D&D 5E Critiquing the System

[Retreater]

Too many HP (for monsters and heroes)
Combat can turn into boring slogs
Death is too uncommon
Monsters don’t have enough interesting abilities
Maneuvers (disarm, trip) are basically pointless
Flanking is too good
Advantage/disadvantage is basically too good/bad
XP system and encounter creation doesn’t work

 

[Mistwell]

You cant disagree with what i call something. Thats weird. That i called something something is immutable. I do call it that. With everyone i ever mention it to. All my friends. Other people. Thats not an opinion. It came out of my mouth.

But ok. No edition wars. Just saw your posts. The first 3 are my favs though.

I have it on good authority you're a doppelganger who replaced the real Son of the Serpent. The real you does not share the doppelganger's opinion.

 

[DND_Reborn]

Too many HP (for monsters and heroes)
Combat can turn into boring slogs
Death is too uncommon
Monsters don’t have enough interesting abilities
Maneuvers (disarm, trip) are basically pointless
Flanking is too good
Advantage/disadvantage is basically too good/bad
XP system and encounter creation doesn’t work

Funny you should mention this, I was thinking about roughly halving the HP for everything (or doubling damage, same effect). PCs would still being with max HP, only gain a HD on odd levels, and their CON modifier on even levels.

I think that would help with your second and third points.

 

[The Crimson Binome]

What bounded accuracy did was put skills, attacks and saving throws on the same progression.

I thought it was 4E which did that. What bounded accuracy did, aside from putting everything onto two different progression tracks (one of which was stationary), was to make the scale of progression very small.

 

[Ovinomancer]

Yeah. But the point I was making is that the cognitive load is still there; it's just hidden because it's not attached to Advantage/Disadvantage. The cognitive load is there in all the different rules that are needed because Advantage and Disadvantage don't stack.

This is something that get's missed in the praise for Advantage/Disadvantage because it's not seen as connected.

In Shadow of a Demon Lord, the cognitive load is higher initially because instead of rolling a D20 to add or subtract a D6 and they stack, so that if you have multiple boons or banes you add or subtract the highest D6. However, this reduces the cognitive load of learning new rules, because many more of them interact with the same basic system. Eg if you have a relevant background on a roll, add a boon. A Cleric gives you the equivalent of Bardic Inspiration? Spend a boon. You want to try a maneuver? Spend a boon.

What rules exist because advantage/disadvantage don't stack?

 

[Don Durito]

I thought it was 4E which did that. What bounded accuracy did, aside from putting everything onto two different progression tracks (one of which was stationary), was to make the scale of progression very small.

Not entirely no. Skills gave a +5 that did not in itself change (and some options also gave 2d20 take best) which put them on a different scale to attacks. They progressed at the same rate (half-level).

Attacks were on slightly different scales too depending on whether they had weapon proficiency or not and whether they were aimed at AC or one of the defences that replaced saves. (So that an attack with a weapon against Reflex was extremely favourable to the attacker.) You also couldn't improvise a Strength(Athletics) attack against Fortitude because it was even more favourable to the attacker. (In 5E you can't either because they removed non AC defences and went back to saving throws - but that's a product of 5E taking at least one step back with every step forward.)

But it wasn't quite like 5E where proficiency is always proficiency (so if you wanted you could remove weapon proficiencies and put in a skill "Melee" and the game would not really be substantively changed.)

 

[Don Durito]

What rules exist because advantage/disadvantage don't stack?

The ones I mentioned in the post you quoted and in the post prior to that.
I think it's been stated pretty clearly.

 

[Stalker0]

One thing I think the system could use is more rules for handling mobs of creatures (and streamlined ones). We get some rules for mobs in the DMG but they could go further.

I say this because one of the selling points in 5e is that I can use hordes of Goblins against 10th level character, but that is a pain in the butt to run efficiently, so having more rules to deal with that would be great.

 

[generic]

One thing I think the system could use is more rules for handling mobs of creatures (and streamlined ones). We get some rules for mobs in the DMG but they could go further.

I say this because one of the selling points in 5e is that I can use hordes of Goblins against 10th level character, but that is a pain in the butt to run efficiently, so having more rules to deal with that would be great.

I create stat blocks for whole mobs, with abilities that make them slough off individual goblins or such at certain damage levels, possibly dissolving as a mob. Narration makes all the difference.

 

[Ovinomancer]

The ones I mentioned in the post you quoted and in the post prior to that.
I think it's been stated pretty clearly.

No, I reread. You talk about how a different game does things, but never clarify what rules in 5e exist because ad/dis do not stack.