D&D General The Monsters Know What They're Doing ... Are Unsure on 5e24

[Yaarel]

I see it the other way around, we already know the monsters will only last 2-3 rounds, so why bloat the stat block with skills they will / should never use during those few rounds

And if the DM intends the monster to persist beyond a combat, then the statblock should be reformatted for a unique individual, with a personal name, and a more extensive list of features.

 

[touc]

Overall I have to say that his points all hit home for me, and I'm curious what y'all think... and, as per the questions he poses later on in the post, what direction you think he should take?

The author's points are taken mostly from a financial one. He sells a product rooted in enhancing and modifying monsters from official product whereas the average DM can do anything they want. If I want to "pretend" the Guard Captain actually only has a 14 STR to keep it real and the extra +2 comes from special training, I can do that, and my players could care less because they don't see my stat blocks. The author cannot. He's bound by that 18 STR and making it fit into his guides.

As to D&D 2024 characters can't be challenged, that's a relative question. Experienced DMs learn to adjust encounters, DCs, monster abilities, etc. on the fly or in advance to keep things thrilling, perhaps even lethal. Those just picking the game up probably aren't going to be comfortable doing that, and this might lead to that feeling. But because D&D rules are meant to be mutable, I can't endorse this as a concrete principle.

As to liking worlds with internal consistency, that ties in with the above. If you don't like how it works, tinker it or check out other systems that propose to fix that (like some of A5E, Level Up). This also lies with the gamer. Some will, and some will not, like the idea about spectral ranger ties and all that. It all ties back to the maxim "make the game your own."

Finally, as to what the author should do, his commentors probably have it right. Keep doing what you're doing. People like your products, and your blogs can be reserved for "you might have more fun doing it this way."

 

[Yaarel]

Yep. It's pretty common among those who are newer to the hobby, and especially those who are focused on implementation and technique within one system rather than playing a broader swathe of games. They lack the familiarity with the concepts of how different systems work, so changes feel much more consequential then they actually are.

Like, a lot of people seem to view 5e24 as some kind of epochal change; to me, it barely registers as a different ruleset.

I view e24 as the same as e14, with a cleanup of the character creation process and a finetuning of higher level monsters.

It is what 5e looks like after ten years of supplemental official books and heavy-play feedback.

 

[Parmandur]

Yep. It's pretty common among those who are newer to the hobby, and especially those who are focused on implementation and technique within one system rather than playing a broader swathe of games. They lack the familiarity with the concepts of how different systems work, so changes feel much more consequential then they actually are.

Like, a lot of people seem to view 5e24 as some kind of epochal change; to me, it barely registers as a different ruleset.

Really the biggest change is organizational, the books are much more usable as reference material.

 

[Distracted DM]

Yep. It's pretty common among those who are newer to the hobby, and especially those who are focused on implementation and technique within one system rather than playing a broader swathe of games. They lack the familiarity with the concepts of how different systems work, so changes feel much more consequential then they actually are.

Like, a lot of people seem to view 5e24 as some kind of epochal change; to me, it barely registers as a different ruleset.

That's an interesting point, I hadn't thought of it like that.

 

[Steady Vane]

His reticence on the 2024 rules reminds me a lot of A Knight At The Opera, another 5e blog that found themselves not liking the new edition's moves despite wanting to.

It takes guts to say you aren't jiving with the direction the ruleset you've made your name on is now going. I think people are dismissing this too flippantly. Moreover, there's something to be said for losing such a dedicated fan as him. What happened?

 

[Minigiant]

Well, there's two different threads of arguments here. One is how should WotC market create and design material, especially "edition changes", to ensure a broad and growing player base with minimal losses.

The other is how should a singular player, when faced with rules changes that are unfamiliar and/or unpalatable, adapt and react to those changes.

The thread I'm stating is the singular player is complaining about changes but claiming that everything was fine .

If 5e 2014 was fine, why would WOTC make 5e 2024 exactly like 5e 2014?

If 5e 2014 had problems, why didn't the people who were left behind state there solutions?

Is a ranger's normal mortal wolf fighting a dragon, dying, and having to be replaced in 6 months of training okay?

 

[Sulicius]

His reticence on the 2024 rules reminds me a lot of A Knight At The Opera, another 5e blog that found themselves not liking the new edition's moves despite wanting to.

It takes guts to say you aren't jiving with the direction the ruleset you've made your name on is now going. I think people are dismissing this too flippantly. Moreover, there's something to be said for losing such a dedicated fan as him. What happened?

Well what happened you can read all about in his post. There's not much more to it.

The game's fine and fun, just a little bit different.

The 2014 books are still great, but the 2024 ones aren't worse.

 

[the Jester]

I heard a lot of the same complaint with 4e and 5e14. So what is different with 5e24 IYO?

There is so much power creep. SO MUCH.

Every class is powered up. You could argue that martials need more oomph; but if that's the case, why bump up wizards and sorcerers too?

Pc choices have lost a lot of significance. You don't have to manage when to use your (allegedly limited) rages when you regain one when you roll initiative.

A lot of changes were made solely to make it easier to optimize your character.

 

[bedir than]

He sells a product rooted in enhancing and modifying monsters from official product

This isn't what his product line does, at all.
It's a fundamental misunderstanding of The Monsters Know What They Are Doing (which takes the hints of story within a monster stat block to tell you what they should be doing in combat), the blog as written and the entirety of someone's career in gaming.