Unearthed Arcana An Unearthed Arcana I would like to see - mechanical fixes

[clearstream]

In play over the last couple of years my group has hit a lot of relatively minor "bugs" in the game mechanics. Examples for me include druid nature skill (intelligence? expertise in nature based on Druid levels could make sense) or warlock repelling blast (either limiting to one repel per foe, or giving a save against the push). Another is the dual wielder feat (should obviate the bonus action tax on TWF). Possibles include sharp shooter (either once per turn, or the power-attack could require a heavy weapon). GWM might well benefit from a look at, as well as trap feats like savage attacker (which at least should benefit sneak attacks!)

Not everyone will agree on the list or the fixes: which is why an Unearthed Arcana for this could be a good idea. They've introduced a lot of ideas for new mechanics: I'd love to see their ideas for debugging existing mechanics*. Because those are what I most use. Does this resonate for other posters?



*I'm conscious the WotC design team have put forward "fixes" in a sense for Ranger and Encounters. I'm talking more here about the smaller tweaks they might now make with experience and hindsight, right across the system.

 

[Krachek]

They won’t.
You will have to rely on your own house rule.
Create a thread “Sane feat fixes” our “Sane house rule fixes”.
Maybe you will receive other interesting rules fixes.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Wait... I'm confused. Unearthed Arcana is not official content. It is essentially a bunch of house rules the designers put out there asking people to try out. But if you are desiring of a bunch of house rules to fix things in your game... what's wrong with just you adopting your own house rules to fix the stuff you don't like?

House rules that WotC makes are no more official than house rules that a player makes. They're are still just house rules.

What would be better for everyone is if we finally get over the idea once and for all that "house rules" are worse than rules in the books and thus we need WotC to officially change them for us. They aren't. Using house rules is no worse or no better than just using the rules you find in the books. Rules are rules, regardless of who makes them. If it works for your house, then the rule is good.

 

[Inchoroi]

I've never once had an issue with two-weapon fighting, since the game came out. I don't understand why people don't like how it works...

 

[SkidAce]

I've never once had an issue with two-weapon fighting, since the game came out. I don't understand why people don't like how it works...

I think they lament using their bonus action for something else.

 

[lowkey13]

*Deleted by user*

 

[Mistwell]

Yeah i would just house rule this stuff for your game.

 

[jgsugden]

They tweak the rules as they see necessary in their errata. See the recent changes to animal companions, for example. However, they don't think the rules need substantial changes. Nor do I. I would have designed a few things a bit differently, but that does not mean the same thing as them needing to change...

The game is designed so that efficient, but not optimized, PCs can succeed against the suggested challenges. All of the classes can be efficient with a wide variety of reasonable builds. Not all o them can be optimized to a high degree - but that is not what the goal is for the game. None of the things you mentioned are problematic - they're just not ideal for all PCs.

Also, in my experience, popular opinions about what is overpowered do not match up with the reality. For example, people complain about GWM because of the increased DPR (average damage per round), ignoring that using the feats can increase the chance of PC DEATH *despite increasing DPR*. However, that has been argued a thousand times over and we won't make any progress revisitng the case.

 

[clearstream]

Wait... I'm confused. Unearthed Arcana is not official content. It is essentially a bunch of house rules the designers put out there asking people to try out. But if you are desiring of a bunch of house rules to fix things in your game... what's wrong with just you adopting your own house rules to fix the stuff you don't like?

House rules that WotC makes are no more official than house rules that a player makes. They're are still just house rules.

What would be better for everyone is if we finally get over the idea once and for all that "house rules" are worse than rules in the books and thus we need WotC to officially change them for us. They aren't. Using house rules is no worse or no better than just using the rules you find in the books. Rules are rules, regardless of who makes them. If it works for your house, then the rule is good.

I value their expertise as designers specialising in D&D-style RPGs, and their access to design resources such as salient data sets, time and playtesting. That's an important part of why I part with money for their game rulebooks.

Expertise and access to resources means that their house rules are likely to be more streamlined and resilient than mine. Not because I'm incapable of making good house rules. After circulating Unearthed Arcana they also conduct surveys, which could allow them to refine the rules a cycle further than I would have be able to. It also means that down the line, such rules might appear in a high-quality, polished state as official material. Which I would also value.

I would very much value seeing what the WotC team of professionals could have tightened up, given 20/20 hindsight from several years of experience seeing the edition played. I believe that often there is a focus on shiny new stuff and major revs - partially for commercial reasons - whereas it can deliver value to a community of users to show how to make what they have more robust. 5th edition is a great rule set, and it contains bugs. That's no hard criticism: it's simply in the nature of extensive game systems.

 

[Parmandur]

Interviewer: What is best in life, Mike Mearls?

MM: To crush the powergamers, to see them driven before me, and to hear their lamentations of their inability to use more than one bonus action. Gygax! I have never prayed to you before. I have no tongue for it. No one, not even you, will remember if I was a good designer or a bad one. Why we fought over the action economy, or why we died in edition wars.

All that matters is that today, two weapon fighting requires a bonus action. That's what's important! Rules fidelity and resource usage pleases you, Gygax; so grant me one request. Grant me schadenfreude that my own dislike of bonus actions at least makes others suffer more! And if you do not listen, then to hell with you!

The funny part is that Mearls has decided he likes bonus actions, but doesn't like two weapon fighting using bonus actions.