D&D 5E (2024) WotC Should Make 5.5E Specific Setting

[doctorbadwolf]

It’s also a retroactive perspective. There’s nothing to be done about the change from 3e to 4e to 5e. It’s relitigating the past. Also, 3e got Eberron. 4e had Nentir Vale baked into the core books. But is 5.5 that dramatically different from 5e? I don’t think so. I think it’s the smallest shift in rules since the 1e to 2e edition change. Will a prospective 6e be that radically different? I would argue that if D&D continues to be as successful as it has over the past decade, then no, it won’t be.

Im not sure i see what youre driving at, here.

 

[Maxperson]

But that's the point

In a 5.5E Specific Setting, the assumption would be that every species is in every large town or city UNLESS there is a lore reason why not.

This is YOUR thing, not the edition's. There is no such assumption built into the game. The 5.5e PHB still tells you to check with your DM.

 

[Minigiant]

What nonsense. You should learn something about statistics and population distribution before making pronouncements.

The point is this is the vibe of 5.5e.

Is this an out-of-character assumption or an in-character assumption?

The point is.

If you invite Alice to your 2024 D&D game and you do not offer a campaign primer, if you do not announce why there are no Dragonborn or Goliaths in town, Alice will assume the town has Dragonborn or Goliaths in town.

Therefore whoever is the DM would have to either prompt why there are no Dragonborn or Goliaths or have some of the NPCs be Dragonborn or Goliaths.

If the DM does not, then they are out of step with 5.5e's assumptions and vibes

 

[Marc17]

This is YOUR thing, not the edition's. There is no such assumption built into the game.

I'd have to agree. Despite everything being presented up front and equally, the actual layout and feeling is still a matter of discussion between the DM and players even in published settings.

Personally, I would expect the majority of players to pick their weird ancestory and never bat an eye if they were never treated any differently than the humans while never seeing another one of their kind while adventuring. If they do bat an eye, they'll probably bring it up and it can be hashed out. (I also sort of feel the vaious gonzo character classes would be more cognitive dissonance in an unrespresenative world.)

 

[Maxperson]

The point is this is the vibe of 5.5e.

This is a vibe of yours, not 5.5e's. In the character creation section of the 5.5e PHB the very first thing it says to do BEFORE you dive into character creation, is talk to the DM to see what kind of game they plan on running. Right off the bat they set the expectation that just because it's in the books, doesn't mean it's in the game.

There is no built in Mos Eisley Cantina vibe to 5.5e. You can have it in your game, but it's not default to 5.5e.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

The point is this is the vibe of 5.5e.


The point is.

If you invite Alice to your 2024 D&D game and you do not offer a campaign primer, if you do not announce why there are no Dragonborn or Goliaths in town, Alice will assume the town has Dragonborn or Goliaths in town.

Therefore whoever is the DM would have to either prompt why there are no Dragonborn or Goliaths or have some of the NPCs be Dragonborn or Goliaths.

If the DM does not, then they are out of step with 5.5e's assumptions and vibes

It doesn’t matter if there are no Dragonborn in town. If your are thinking about playing one it makes no difference, adventurers are typically strangers anyway, they aren’t from that town.

 

[TiQuinn]

Im not sure i see what youre driving at, here.

Then maybe I misunderstood your point, I guess. It doesn’t really matter that 3e and 4e are different from 5e at this point. It’s in the past. The most recent edition change was negligibly different in comparison.

 

[Minigiant]

This is a vibe of yours, not 5.5e's. In the character creation section of the 5.5e PHB the very first thing it says to do BEFORE you dive into character creation, is talk to the DM to see what kind of game they plan on running. Right off the bat they set the expectation that just because it's in the books, doesn't mean it's in the game.

There is no built in Mos Eisley Cantina vibe to 5.5e. You can have it in your game, but it's not default to 5.5e.

It's not about character creation.

It's about setting.
5.5e is a "Everything Basic Rules goes and is visible unless the DM says so.". So it's up to the DMs to explain why Dragonborn are in town

5e has a "Mos Eisley Cantina or Reasons" vibe.

You might not think it but someone coming up to your 2024 game is assuming to encounter Dragonborns and Warlocks in your city or a reason why not.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

5.5e is a "Everything Basic Rules goes and is visible unless the DM says so.". So it's up to the DMs to explain why Dragonborn are in town

By that argument, playing a Dragonborn is compulsory, and the minimum party size is ten, since the only way Dragonborn are going to be visible at all times is if there is one in the party.

And it’s not just species, your town needs at least one representative of every subclass and every background too.

You see, you are talking garbage. Everything has to exist in the world. It doesn’t need to be present at all times.

And I don’t see why you are limiting it to the basic rules. It’s a basic rule that everything added lasted (and in the current rules, everything from the 2014 rules) is also part of the setting. So you need plasmoids and autognomes too.

 

[Maxperson]

It's not about character creation.

It's about setting.
5.5e is a "Everything Basic Rules goes and is visible unless the DM says so.". So it's up to the DMs to explain why Dragonborn are in town

5e has a "Mos Eisley Cantina or Reasons" vibe.

You might not think it but someone coming up to your 2024 game is assuming to encounter Dragonborns and Warlocks in your city or a reason why not.

Um. It says character creation because setting is up to the DM. You need to check, because the default expectation is that not everything will always be available in the setting.

So yes, it IS about character creation, because you create characters IN a setting.