terms of resource usage. Because that's how D&D is designed. And since the factor we are discussing is the recovery of those resources, we simply can not count any other type of encounter at nearly the same weight as a combat encounter without warping the solution.

Regarding the issue of resource management. It does take discipline to spend wisely the two Long Rests per level. It is the proper math tho.

A way to mitigate this is, to go on vacation, sotospeak. The characters exit the adventure and spend at least two weeks of total downtime. At the end of this rest and relaxation, they gain the benefit of a free Long Rest. They can also do any normal tasks for the downtime, that allow for a reasonable amount of restfulness.

Sure, but then just use the Gritty Realism variant in the DMG (which I've already floated past my players). 8 hours for a short rest, 7 days for a long rest. That actually helps control the short-rest-recharge classes instead of giving them everything back several times per day.

 

[Sulicius]

Errata should be free. That is my base assumption. As there were errors in the product. And the designers should fix them.
If he and you think you should pay for erratas, I am sorry.

We already got erratas, and this definitely is more than patching a few things up. Then again… looking at the results so far I can understand why you say that. There are less changes than I expected, and then again more than I wanted.

Let’s wait and see what the books are like.

 

[Maxperson]

Errata should be free. That is my base assumption. As there were errors in the product. And the designers should fix them.
If he and you think you should pay for erratas, I am sorry.

Not when they make a ton of it all at once. 3.5e was also essentially just a bunch of errata.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Errata should be free. That is my base assumption. As there were errors in the product. And the designers should fix them.
If he and you think you should pay for erratas, I am sorry.

So since they are charging for it, it can't possibly be errata? That just as much an opinion as anything else.

 

[Parmandur]

Not when they make a ton of it all at once. 3.5e was also essentially just a bunch of errata.

I mean, no, no it wasn't. Not by standard publishing parlance: errata is for misspellings and factual errors, not rewrites. Thsta new typical Edition.

 

[Incenjucar]

It includes errata, but also includes non-errata design changes.

 

[Yaarel]

This is basically how Dungeon Crawl Classics works: each Encounter, similar to how you define it, is worth 1-4 XP based on DM adjudication (a straightforward fight that goes smoothly? 1 XP. A hilarious roleplay interaction that leaves everyone at the table rolling on the floor laughing? 4 XP).

That is pretty close.

During levels 5 thru 8, I count 15 encounters. (The leveling up actually happens between sessions, so the 15 is a bit modifiable for convenience.)

Every encounter is 1 encounter, unless trivial without challenge in which case it is only worth ½ an encounter, or near TPK or similarly exceedingly difficult in which case it counts as 2 encounters.

This is similar to 1 xp (trivial), 2 xp (the standard), 4 xp (near TPK).

For me, it is easier conceptually to count encounters directly, rather than worry about one-step-removed "points". There is little need for granularity, since the group can modify the number of encounters according to taste, in order to zoom thru low levels and savor "sweet spots".

Also, by focusing on encounters, rather than on awarding points, to advance to the next level by means of social encounters is just as easy and just as fast as advancing by means of combat encounters.