D&D General 6E But A + Thread

[JConstantine]

2. A half-dozen "core classes" with feat trees, to replace the 13 classes/900 subclasses/multiclassing system.

I could see something like a cross between 5e's feats, 3e's feats and Savage Worlds' edges. So, using 5e as a base of comparison, instead of
Class feature @ X level
Subclass feature @ Y level
ASI/Feat @ Z level
you could have
Combat feat @ X level
Exploration feat @ Y level
Social feat @ Z level
Some could be general and open to all, while others are restricted by class or species, etc.

 

[Reynard]

I could see something like a cross between 5e's feats, 3e's feats and Savage Worlds' edges. So, using 5e as a base of comparison, instead of
Class feature @ X level
Subclass feature @ Y level
ASI/Feat @ Z level
you could have
Combat feat @ X level
Exploration feat @ Y level
Social feat @ Z level
Some could be general and open to all, while others are restricted by class or species, etc.

I would want actual talent trees, probably with a choice every level. If you are a rogue, for example, you could choose every level between the sneak attack/assassin tree, the expertise tree, the spellthief tree, etc.

 

[Scribe]

I think subclasses can go and be replaced with talent trees.
I think the loot motivation can be overhauled or even eliminated, depending on how you wanted to treat it.
I think the need for walls of talky prose can be wastebinned forever.
I think D&D can actively incorporate non-binary tests, robust metacurrency and some narrative tools.

Feat Chains = Talent Trees? Just wondering how you envision it. (I know what Talent Trees are just to be clear.)
Agreed, loot needs a total change, its currently pointless.
Agreed.
Yes....ish? I like how Daggerheart does it for sure and would absolutely leverage something like that.

 

[Reynard]

Feat Chains = Talent Trees? Just wondering how you envision it. (I know what Talent Trees are just to be clear.)

I like talent trees because they don't necessarily imply a linear progression. You can clump a bunch of neat stuff in "the stealth tree" that isn't necessarily a chain of prerequisites. I mean, there would be some internal chains in the tree, also.

Agreed, loot needs a total change, its currently pointless.

And hard to use as a motivation for exploration, due to that.

Agreed.
Yes....ish? I like how Daggerheart does it for sure and would absolutely leverage something like that.

I think DH is a good model (and good game) but it would not have to go that hard. Even a more Savage Worlds extra successes and Bennies type currency would be cool.

 

[Distracted DM]

I find it interesting that so many folks really only want tweaks to 5E, rather than an actual new edition.

Well they've been dealing with 5e for 10 years, it's sort of ingrained into the brain.. you think of "how you'd do things better" but that's generally going to be a modification of what you're working with, not coming up with something entirely new.

 

[Reynard]

Well they've been dealing with 5e for 10 years, it's sort of ingrained into the brain.. you think of "how you'd do things better" but that's generally going to be a modification of what you're working with, not coming up with something entirely new.

In the last few months there have been at least two (and maybe more depending on how far you stretch the definition) novel D&D-likes that don't reiterate 5E.

 

[JConstantine]

I find it interesting that so many folks really only want tweaks to 5E, rather than an actual new edition.

I think there's 2, perhaps 3, elements at play here.

1. "Sacred cows": There are some elements that must stay to still feel like D&D, which limits what can be changed.
2. "If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses" - not Henry Ford. Actual innovation is hard to envision because the execution is just as important as the general concept.
Potential 3. WotC specifically engaged in playtesting to make sure the game had mass appeal, and it clearly does. It would seem you are more burnt out on it than others.

 

[Parmandur]

I find it interesting that so many folks really only want tweaks to 5E, rather than an actual new edition.

Well, yeah, that's the thing: unleash people to imagine any replacement for 5E they want, it's not likely to be a radical shift.

 

[JConstantine]

I would want actual talent trees, probably with a choice every level. If you are a rogue, for example, you could choose every level between the sneak attack/assassin tree, the expertise tree, the spellthief tree, etc.

It sounds like you're envisioning them as something akin to the talent trees in Classic World of Warcraft:

As opposed to something like what's seen in Edge of the Empire:

Would that be accurate?

 

[dave2008]

e.g.

I recently had the experience of taking a brand-new-to-roleplaying player into my 5th ed D&D campaign last year, creating a character from scratch.

It took them two hours for them roll up their 1st level character. That is, done in earnest, with the PHB, and they had the benefit of someone besides me who was versed in the basic rules sitting next to them to explain what they didn't understand or were confused over at each step.

It should not take that long.

It definitely depends. I had a group of 10-year-olds (7 of them) all create characters in 30 min before we had a 2.5 hour adventure. My son and I were the only ones who had played before. It definitely doesn't have to take 2 hours to create a character in 5e.