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They said the same thing about the 2014 DMG, and we all saw how that went. I don’t really trust WOTC’s track record. They miss more than they hit.

I’m still not sold. Seems like it’d be really useful for new DMs, but as a 12-year vet-DM i don’t want to buy a book for the same pieces of advice you can find on the internet. Bastions are also a swing and a miss. For me, it comes down to the toolbox (chapter 3). How much is improved vs just...

It's in the most recent edition. They've been adding it in all of their Companions (with twists based on the genre). So you can find it in the Horror Companion, Fantasy Companion, and Sci-Fi Companion. SWADE is a great upgrade! It's my group's go-to system.

And for me, I still think it has too many fiddly bits for what it's going to bring to the table.

Because this is a good halfway point between "DM Fiat" and "make a spreadsheet that details labor/material cost and time estimations".

It's simplified, absolutely. Unsure what you mean by "abstracted". From my point of view: this gets to the meat of the fun. Build a stronghold, do cool things with it. The only thing you need to track is when you level up. It gets out of the way, which is 90% of my problem with 5E's...

Rather than Bastion Points or upgrade time or anything like that, it's simply: When the players level up, they can choose to level up their Stronghold. When they do so, they pick up a Stronghold Upgrade (like a Great Hall which improves persuasion checks when you host, or a Hospital that...

Ooooor use a better system. The Savage Worlds Stronghold system does the same thing with about 35% of the effort (and that includes the heavy-lifting it would require to transition the content to 5e).

Look, I'm not the biggest fan of 5E, but 90% of the time the answer to "broken" builds is: add more encounters. Now, I hate that concept, because I think a game purposefully adding trash fights for balance is boring design, BUT it works if you use it. By the time your party is level 5, you...

You would assume that there would be a siege / mass battle mechanic built in, but I'm betting on nothing of the sort. WOTC seems allergic to subsystems; the prevailing assumption for basically everything in 5E is, "do it with the combat engine". My understanding right now is that the only way...

I said this at the beginning. Weapon Masteries are bad for new players, and they are bad for the flow of the game. They are interesting in a “death by a thousand cuts” sort of sense, but in both of my groups, the veteran players are constantly forgetting when/how to use each Weapon Mastery. I...

Of the ones you’ve named, I personally own Fizban's, Bigby's, Spelljammer, and the Book of Many Things. Of those, Fizban’s gets the most use, and it’s still a rare pickup. It’s…fine? It’s still mostly lore advice. The rest are just mediocre. Compare to the Savage Worlds Adventure Edition...

I’m begging people to play games that aren’t 5E. People love Call of Cthulhu.

Sure. And the DM is allowed to have fun, too. They don’t have to just be a waiter serving up the player’s every whim.

I don’t want to put words in Micah’s mouth, it I think what he’s saying is, “fun is subjective”. Some people - DMs and players - like an experience where death is basically off-the-table, players are given their every desire, the party’s power scale is off the charts… And other people -...

If they’re aimed at DMs, they missed.

They are “for the DM” in the way of “a DM is required to run this”. Technically the PHB is “for DMs”. Hell, WHO are Bastions for? Players. I find it funny that the big selling point for the new DMG is a player-facing system.

I mean, I can’t think of a single 5.5 component that has had me think, “oh, this is great! It’s going to make my job easier!” It’s all player power boosts. Weapon Masteries that clog up time at the table. Spells that are still encounter-breaking. I don’t see the benefit for a DM.

I’ve said it before, but 5E is a player-focused edition. DMs are an afterthought at best, or second-class citizen’s at worst. WOTC designs with “what will the players want?” and only minimal attention paid to “what would make the DM’s job easier?” It’s a bold short-term strategy, but after...

While I agree that the UA version was — bad — removing the risk of your Bastion getting attacked, and moving it into the realm of DM fiat feels like giving up more than anything. If the intent of the Bastion system is ONLY to get players to be “mini DMs”, then this is a pass. 5E, as a system...