D&D 5E (2014) 15 Petty Reasons I Won't Buy 5e

[Umbran]

While it appears close I believe the fact 5e is trying to extinguish my playstyle tips the balance to C&C.

Oh? Like, a 5e PHB is going to don ninja gear, sneak into your house, and slip iocane powder to your other game books, or something? When Mearls has even outright said that they don't feel 5e is in competition with Pathfinder (and by extension, other games)?

No game is out there trying to "extinguish" anything. No release of any RPG has ever "extinguished" a playstyle! It may not include your particular favorite, but "not support" does not equate to "actively trying to remove from the universe". You don't like what 5e does? That's okay. Don't play it! Just stop trying to insinuate that its mere existence is somehow a threat to your personal way of play-life! Because it isn't!

This hyperbolic stuff is what creates edition wars. We are tired of it. Please stop.

 

[Halivar]

Oh? Like, a 5e PHB is going to don ninja gear, sneak into your house, and slip iocane powder to your other game books, or something?

Inconceivable!

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Um, why not both?

Because basic D&D tropes are directly at odds with common fantasy tropes (particularly literary high fantasy). Any game which is "a good D&D" is likely to be bad at being a generic FRPG. It has been ever thus. There are tons of good FRPGs out there, too, many of them which seem to support what you want (I think if you did a post in the general RPG forum outlining what you "demand" from a system we could make some seriously good non-BS recommendations for you).

 

[Halivar]

Because basic D&D tropes are directly at odds with common fantasy tropes (particularly literary high fantasy). Any game which is "a good D&D" is likely to be bad at being a generic FRPG. It has been ever thus. There are tons of good FRPGs out there, too, many of them which seem to support what you want (I think if you did a post in the general RPG forum outlining what you "demand" from a system we could make some seriously good non-BS recommendations for you).

In particular, I feel it's a mistake to count out GURPS Fantasy so quickly. For generic fantasy it's amazingly flexible. It can be anything you want; just not D&D.

 

[billd91]

Oh? Like, a 5e PHB is going to don ninja gear, sneak into your house, and slip iocane powder to your other game books, or something? When Mearls has even outright said that they don't feel 5e is in competition with Pathfinder (and by extension, other games)?

That's a statement more about how the developers feel or want to feel. The reality is that the games are, in fact, going to be in competition with each other because they'll both be for sale in the same market and can't be paid for with the same dollars nor played at the same time. Competition is inevitable and no feel-good statements are going to change that. That competition may not be hostile and it may not be aimed at driving competitors from the market, but they will be in competition.

 

[Nagol]

In particular, I feel it's a mistake to count out GURPS Fantasy so quickly. For generic fantasy it's amazingly flexible. It can be anything you want; just not D&D.

Fantasy Hero is also amazingly flexible and can even do D&D (with a tonne of up-front work).

 

[Halivar]

Fantasy Hero is also amazingly flexible and can even do D&D (with a tonne of up-front work).

LOL, I am unfamiliar, but I've heard nothing but good things.

 

[Sadras]

In some ways they left the 4e people out in the cold, and yet now they are failing to seal the deal with those on the opposite end of the spectrum.

It seems unfair to make this kind of sweeping statement based on a few posters, and I cant believe anyone imagined 5e was going to attract all D&D players.

I just don't feel like supporting a company that pretty much ignores the martial healing concern. I don't want that company to thrive. I'm not even going to buy minis from them. It's total Wotc boycott. All because they couldn't include one or two options to avoid martial healing. Yet on the other hand, we do have optional rules for Thac0. Wow.

What you have only seen is the basic core rules not the modules that can be tacked on yet you're willing to make that judgement call now? Seems a little harsh. You're welcome to ignore the HD mechanic and the Fighter Class Feature - Second Wind if you do not like those Martial Healing Mechanics.
Plenty of people don't utilise all the rules of an RPG game - happened a lot with 1e and 2e (encumbrance, spell components, spell interruption, tracking arrows, casting times, alignment...etc). There was still fun to be had.

When I compare C&C to D&D 5e, here is how I see it.
1. Vancian casting - Point to C&C
2. No Martial Healing - Point to C&C
3. No Dissociative Mechanics - Point to C&C
4. Big Feats - Point to D&D 5e.
5. Fast Play - Tie. Both are fast.
6. Skill/Proficiencies System - 5e is not to my liking and C&C doesn't have one. TIE
7. Backgrounds, Bonds, Flaws, etc.. - Point to 5e

While it appears close I believe the fact 5e is trying to extinguish my playstyle tips the balance to C&C.

Just eliminate the HD mechanic, limit the endless cantrips by bringing Fatigue into play, remove the much talked about DOAM. To be honest we have done all that and more. I do like C&C's SIEGE mechanic. Without 5e we probably would have migrated to either e6 or C&C with some 3.x & 4e influences.

I've toyed with writing my own game. Maybe that ultimately is the way to go.

The way I see it, we choose the most suited & flexible core system which aligns with our playstyle - and by flexible I mean that its easy to customise. Certainly for me I have found 5e to be that system.
1e and 2e are too basic.
3.x/pathfinder are too labour intensive for me as DM.
4.e does not meet the playstyle of our group.
5e is at its core basic, not labour intensive and can meet our playstyle as it is flexible.

We are all writing our own game. We just have a little help from WoTC. I'm sorry you feel so bitter about it all.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

Fantasy Hero is also amazingly flexible and can even do D&D (with a tonne of up-front work).

It's decent, but it's too much like hard work for me and I suspect too outcome-oriented for Ahn, who seems to prefer more organic designs.

 

[Ahnehnois]

It's decent, but it's too much like hard work for me and I suspect too outcome-oriented for Ahn, who seems to prefer more organic designs.

Probably, but as a matter of relative judgements, I bet it's at least clearer and more coherent than anything WotC has put out in a decade.

There's something to be said for taking an idea and doing it well. My ideal D&D has its own characteristics, but there are many other approaches one could do and do well.