D&D 5E Roundup: Check Out These Previews from D&D Celebration

Mind of tempest · Sep 26, 2021

Erdric Dragin said:
And then WotC takes those same settings and ruins them for the 5e crowd. Ravenloft book is a clear example, being dubbed more "Scooby-Doo" like than Gothic Horror, as it should have been. The fact it lacks Fear/Horror/Madness rules mechanics, which was literally the core of Ravenloft's playstyle, was stripped completely.

those already exist in the dmg under optional rules plus fear mechanics do not work to place people in the fear only take them out of it.

Mallus · Sep 26, 2021

As of right this minute, an anime Harry Potter-esque magical college-set campaign sounds really appealing. Maybe after our faux-Icelandic saga OD&D campaign ends? I shudder to think what my group would do to it, though. Student uprisings? Practically a given. Magical culture wars fought with area of effect damage spells?...

Mind of tempest · Sep 26, 2021

Mallus said:
As of right this minute, an anime Harry Potter-esque magical college-set campaign sounds really appealing. Maybe after our faux-Icelandic saga OD&D campaign ends? I shudder to think what my group would do to it, though. Student uprisings? Practically a given. Magical culture wars fought with area of effect damage spells?...

I would pay to what the end results.

Ezequielramone · Sep 26, 2021

Mind of tempest said:
worst case grab them for a mechanic that is useful.

That doesn't work for me. They re release small mechanics. I have eberron book, but they re-released the artificer... I did not buy the Ravnica guide but wanted the circle of spores druid... they re released it in Tasha's too, so I have the only small part I wanted from Ravnica in another book. So I prefer to wait.

Aldarc · Sep 26, 2021

Erdric Dragin said:
And then WotC takes those same settings and ruins them for the 5e crowd. Ravenloft book is a clear example, being dubbed more "Scooby-Doo" like than Gothic Horror, as it should have been. The fact it lacks Fear/Horror/Madness rules mechanics, which was literally the core of Ravenloft's playstyle, was stripped completely.

Please take some time from your thread-crapping about WotC ruining settings and realize that not everyone shares your opinions.

RSIxidor · Sep 26, 2021

Drake Warden is intriguing. (Depending on how you rule some interactions with later level features) it's a nice variation on the Beast Master w Tasha's Primal Companion. At later levels, it has much better damage spikes but the Primal Companion seems like it would have more consistency and flexibility (gets extra attack and each form has something that helps them or others to attack). Their scaling being different is also intriguing (Drake only scales by PB, Primal scales based on the Ranger's spellcasting attack). Rangers are less likely to keep their spellcasting stat as high as their primary attack stat, so I could see the Drake being more usable generally. Their defenses are similar (similar AC, similar HP, Drake gets two good saves, Primal gets bonus to all saves).

Levistus's_Leviathan · Sep 26, 2021

NaturalZero said:
I glad to see the UA metallic dragonborn made the cut. I'm playing the UA chromatic and this leads me to believe they probably made it too.

It's been confirmed that all of the Dragonborn races made it. The Kobold appears to have been dropped, though.

Levistus's_Leviathan · Sep 26, 2021

Erdric Dragin said:
And then WotC takes those same settings and ruins them for the 5e crowd. Ravenloft book is a clear example, being dubbed more "Scooby-Doo" like than Gothic Horror, as it should have been. The fact it lacks Fear/Horror/Madness rules mechanics, which was literally the core of Ravenloft's playstyle, was stripped completely.

1) Horror, and Madness are already variant rules in the DMG. They're there if you want them.
2) Van Richten's Guide to Ravenloft introcuded the Fear and Stress mechanics, which also work for the same purpose, while not being so problematic (due to most of the Madness effects being similar to real-life mental conditions and illnesses, like schizophrenia).
3) There are plenty of horrifying things in VRGtR, like the Unspeakable Horror, Relentless Killers, Necrichor, Zombie Clot, and similar monsters. None of those are the sort of things that you'd see in the Scooby-Doo TV show, especially because the whole premise of Scooby-Doo is that the monsters are always fake, which makes them more horrifying in a D&D world where they're legitimately real.

J.Quondam · Sep 26, 2021

Bird Of Play said:
Is it troublesome and offensive if I say this looks like utter poo?

I so miss when D&D was darker and more Tolkien-inspired. Now it's Harry Potter, but as an anime.
Makes sense however, since the majority of D&D players in general either choose to play as their favorite anime character or as their idealized waifu/husbando.

Nah, not offensive at all. Though now I find myself wondering why your avatar is an athropomorphic owl with boobs.