D&D General Dmg previews up

[Parmandur]

Right, but how many DMs want variant rest rules, slow natural healing and full encumbrance? Ask 100 DMs what variant rules they'd like in the DMG, and you'll probably get 100 different answers. There are thousands of knobs that could be turned by any DM, depending on what they and their table find interesting.

To me, rather than presenting 10 or 50 pages of possible variants, I think giving them a couple of strong guidelines to help them navigate how to make changes to suit their own needs is more important. Give them explicit permission to make the game theirs, and point them to Indie publishers, liveplays and forums like Enworld for inspiration and advice. That, I think, will be far more valuable in the long run for any new DM.

For example, Dungeons of Drakkenheim has a great way to combat the 5 minute work day in their setting and Critical Role has a system to make resurrection both more difficult and meaningful. Sure you could publish those rules in the DMG, but again, how does that serve DMs for who those specific rules don't help them?

I think the book will have stuff like "change how resting works", but stuff like the Honor Attribute, or Proficiency Dice...I doubt.

 

[Zaukrie]

Right, but how many DMs want variant rest rules, slow natural healing and full encumbrance? Ask 100 DMs what variant rules they'd like in the DMG, and you'll probably get 100 different answers. There are thousands of knobs that could be turned by any DM, depending on what they and their table find interesting.

To me, rather than presenting 10 or 50 pages of possible variants, I think giving them a couple of strong guidelines to help them navigate how to make changes to suit their own needs is more important. Give them explicit permission to make the game theirs, and point them to Indie publishers, liveplays and forums like Enworld for inspiration and advice. That, I think, will be far more valuable in the long run for any new DM.

For example, Dungeons of Drakkenheim has a great way to combat the 5 minute work day in their setting and Critical Role has a system to make resurrection both more difficult and meaningful. Sure you could publish those rules in the DMG, but again, how does that serve DMs for who those specific rules don't help them?

Or pages and pages of alternatives to Initiative? I'd bet real money that most of the variant rules in the previous DMG still work, and most are never used.

 

[Maxperson]

You gotta have a friendly NPC running your bastion!

Or else, whose roasted ashes will the PC's be able to mourn after the red dragon torches it?

More to the point, who will fetch the PC's roasted ashes after the red dragon torches him?

 

[MarkB]

More to the point, who will fetch the PC's roasted ashes after the red dragon torches him?

"Welcome back Sir, and may I compliment your good sense in having fully upgraded the Reincarnation Grove prior to your demise. Of course, if Sir had sprung for the Chapel of Resurrection as I recommended, Sir would not currently be a hobgoblin."

 

[Parmandur]

Or pages and pages of alternatives to Initiative? I'd bet real money that most of the variant rules in the previous DMG still work, and most are never used.

I think any alternative rules that was actually referenced in a 5E book is in (so, futurisric tech and weaponry, mainly, those.got referenced a lot)), or anything that is a simple dial pull ("you can have a Long Redt give the effect of a Short Rest, with Long Rest effects after a week" sort of thing) rather than the more out there (albeit smart and interesting) ideas.

 

[TravDoc42]

I'm a big fan of the fact that, between this art and the back of the new Monster Manual, it looks like myconids have toadstool caps again. Nature is healing!

 

[OB1]

Or pages and pages of alternatives to Initiative? I'd bet real money that most of the variant rules in the previous DMG still work, and most are never used.

Exactly! And a Google search will be far more effective for any specific DM to find something relevant to their game than 100 pages of variant rules in the DMG would be.

Another cool way to emphasize this would be for the Greyhawk setting guide to have a few variant rules laced into it.

 

[Zaukrie]

Don't get me wrong! I like reading cool rules ideas, and I even use some of them. But most? I don't even remember they exist.

 

[Zaukrie]

Don't get me wrong! I like reading cool rules ideas, and I even use some of them. But most? I don't even remember they exist.

Heck, my website is littered with initiative systems (well, it will be over the coming weeks) because I decided NOT to publish an insanely long PDF I have with good and awful thoughts and systems on initiative. Again, this is what DMSGUILD and smaller companies are for...

 

[MarkB]

Don't get me wrong! I like reading cool rules ideas, and I even use some of them. But most? I don't even remember they exist.

Yeah, honestly I couldn't tell you what optional rules there are in the 2014 DMG aside from flanking.