D&D 5E Blue ONE, An attempt at a TRUE 5e Basic version

[Sacrosanct]

Looking for some feedback. I was never happy with the "Basic" official version of 5e. It's like they kept all the complex rules, but removed all the character options, and still ended up with almost 200 pages of small font text (not even including magic items!!). So I thought, "What if Holmes or Moldvay were tasked with creating a 5e Basic set, what would that look like?"

Thus I've created Blue One (Name TBD) in homage to those creators. I wanted to streamline the rules while offering ample character customization. The thing is that customization comes at chargen, not in between levels, so that speeds up play. No more waiting a half hour to hour waiting for people to choose level up options. I think that aligns with what Basic's goal was in the day. I've tried to strip out as many rules as possible, like getting rid of bonus actions, concentration, and even ability scores! (instead of scores, they are just modifiers since odd scores never did anything anyway).

Let me know what you think of this very rough draft (just putting ideas to paper). I'm open to all kinds of criticism. Well, about the document, not necessarily about me personally

I'm really directing this towards folks who are fans of both the old Basic versions as well as enjoying 5e. This is not an OSR clone.

Old schooler's might notice the homage illustrations on each cover

 

[Kobold Stew]

Really cool idea.

 

[MockingBird]

I'm interested, especially with the uncertainty of how complex they plan on making 5.5e or whatever it will be called.

 

[Sacrosanct]

I'm interested, especially with the uncertainty of how complex they plan on making 5.5e or whatever it will be called.

Well, the link is up there, and I'd love to hear your feedback.

 

[Kobold Stew]

(Minor observation: Interesting that you kept small creatures move 25'; they're clearly moving away from that, though it's a reasonable thing to keep)

 

[Malmuria]

Took a quick glance and it looks charming! Love the art and the throwback style. The abbreviated monster stat blocks are fantastic as well.

Yet, I feel it is still too long! Can you get each class down to one A4 page? The chart for optional races is great; maybe you can do that for the main races with more abbreviated descriptions of what they are like? Personal things that I would also want: • spells organized by level or include the page number on spell lists • starting subsections ("combat" etc) on a new page • reintroducing procedures in bullet point form (like in OSE). Also, and this is just a personal thing, but I don't like the font. I would switch to a serif font in a smaller size.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Took a quick glance and it looks charming! Love the art and the throwback style. The abbreviated monster stat blocks are fantastic as well.

Yet, I feel it is still too long! Can you get each class down to one A4 page?

Man, I'd love to do that. I'm struggling to get all the features (I want to avoid dead levels) and keep it on one page.

The chart for optional races is great; maybe you can do that for the main races with more abbreviated descriptions of what they are like? Personal things that I would also want: • spells organized by level or include the page number on spell lists

There's only 10 pages of spell descriptions, but it's easy enough to add pg# next to their name on the list

• starting subsections ("combat" etc) on a new page • reintroducing procedures in bullet point form (like in OSE). Also, and this is just a personal thing, but I don't like the font. I would switch to a serif font in a smaller size.

I have the font intentionally larger because I want it to be accessible for visually impaired folks as well.

Thank you for the feedback!

 

[doctorbadwolf]

Looking for some feedback. I was never happy with the "Basic" official version of 5e. It's like they kept all the complex rules, but removed all the character options, and still ended up with almost 200 pages of small font text (not even including magic items!!). So I thought, "What if Holmes or Moldvay were tasked with creating a 5e Basic set, what would that look like?"

Thus I've created Blue One (Name TBD) in homage to those creators. I wanted to streamline the rules while offering ample character customization. The thing is that customization comes at chargen, not in between levels, so that speeds up play. No more waiting a half hour to hour waiting for people to choose level up options. I think that aligns with what Basic's goal was in the day. I've tried to strip out as many rules as possible, like getting rid of bonus actions, concentration, and even ability scores! (instead of scores, they are just modifiers since odd scores never did anything anyway).

Let me know what you think of this very rough draft (just putting ideas to paper). I'm open to all kinds of criticism. Well, about the document, not necessarily about me personally

I'm really directing this towards folks who are fans of both the old Basic versions as well as enjoying 5e. This is not an OSR clone.

Old schooler's might notice the homage illustrations on each cover

View attachment 258959

This reminds me of a beefed up version of games like HeroQuest. I like it.

3 classes with no subclasses definitely means it wouldn’t replace 5e for me, but I could certainly see using it to introduce people to the hobby, or do a “nearly 0 prep” game night.

 

[TwoSix]

I'm a huge fan of moving customization out of level up, so I'm going to do a deep look at this!

 

[Sacrosanct]

3 classes with no subclasses definitely means it wouldn’t replace 5e for me,

If I were trying to do that, it would be a problem lol. I don't want this to replace 5e at all. You hit the nail on the head though, this is meant for people who want to get a feel of 5e, and/or play a quick game. I suppose there's a third as well. For folks like me, who are fans of b/x, it can also be played by players who want to jump right in and not get bogged down by mechanical options, but jump right in. Why yes, as a analyst in my day job, analysis paralysis is a real thing for me lol. Just giving me barebones helps that.

One thing you may note is that I've given fighters the ability to choose either strength or dexterity to be proficient in, so it covers a broader archytype than just the old school STR based fighters. Combine that with background options, and I hope I've got dex based fighters covered.