D&D General 5.5 and making the game easier for players and harder for DMs

[Chaltab]

But the more options available to the PCs don't just make them more powerful, it makes it so that combat is longer as players peruse options and rules get adjudicated. It adds to the DM's cognitive load especially, as they are the ones constantly evaluating and keeping track of the gamestate and determining how each new PC ability introduced meshes with all those other ones. Conditions, for example

Honestly inflicting actual conditions would be less load IMO. Effects without conditions like Sap and Slow will be the biggest increase in load

 

[Distracted DM]

I wonder why it's anything more detailed than "Describe To Me How Awesome You Are As You Win" the RPG.

Two players asked me to run a little arena battle for them with level 20 characters- one has played up to high level before, the other hasn't but is very mechanics+design-minded, and was curious about high levels.

I made a few encounters with appropriate cr creatures, first to warm up (some devils, a pit fiend, etc), then more proper stuff (a lich and an iron golem), then... Well, suffice it to say that two level 20 characters stomped the sht out of what they fought- the appropriate "deadly" stuff didn't even scratch them.

The second player really has no interest in high level play anymore- he understands why I don't like running tier 3+4 5e. Unless you want to turn your setting on its head just to challenge them, it's just a cakewalk.

 

[Bitbrain]

@Arilyn made a post in another thread and 1 thing jumped out.

5. Surprised party just gets disadvantage on initiative now, meaning the surprised party could still go first.

In real life, if you scare my biological sister (accidentally or otherwise), the first thing she does is jump at you and try to attack you with anything she has in her hand at the time… while simultaneously screaming her lungs out in shock.

The new surprise mechanic seems no different to me.

4. Potions can be drunk with bonus action. So in middle of fight, a character can smack the monster, grab potion, uncork it and drink it all on their turn

Already a homebrew option in my home games. If anything, it makes the games more fun both for the players AND me the DM.

Also a myriad of other changes to various classes to give them an easier time. Like Clerics healing 2D8 base now.

About __ (insert expletive of choice) time!

And Fey Warlocks teleporting around and being invisibile etc

I use homebrew monsters exclusively. Neither of these are an issue for me as a DM what with increased monster speeds, blindsight, and/or truesight.

I recently watched a Sly Flourish video where he brings some of this up but also quotes from WotC about how all these cool new and upgraded powers will makes things harder on DMs.

Haven’t watched the video, as I’m pretty low on data, but as described in your post… meaning no disrespect, I consider this argument a false dichotomy. As a DM, I’m not here to engage in “Player vs. DM”, I’m here to put the characters my players have created in situations where they become awesome.

And yes I know the books arent out yet but the info they have released and the quotes about DMing is actually kind of concerning. This mid edition (or whatever you want to call it) is supposed to clean things up and improve things which I'm sure it does in some areas but giving the players even more Super Powers (which yeah who doesnt like feeling powerful) but at the expense of the DM and keeping the game running smooth and at a decent pace?

Nothing I’ve seen of 5.2 suggests it is intended to simplify gameplay.

 

[mamba]

having more consistent classes that are all in the 7 to 10 range instead of the 6 to 11 range (in terms of power) makes things easier on me.

the question is whether they are more in the 7 to 10 range… if they were, that would be an improvement over 6 to 11, 7 to 12 is not

 

[mamba]

Why doesn’t better organization count, exactly?

because there is not much I need to look up during play, so it does not help with running the game

 

[mamba]

In real life, if you scare my biological sister (accidentally or otherwise), the first thing she does is jump at you and try to attack you with anything she has in her hand at the time… while simultaneously screaming her lungs out in shock.

The new surprise mechanic seems no different to me.

the monsters are not trying to scare the characters, that is not what surprise is.

If I walked by your sister on the street and suddenly punched her, I am sure I would get the first hit in…

I use homebrew monsters exclusively. Neither of these are an issue for me as a DM what with increased monster speeds, blindsight, and/or truesight.

so every monster needs truesight now, great… why not simply not give such an ability to a class instead

I’m here to put the characters my players have created in situations where they become awesome.

you could have saved yourself the custom monsters then

 

[Stormonu]

There’s a whole video there (and some text) about how WotC seems to want to make running the game harder for the DM. Which has nothing to do with “5th ed is easy”.

Examples: Having more status effects to keep track of.

You (and others) might give the original post a re-read.

Read as: "Use our electronic tools to keep track of all those status effects:

(Though I do wish they'd lean on the mob rules more to make it easier to run large groups of creatures - say a summoned pack of wolves, a tavern brawl, a torch and pitchfork mob ... or an army)

 

[UngeheuerLich]

I think not previewing or playtesting DM-side stuff shows that they have little interest in getting DMs excited about the game. The playtest was a marketing tool at least as much as it was an actual playtest. Guess which parts of the game WotC marketed?

Because DMs buy stuff anyway. That does not mean they want to make the game hard for them. Quite the opposite. They know that without DMs tze game fails.

 

[UngeheuerLich]

By that definition, every D&D edition has always been exactly the same difficulty for the DM, because they could always do that.

Yes. In that way it is correct.

For DM's predictability is way more important.

 

[Minigiant]

I did watch Sly Flourish's podcast and it did make my rethink my additional weapons and their weapon masteries to make them easier to DM and speed up play.

PUNCTURE
Prerequisite: Piercing damage
If you critically hit a creature with this weapon and deal damage, roll your weapon dice 3 additional times and add it as damage.

Weapons: Greatbow, Heavy Warpick


CRACK
Prerequisite: Bludgeoning damage
If you hit a creature with this weapon with a total attack roll of 21 or more, you gain a bonus damage roll equal to your your Constitution modifier

Weapons: Polehammer, Ball and Chain