D&D 5th Edition!!! (WITH POLL!!!)

[Stormonu]

Two Words: Random Books


All books would be shipped out inside of a box that just says "D&D Books." Some books like the PHB, MM, and DMG would be commons. Others would be more rare.

Better yet; the pages will be random. Books will be rleased in sets (PHB, DMG, MM, Player Splat, DM Supplement) but you will get 8 pages out of 400 with each purchase.

I hear the gnome page and grappling page will be ultrarare

 

[UngainlyTitan]

I think peoples individual preferences were well establsihed when every second thread on the General forum was a 5e thread.

On the other hand, while re-iterating ones own preferences may be fun it generates more heat than light.
The key question for 5e is how does Wizards make money out of it.
The traditional model was a crunch heavy game with money made from lots of splat books. 4e initially started out that way but there are some grounds for believing there is a limit to such an apporach.
DDI is an alternative way on monetising the game, and one that WoTC has only barely explored.
It is still unknown how they intend to market the VTT for example.

My own belief is that there will not be 5e until they have nailed down the online support ecology and how to market it. Not to mention what they do about the online aspects of 4e.

 

[WheresMyD20]

The key question for 5e is how does Wizards make money out of it.

I'd like to see them make a great game. I really don't care if Wizards makes any money on it. The D&D game has survived bankruptcies, buyouts, ownership lawsuits, etc. for almost 40 years. Even if WotC/Hasbro loses money on 5e, D&D will continue on in some from, either with a new owner or through clones like Pathfinder and the old-school retro-clones via the OGL. In fact, from my point of view, Wizards making a lot of money on a lousy 5e would be far worse than seeing WotC go bankrupt making a great 5e.

 

[WheresMyD20]

Serious question - who at WotC would even be able to design a compelling 5E?

Anyone there who even remotely touches the heights of Tweet and Heinsoo?

... let alone the even loftier heights of Gygax and Arneson?

 

[Lanefan]

In that case: I think the way to go is take take 4E and Pathfinder to make 5E.

5E ought to have 4E's gamist approach to building obstacles (be they monsters, traps, or skill challenges), but try to incorporate elements of Pathfinder's more simulationist approach to building characters and the world.

I don't think that's going to work.

About the only somewhat-common theme through this whole thread has been a desire for simplicity.

Yet this would take a complex system (4e) and incorporate major elements of another complex system (PF), which will give you ... er ... more complexity?

Lan-"the 5e rulebook can either help you play a fun, exciting game or be used as a bludgeoning weapon to kill bears"-efan

 

[Balesir]

... let alone the even loftier heights of Gygax and Arneson?

I think Tweet and Heinsoo reached higher, but of course this was in part because they stood on Gygax's and Arneson's shoulders.

 

[Dannager]

No bloat, or extremely limited bloat over the very long term. Design the game to last. Get it right, then release it all over a clearly-scheduled and short time frame. No errata, ever. Subsequent releases consist of adventures, settings, and other non-rule-affecting stuff; with maybe one rules-update book every 5 years or so. Design as though this is it, there will be no 6e.

This strikes me as an ultimately counter-productive way of producing a game. How about they get it as perfect as they can, and then release errata when they feel it's necessary? If you don't like errata because you consider incorporating it a hassle (even though 5e will undoubtedly feature a suite of digital tools that automatically incorporates errata, so that's really no excuse), you don't have to use it in your game.

Also, failing to produce crunch-heavy products on a regular basis would probably put WotC out of business. The other stuff doesn't sell nearly as well.

Put it all on paper. A player or DM with no computer access whatsoever should be fully able to access the whole game through their FLGS.

I'm going to take the slightly controversial position here of: No, they shouldn't.

This hobby should be moved - by force if necessary (read: you can't play otherwise) - to a heavily digital play medium. The days of playing without laptops or smartphones at the table should be relegated to editions past. If rulebooks are sold, they ought to be available in ebook format of some kind. Ideally, however, 5e supplements ought simply to be released as digital expansions operating on a subscription basis. If you subscribe, you have access to the whole game, simple as that.

Yes, there would be kicking and screaming, accusations of baby-killing and dog-kicking, etc., but the hobby would be cleansed and purified in the flames of (digital) revolution.

 

[WheresMyD20]

I think Tweet and Heinsoo reached higher, but of course this was in part because they stood on Gygax's and Arneson's shoulders.

I think that they intended to reach higher yet inadvertently send us backwards. Just my opinion, though. I can respect the opposing viewpoint.

 

[Haltherrion]

I like the 4E core design goal that every class has something interesting and useful to do each round. SOme of the core mechanics like defenses, at-wills, encounter and daily powers are great.

I think they "over leveled" and "over homogenized" things though. I'd like to see less stat "smearing" where any one thing can be affected by 2 stats, would prefer the old 9 point grid alignment sytem, would like to see spell casters a bit more distinctive than non-casters, especially "book casters" like wizards.

Overall, really like the 4E direction although a re-vamp of 2E that went with more linear XP, saving throws, no THAC0 is a close second.

 

[scourger]

"I’d rather improve/simplify (?) the d20/3.5 system and go back to that."

This option is what I intend to do with the next D&D games that I run: Sons of Conan and/or Slaine. The players can use all the complexity of the core rules, but magic will be greatly restricted. In Sons of Conan, there are no magic using PCs. In Slaine there are druids, barbarians, bards, fighters & rogues as PCs. I have a bag full of D&D minis to use for the NPCs & bad guys. That way, I can just use the foes with simplified stat card abilities paired with card-based initiative (from Savage Worlds). Since the PCs don't have boat loads of magic, the magic used by the foes can be more streamlined. Those simple changes make the game manageable for me yet still fun for the players (hopefully).

The last D&D game I ran was a D&D minis skirmish campaign using the simple advancement rules from the Miniatures Handbook. It was great, but it was a little too light to keep the players engaged.

I'd like to see a similar development for 5e. Streamlined but still robust rules for the players. Pre-painted minis with stat cards for the DM. Poster maps are good, too. Anything that gets the game to the table faster.