D&D 5E Best Parts of SCAG

[I'm A Banana]

SCAG's got some mixed reviews and opinions, but noting that, I'm of the opinion that there's some really good parts of the book, and some really awesome decisions.

For instance, I think the choice to narrate Chapter 2 in the voices of FR natives was awesome. It preserves that line between hearsay and rumor and fact that allows a DM to kind of come in and twist things wherever they want to. It's a great choice, and I hope future supplements make use of this framing device whenever it's appropriate.

I'm also quite fond of the "class options in other settings" bit. Kind of wish they would've extended it to races!

There's more bits that I'm fond of, too, but I'd like to hear yours. What bits did you think were pretty freakin' sweet?

 

[pukunui]

I really like how they focused on how the deities are worshiped. I also like how they provided in-game context for the deities' holy symbols, instead of treating them like logos, as they've done in the past.

 

[Jeremy E Grenemyer]

I am only through page 13, but I already have two Best Parts and one honorable mention:

1. Sean K. Reynolds is listed as one of the designers on the Credits page. Reynolds has a lot of Realms experience and he's one of my favorite Realms designers.

2. The artwork at the start of Chapter 1 (page 6) depicting the Old Mage telling stories to children, his pipe smoke forming into images to go along with the tale. Awesome, awesome, awesome. That's Elminster done right.

HM: The artwork beneath the Coin of the Realms sidebar depicting Realms coinage, on page 13. It's visually accurate (notice how several of the coins have holes in them so that merchants can pass strings through them?), it grounds DM and player alike in the setting, and it allows the DM to point to any of the coins and say, "This is what you found."

Thank you for starting this thread, by the way. The unrelenting negativity in the other SCAG threads was really starting to suck the life out of interest in this book.

 

[Xeviat]

2. The artwork at the start of Chapter 1 (page 6) depicting the Old Mage telling stories to children, his pipe smoke forming into images to go along with the tale. Awesome, awesome, awesome. That's Elminster done right.

That's a strange way to spell Galdalf. =P

My favorite thing were the new races and the new subclass material. I use my own setting, so those things help me out the most.

Second, I did like reading through the race and class chapter, crunch not withstanding, to see how they fit those classes into the Realms, which helps me think about how to fit classes into my setting.

 

[JohnTitusRenzi]

I know this is supposed to be a positive thread but I read the book today and it isn't finished. Gray Dwarf and Deep Gnome are passable. The rest of the races have a few paragraphs but no stats. Same for the classes. Mastermind Rogue is formated like the PHB but the rest of the classes are gibberish. The Backgrounds look useable. The best part of the book. The Gods? Why bother? All of that you can get in previous Forg. Realms accessories.

 

[Fedge123]

I really like how they focused on how the deities are worshiped. I also like how they provided in-game context for the deities' holy symbols, instead of treating them like logos, as they've done in the past.

I agree, the section on the deities was particularly good.

 

[I'm A Banana]

I know this is supposed to be a positive thread but I read the book today and it isn't finished. Gray Dwarf and Deep Gnome are passable. The rest of the races have a few paragraphs but no stats. Same for the classes. Mastermind Rogue is formated like the PHB but the rest of the classes are gibberish. The Backgrounds look useable. The best part of the book. The Gods? Why bother? All of that you can get in previous Forg. Realms accessories.

Take it into one of the two threads that already exist for talking about what you didn't like.

 

[abirdcall]

I am not sure how to put this, but I like how the crunch feels informed by the fluff and feel more so than as just some mechanics.

When I read most of the crunch I think 'oh that would make for a cool character' rather than 'oh that would be cool to be able to do' if that makes sense.

Even though the wording on abilities in places does not match the standard wording in the rest of 5e, the feel is there. They nailed the philosophy of character options in 5e which is very important for the first major crunch expansion.

 

[CM]

Much of what I like has already been stated, but I especially like the section on the gods because it's succinct yet still manages to give several useful hooks for each faith. Also, I continue to be impressed by 5e's artwork. The practical clothing and equipment most of the characters wear is right up my alley, and the scenery pieces are quite evocative.

 

[Minsc]

I like the new options for half elves and tieflings.