D&D 5E BREAKING 5th Edition!

[Umbran]

Henry Weinhards root beer is the best. Ever. No question.

That may be, but as I am on the East Coast, it would cost me about $11 for a six-pack, plus $7 shipping. $3 for a 12 oz root beer is a bit much.

 

[SkidAce]

I like cheese. And bacon. Sometimes in the same dish.

 

[dd.stevenson]

With a small group of players, there's always the old standby of the (unspoken, of course) threat to up and leave the table.

The problem is you're not thinking big enough--not putting enough on the line.

 

[Kaychsea]

With a small group of players, there's always the old standby of the (unspoken, of course) threat to up and leave the table.

Shouldn't a threat be something he doesn't want to happen?

 

[Werebat]

What happened to being funny?

EN World's users are skewed to those who are at least sometimes GMs. A joke of the form, "Let's be jerks to our GMs!" is apt to fall just a tad flat on the audience.

I think, if you read again, you'll find the reaction is less against the finding of faults, and more against being a jerk about it at the table.

We lost so much when we (as an online society) shifted from unmoderated newsgroups to moderated webfora. So, so much.

 

[Werebat]

What happened to senses of humor?

It's a good question, and it is indeed a "sense".

Greyface assumes everything to be factual -- sometimes to the amusement of others -- until it's pointed out that some untruths are intentionally said by way of making light of things. To this he often replies that he knew it was a joke all along, but that "it wasn't funny" -- the same way a blind man might say of a painting, "it isn't pretty." And woe betide the one who points out to Greyface that he lacks a sense of humor -- he has NO sense of humor about THAT.

All in all, the breaking seems to be on the DM. I don't see, yet, what a player could do to get a huge upper hand in combat.

But that's just the point. When you shift breaking the game from the purview of the min/maxing rules lawyer to the DM who makes bad calls (with the understanding that DMs are people and people can be influenced), you simply swap one demon for another -- a demon that those of us who remember the earliest editions should be able to remember.

There is a reason that many DMs (myself included) really liked the fact that 3E has so many clear rules for so many things. We didn't understand, then, what it would lead to. To be fair, the internet gaming community hadn't yet taken off to the degree that it eventually would.

And also, to be fair, it will be harder for players to crib notes on how to wheedle their individual DMs than it is for them to do the same with "ultimate builds", lists of "bargain basement magic items", and the like. If they lack wheedling skill, they won't be able to fake it with a printed script from online the way they can fake min/max mastery.

 

[Tormyr]

That may be, but as I am on the East Coast, it would cost me about $11 for a six-pack, plus $7 shipping. $3 for a 12 oz root beer is a bit much.

Virgil's is also delicious if you can get it over there.

 

[ExploderWizard]

Henry Weinhards root beer is the best. Ever. No question.

For those who have never known the sweet nectar that is Sioux City Sarsaparilla I suppose.......

 

[Riley37]

We lost so much when we (as an online society) shifted from unmoderated newsgroups to moderated webfora. So, so much.

Yes, in much the same way that we lost so much when the UN vaccinated all humanity against smallpox.

Except that people with nostalgia for smallpox can't easily get it, while people who miss unmoderated newsgroups are free to set up an unmoderated, all-comments-posted, no-holds-barred, trolls-welcome website, for as long as they actually enjoy the results.

Here on Enworld, there's an direct metric for how many people find your posts amusing or useful. Are you getting those responses? Are other people getting those responses? What are they doing differently?

 

[txshusker]

But that's just the point. When you shift breaking the game from the purview of the min/maxing rules lawyer to the DM who makes bad calls (with the understanding that DMs are people and people can be influenced), you simply swap one demon for another -- a demon that those of us who remember the earliest editions should be able to remember.

There is a reason that many DMs (myself included) really liked the fact that 3E has so many clear rules for so many things. We didn't understand, then, what it would lead to. To be fair, the internet gaming community hadn't yet taken off to the degree that it eventually would.
.

Honestly, every version has always been on the DM. A DM can always make up for min/maxing and too powerful characters by going off script and bulking up the opposition. RPGs are living things that appear to have rules but have always been guidelines. And I really don't see much problems with RAW in 5e yet. All the threads I've seen here asking about interpretations and the like - the written as rules of 5e all appear very clear to me; if someone at a table suggests a different interpretation of a particular rule, a logical explanation of the DM's opinion should be quite sufficient as it's normally backed up by the exact wording.

For younger/newer DMs, rules lawyers can be a problem.... but a DM can always compensate for power gaming.