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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Blackbird71" data-source="post: 6593524" data-attributes="member: 6794081">First, a little background as a way of introduction (feel free to skip down a couple of paragraphs if you don't care about this part; plus the gist of the post is summed up in the final paragraph in case you have an attention span less suited for a Robert Jordan novel of a post):  I cut my gaming teeth on 2nd Edition (I know, 2E gets a lot of flak, but I enjoyed it).  When 3 and 3.5 rolled around, I didn't have an active group, so I experienced those mostly through computer games (such as Neverwinter Nights).  I started getting back into gaming around the time that 4th came on the scene, and after a disappointing few months with that, went over to Pathfinder and have been there ever since.Now I find myself preparing to start a new campaign, and looking for a good system to support it.  while I have enjoyed my time with Pathfinder, it has its issues.  Personally, I've always felt the mechanics of the 3.0/3.5/PF system were better suited to computer games than tabletop, as they have so many calculations and fiddly bits which are handled so much easier by a computer than a player or DM.  Also, the heavy reliance on vast amounts of magical gear annoys me.I've been asking myself whether 5E might be right for me and my campaign.  So far, my only experience with 5th has been reading through the free PDFs as well as several reviews and discussions online.  I've never actually played with any of it, so while I could say I have a passing familiarity with the basics, I'm still missing a lot of detail which could make a big difference.  So now I turn to online forums in hopes that those who know more than I can help.My chief concern is of how well the system will work with my campaign world.  The campaign is intended to be low magic, a setting in which arcane casters and magic items are a rarity.  Divine casters are somewhat less rare, but still a very uncommon occurrence.  How well would 5E support such a world?  As I understand it, 5th edition characters are a lot less reliant on magic items to maintain an appropriate power level (correct me if I'm wrong), so I'm not too concerned on that front.  However, I have seen a lot of character examples in which classes that I would not normally associate with magic by default have some level of casting abilities.  I understand that there are a lot of options with how characters are built, and taking different paths will give different abilities of different natures, but in not knowing the specifics I don't have a grasp of how prevalent these magical paths are.  Would it be possible or even reasonable in 5th to have a party of six players with only one character among them who has access to arcane spells?  And one with full access to divine, or maybe two with limited divine ability?  Can rogues, fighters, etc. be played completely without any magical ability?  Would placing such restrictions on a group severely limit character options, or does 5th give enough non-magical choices for characters to still offer some variety?  This alone is probably the issue that will determine whether I convert over to using 5E.While not nearly as pressing of an issue, I did have another concern with one 5th Edition mechanic I had been reading about:  the Advantage/Disadvantage system.  I don't think I've read a single bad thing about this system, and from what I've seen it seems to be universally liked as a useful simplification over previous systems (which is a good thing).  I understand the basic mechanics of it (roll 2d20, use higher or lower depending on situation), but I admit I don't have a good knowledge of what all determines advantage or disadvantage.  That may color my perception, but as I see it the game loses something in this mechanic.In my experience, some of the most memorable moments at the table, the sort of moments that you talk about for years, often include those times when the party is outmatched and in a bad spot, the villain has the upper hand, and everything comes down to one roll.  The players know that their chances are slim, as the only way they can succeed is if they manage to roll a crit.  It's a long shot, but it's their best hope.  One player tosses the die, and... natural 20!  Almost certain defeat has been turned into a victory!  Yes, it is a rare situation, and even rarer that it works out in the players' favor, but at a 1/20 chance it is still enough within the realm of possibility to offer hope, and to be thrilling when it happens.With the Advantage/Disadvantage system, I think that moments like this will be lost.  It seems to me that if the players are in a tough situation, they are likely to be disadvantaged, and as such that 1/20 chance gets turned into a 1/400 chance - a near impossibility that a disadvantaged natural 20 would coincide with such a critical moment.  Maybe I misunderstand how disadvantage will be used, or maybe I missed a change to the crit system.  I'd be happy to be wrong about this, but if I'm not I feel that many potentially epic moments will be lost.  It may not be enough on its own to turn me from 5E entirely, but I would mourn the loss of future memories.  Is the Advantage/Disadvantage system a part of the rules that can be omitted in favor of something else?  Or can anyone who has played the system offer some encouragement or clarification as to why it may not be as bad as I am expecting?Thanks for your patience with my long-windedness.  I suppose the condensed version of this post would be:  1) Does 5th Edition work well with a low magic/rare caster campaign, and 2) does "Disadvantage" really rob players of those epic "one crit saves the day" moments? I'd really appreciate any input, advice, or feedback that can be offered.</blockquote>

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