Modular add ons to change game to suit taste was what we were being sold on at the beginning but not what we were given. So what you are suggesting is just a late delivery on what we were already promised.
D&D 5E Advanced 5th edition Dungeons & Dragons!
- Thread starter Nebulous
- Start date
Li Shenron
Legend
There are some modules in the DMG: chase rules, lingering injuries, firearms, basic downtime activities, honor, sanity, horror, flanking, facing... maybe more I don't remember right now. There are a few extra combat actions too.
There are also some variants (not add-ons but changes to the standard rules) for healing and resting.
Magic Items are effectively a module, because you can opt out entirely.
I have a copy of the dmg since it came out and I still say the designers did not provide what we were being sold on.
Chase rules are there, but it's pretty bare-bones and doesn't work that great. Due to most monsters having huge con scores, they're very hard to wind, and losing them outside of that is all stealth checks, of which only a small number of players seriously invest. If you have a strength based fighter in plate it's basically off the table entirely unless you don't mind sacrificing him.
Honor is there, but it doesn't actually do anything. It has some of the vaguest rules printed, and really is just a social stat/skill hybrid that doesn't need investment to affect.
Sanity is just the fear/horror rules keying off this new stat instead of that old one, which is sort of nice since it means people don't have to pump stats they don't want, but all the madness rules really amount to are varying degrees of self crowd control.
Flanking/facing are just easier sources of advantage for everyone. It really just increases the lethality of the game for both sides, it's not really changing how the game itself is played.
Most of these options are fine for a quick and dirty one-off campaign, but for anything more substantial they simply lack the depth necessary to be called modules, in my opinion.
Magic items are also not a module. They're present in virtually every adventure path and allowed in AL play, effectively meaning they're a core part of the game. The fact that the game runs just fine without them is a good choice, but I would be stunned to find the majority of tables didn't assume their presence and make use of them.
dave2008
Legend
Perhaps you are mistaken about what you were being "sold on." The idea of modularity was largely (IMO) an assumption by the fans and not what the designers said. They did discuss it some in the beginning, but not as much as I (or most people I would guess) remembered. Furthermore they spoke of it less and less as the playtest continued.
Finally, nothing in the marketing for the actual products (what you are being sold) actual discusses modularity at all. It is simply not what they (WotC) were selling at all. If you assumed so because it was discussed during the playtest, I think that is on you - not them.
EDIT: PS. That was one of the concepts I feel in love with during the playtest discussions. And something I wish they would focus on in the future. However, I do not think it was a promised item that was not delivered. They simply never promised it.
Nebulous
Legend
When I first heard about modular add ons, I really envisioned something like the 3rd edition Unearthed Arcana, a big hardback of crunchy crunch to just dive into. I still wouldn't mind seeing that, but it probably won't happen.
Jester David
Hero
I find it amusing there's so much talk of adding complexity back into D&D. It's like the opposite of the Old School Renaissance. Especially since 5e is already pretty damn complicated when you compare it to many other games on the market.
I'd like to see a more in depth combat rules module for people who want that level of tactical combat.
Stances and maneuvers where you trade either the weapon damage die or adding the ability score modifier from the attack in order to perform some special move. For those people who just want combat options on a round-by-round basis.
I wouldn't mind seeing a return of monster themes from 4e. Small packages of generic or thematic abilities that can be applied to monsters to shake things up.
The biggest complaint regarding 5e at my table is the lack of character tweaking. There's just not as much room to spend building a character. You can't build and optimize away from the table, which is a fun activity for some. But that introduces a lot more power gaming to the system, and makes play much harder for people who don't want to spend 30 minutes to an hour levelling up their character.
The adventuring vs combat section was initially troublesome for me. But once I realized everything about playing the game that was not directly related to punching dudes in the face was in the "adventuring" section it made more sense.
And the index is terrible. It does teach you what terms are being used though (and thus how to find things later) but slows down actual use during play.
I recommend sticky tabs. Mark the various chapters on the right side and any sections you regularly consult on the top.
Anything unique to a class belongs in the class section. Anything in the spells section should be shared between at least two classes.
I often use "bloodied" as a descriptor to denote when a tough monster is below half.
For powers that trigger on hp thresholds, it's easy enough to just include that hp number. "When first reduced below 50 hp... " and such. It's a little cleaner as the hp is right there in the text of the ability.
Funny thing, the rules for Stealth in 4e Essentials are pretty similar to the rules in 5e. The difference is the action requirement, which does make hiding that much more difficult.
The firmer rules were paradoxically less forgiving for players. I don't have my books in front of me, but IIRC, you couldn't do something like sneak up behind a distracted creature.
But they could be a *little* clearer...
The buying/selling situation is not that bad. We have the price range. When my players have visited a magic item shop, I've rolled randomly on a table of magical items, found the medium price for an item of that rarity and then randomly adjusted the dice +/-100%.
Personally, I'd be happy if my players never visited a magic item shop ever again. Having to come up with what is and is not in stock is always irritating.
Really, what I need is not firm prices for magic items but a few sample magic item stores with an inventory.
I like knowing if something hit and was deflected versus if something missed the creature entirely. It helps my narration. And it made sense with the verisimilitude of 3e, where wizards and such attacked using Dexterity.
Now it's just needless complexity. It doesn't come up enough to warrant being on every character sheet. It's usually easy enough to say something is a "hit" if it's 10 + Dex or AC -5.
I recommend having inspiration dice. I picked up some large sized dice that are 3x the size of normal dice. When someone has inspiration, I hand them that dice, which they roll when using it. That way they remember.
But you can use other things, like poker chips or tokens from Campaign Coins. http://campaigncoins.com/d20-crits-or-fails-coins-copper-10/
But, they're always going to come down to what the author thinks is important. That document lists a few items as "gamechanging", with one of the most expensive items in the game being the decanter of endless water.
Adding new monster abilities is super easy. It's simple to just give them a knockdown attack or special weapon based ability. Such as the few new giant attack options in Storm King's Thunder.
I'm always making my skeletons and zombies unique, or giving "subboss" humanoid monsters a little ability or power. Often times pulled from a class because I'm making them on the fly. 4e monsters can also be used for inspiration.
I'll start with this comment and get speculative before discussing points. Mostly focusing on "advanced" ideas rather than revisions (like fixing saving throw math).
I'd like to see a more in depth combat rules module for people who want that level of tactical combat.
Stances and maneuvers where you trade either the weapon damage die or adding the ability score modifier from the attack in order to perform some special move. For those people who just want combat options on a round-by-round basis.
I wouldn't mind seeing a return of monster themes from 4e. Small packages of generic or thematic abilities that can be applied to monsters to shake things up.
The biggest complaint regarding 5e at my table is the lack of character tweaking. There's just not as much room to spend building a character. You can't build and optimize away from the table, which is a fun activity for some. But that introduces a lot more power gaming to the system, and makes play much harder for people who don't want to spend 30 minutes to an hour levelling up their character.
This just makes me curious. What you have trouble finding?
The adventuring vs combat section was initially troublesome for me. But once I realized everything about playing the game that was not directly related to punching dudes in the face was in the "adventuring" section it made more sense.
And the index is terrible. It does teach you what terms are being used though (and thus how to find things later) but slows down actual use during play.
I recommend sticky tabs. Mark the various chapters on the right side and any sections you regularly consult on the top.
You show me a spell unique to a subclass and I'll show you a class feature/ ability that uses spell slots.
Anything unique to a class belongs in the class section. Anything in the spells section should be shared between at least two classes.
Low level monsters can be plenty tough. Higher CR foes do need a bit of a boost in terms of hp and damage, especially compared to the guidelines in the DMG. But that's a symptom of releasing the books months apart.
I often use "bloodied" as a descriptor to denote when a tough monster is below half.
For powers that trigger on hp thresholds, it's easy enough to just include that hp number. "When first reduced below 50 hp... " and such. It's a little cleaner as the hp is right there in the text of the ability.
The ambiguity is only a problem when not playing with a Dungeon Master.
Funny thing, the rules for Stealth in 4e Essentials are pretty similar to the rules in 5e. The difference is the action requirement, which does make hiding that much more difficult.
The firmer rules were paradoxically less forgiving for players. I don't have my books in front of me, but IIRC, you couldn't do something like sneak up behind a distracted creature.
But they could be a *little* clearer...
I'm happy with the reduced focus on magic items. They were just too damn common in 3e/4e.
The buying/selling situation is not that bad. We have the price range. When my players have visited a magic item shop, I've rolled randomly on a table of magical items, found the medium price for an item of that rarity and then randomly adjusted the dice +/-100%.
Personally, I'd be happy if my players never visited a magic item shop ever again. Having to come up with what is and is not in stock is always irritating.
Really, what I need is not firm prices for magic items but a few sample magic item stores with an inventory.
Agreed. And also disagree.
I like knowing if something hit and was deflected versus if something missed the creature entirely. It helps my narration. And it made sense with the verisimilitude of 3e, where wizards and such attacked using Dexterity.
Now it's just needless complexity. It doesn't come up enough to warrant being on every character sheet. It's usually easy enough to say something is a "hit" if it's 10 + Dex or AC -5.
I find having a physical manipulative helps with the memory. And once you get used to giving them out & using them, it becomes easier.
I recommend having inspiration dice. I picked up some large sized dice that are 3x the size of normal dice. When someone has inspiration, I hand them that dice, which they roll when using it. That way they remember.
But you can use other things, like poker chips or tokens from Campaign Coins. http://campaigncoins.com/d20-crits-or-fails-coins-copper-10/
There's a couple magic item price documents floating around, but most are pretty arbitrary. Here's one: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B8XAiXpOfz9cMWt1RTBicmpmUDg/view
But, they're always going to come down to what the author thinks is important. That document lists a few items as "gamechanging", with one of the most expensive items in the game being the decanter of endless water.
Adding new monster abilities is super easy. It's simple to just give them a knockdown attack or special weapon based ability. Such as the few new giant attack options in Storm King's Thunder.
I'm always making my skeletons and zombies unique, or giving "subboss" humanoid monsters a little ability or power. Often times pulled from a class because I'm making them on the fly. 4e monsters can also be used for inspiration.
Jester David
Hero
There was a lot of reading-between-the-lines and hearing what people wanted to hear going on during the early pksyrptest.
But I also think there was a lot of optional rules and modules they had pitched and planned that didn't make it into the DMG. There was likely a lot of options cut for space, being the most expendable of content.
Nebulous
Legend
Oh, I do this a lot too, especially now at higher levels. 13th Age had good monster powers. I often now have monsters trigger a special ability when Bloodied, either as a reaction or a new power that lasts until they're dead. Advantage on attacks and an expanded crit range is scary. Or knockdown effects, or an extra attack, just simple things usually.
The Crimson Binome
Hero
One small change that would justify a new half-edition would be getting rid of Finesse-type weapons. Make all melee weapons use Strength to hit and damage.
Also, guarantee equal saving throws and skill proficiencies for monsters and NPCs.
And while I'm dreaming, get rid of bounded accuracy and HP bloat by having everyone add their full level to all attacks and defenses (including saves and DCs).
Also, guarantee equal saving throws and skill proficiencies for monsters and NPCs.
And while I'm dreaming, get rid of bounded accuracy and HP bloat by having everyone add their full level to all attacks and defenses (including saves and DCs).
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