D&D (2024) 2024 PHB - A much too early review

[Arilyn]

Good review. After reading the book, I finally decided to stay with OG 5e because I don't care much for the mechanical changes. The new presentation of the rules and the general quality of the book is greatly increased though. This is a high quality production for sure, if only for the MTG-like slick imagery.

I'm not buying the new edition, but it's painful because I love the alternate cover and the art. I want to want it, but the changes pushed the game over the line.

 

[Tales and Chronicles]

I'm not buying the new edition, but it's painful because I love the alternate cover and the art. I want to want it, but the changes pushed the game over the line.

Exactly. It just, just step over the line of "too fiddly for my players". If the book was just a new layout with awesome art and a working index, I'd have bought a PHB for each of my player!

 

[SteveC]

It seems like the "no custom backgrounds" in the PHB was a deliberate choice on someone's behalf. I guess I'm going to join with folks saying "don't like it, don't like it at all."

I think backgrounds are such an important choice to creating a character that "talk with your DM about creating a custom background, or see XXX for other options," would be a better option.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I agree, the biggest complaint is the backgrounds. The ability score increases should have just been suggestions and every background should have multiple feat options. Easy enough to do a homebrew background in DDB, but it does take a bit of work.

Yeah, I don't like the work part. I'm okay with it being an "ask your DM" (and the DM saying "Yes" unless they have a very good reason why not - usually a world-building one would satisfy) but it would have been pretty easy to at least put that in the PHB!

"If you want to customize part of your background, for example, by swapping one Origin Feat for another, ask your DM. Your DM might also provide custom backgrounds of their own, or work with you to create one that suits your plan for your character."

... It's not a lot of words. Honestly more useful than the 2014 sidebar, really.

That and I wish they could have released DMG at the same time, if I were new to the game, DMing might be tough.

Yeah, but we know why they didn't do that (printing delays) and it's only two months wait!

 

[MonsterEnvy]

I honestly don’t see conjure minor elementals as game breaking. It’s a good spell, but not game breaking.

 

[Osgood]

I was surprised that custom backgrounds weren't int he PH, especially since in the play test it was the default assumption and all the backgrounds were just samples. But given how friendly to new players this PH is, I probably should have expected custom backgrounds would wind up in the DMG. It doesn't other me much, but at least a sentence about talking to your DM about customizing a background would have been nice.

 

[Horwath]

I'm not buying the new edition, but it's painful because I love the alternate cover and the art. I want to want it, but the changes pushed the game over the line.

pushed it over what line?
game barely got a nudge.

Background feats? House rule with almost every group I played.

Mastery? Wow, martials actually getting something. Not much, should have been 3x as that.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

It seems like the "no custom backgrounds" in the PHB was a deliberate choice on someone's behalf. I guess I'm going to join with folks saying "don't like it, don't like it at all."

I think backgrounds are such an important choice to creating a character that "talk with your DM about creating a custom background, or see XXX for other options," would be a better option.

I mean ... I hear what you're saying, and I don't disagree that including a sentence or two would hurt...

But I really think people are going too hard on this issue. The 2014 version allowed for custom backgrounds in the PHB. And almost no one used that. Heck, people would post for years afterwards that they weren't even aware of the option ... in the PHB!

A lot of us assume that all players are like us, and aware of it all. But most? Most take the canned selections. I don't get it from my perspective, but it seems like most players just prefer to deal with "off-the-rack" rather than customization.

 

[bedir than]

I agree, the biggest complaint is the backgrounds. The ability score increases should have just been suggestions and every background should have multiple feat options. Easy enough to do a homebrew background in DDB, but it does take a bit of work.

That and I wish they could have released DMG at the same time, if I were new to the game, DMing might be tough.

I'll be doing all my custom backgrounds with a curve of common feats, creating a most and least common within the cultures where they feature.

 

[SteveC]

But I really think people are going too hard on this issue. The 2014 version allowed for custom backgrounds in the PHB. And almost no one used that. Heck, people would post for years afterwards that they weren't even aware of the option ... in the PHB!

My only concern with this is how locked in it makes characters. And for a new player, it won't feel that way because everything is new. You want a certain level one feat? Here's what you need to do to get it. Done. For more experienced players it gets a little rough. I know that over the years I've played just about every option for characters you can think of, so I'm looking at something new. And I think focusing on players like me with a small bit of text isn't too much to ask. By the time my group gets to 2024 (our next campaigns) I'm sure everything will be open and available.