D&D 5E (2014) D&D on Forbes

[Warbringer]

So now the new edition is branded in public media as "Next"...

And to side step the usual barrage, yes this is branding of the new name ...

 

[Rhenny]

Simplicity is essential. So far, I've enjoyed DMing the playtest more than any edition so far. My players who like to roleplay and move the story along are really enjoying it. The rules lawyer players are the fly in the ointment, but their feedback has been important too.

I'm a total convert. Begin with simplicity and then layer on what you like. For me, I have not particularly liked how I need to use so many monsters to challenge a larger group of experienced players (after 1st level). Solution: I beef up some monsters and give them special abilities. Then I can throw less of them at my players (with other weaker opponents to round out the combat), and I've dialed up the difficulty level.

Ability checks really encourage players to try to do what they want to do rather than look at their skill list and only do what's listed, and it is so easy for DM to assign DCs and let checks and contests help him narrate the story.

I really liked reading about how many playtesters (not only the ones that post in this forum or at the WoTC forum) feel that the game works on a basic level.

 

[GX.Sigma]

You have more faith in that than I do. I see a skill system I don't quite understand, spellcasters with variable recharge times, a fiddly maneuver system, and a whole host of other things that if they're a problem for me aren't likely to be any better for beginners. I see a lot of mechanical text that says very little.

Clearly, the sentiment you're expressing is the obvious truth that the final product will be different from the playtest. I think it will be different, but seeing as how each iteration of the playtest seems to get more confusing, and given who's working on it and who isn't, I am not confident that the final product will be better.

For what it's worth, I constantly challenge Mike on these things (via Twitter), and he always has a good answer.

 

[Dausuul]

Agreed 100%

But I don't see how you get to that. The 5e playtest stuff to me is loaded with unnecessary complexity. It makes my head hurt. That's why I think the experienced crowd won't do it.

Compared to 3E or 4E, it's still pretty light, especially since you can easily cut parts out. I had to whip up some PCs for a short adventure a few weeks ago, on no notice and with no familiarity with any class except wizard. By creating the characters without feats (except the bonus feats for the fighter and rogue), I was able to produce a fighter, rogue, and cleric in maybe half an hour, and their players--who are mostly casual gamer types--were able to pick them up and play them in very short order.

 

[Ahnehnois]

Compared to 3E or 4E, it's still pretty light

On what are you basing that? Compared to 4e, you're right. I think at this point, though, a lot of people consider 3e to be the entire body of supplements released under the official label. That's really complicated. But if I just pull out my 3.0 core books and try to make a fighter, rogue, cleric, or wizard, I find it much simpler than doing so with the 5e playtest. Even when I was a teenager who had never owned a D&D book or made a character or DMed before, I found those initial core releases very straightforward and intuitive.

Which is why I'm concerned by the amount of head-scratching my 5e playtest docs caused me.

And if what you're saying is that 5e is simpler than the whole monstrosity of releases for either 3e or 4e, that's the old being the thinnest kid at fat camp scenario.

 

[teitan]

On what are you basing that? Compared to 4e, you're right. I think at this point, though, a lot of people consider 3e to be the entire body of supplements released under the official label. That's really complicated. But if I just pull out my 3.0 core books and try to make a fighter, rogue, cleric, or wizard, I find it much simpler than doing so with the 5e playtest. Even when I was a teenager who had never owned a D&D book or made a character or DMed before, I found those initial core releases very straightforward and intuitive.

Which is why I'm concerned by the amount of head-scratching my 5e playtest docs caused me.

And if what you're saying is that 5e is simpler than the whole monstrosity of releases for either 3e or 4e, that's the old being the thinnest kid at fat camp scenario.

Did you ever consider the problems you are having as being familiarity with 3e and struggling with the differences as a result? Often people used to a more complicated way of doing things will unconsciously complicate simpler systems and ways of doing things because it requires a paradigm shift. "Easier said than done" is usually the mantra that spews out until they see... wow it IS easy. To me character generation in 5e looks as simple as ad&d with certain chunks of the PHBR series.

 

[Ahnehnois]

Did you ever consider the problems you are having as being familiarity with 3e and struggling with the differences as a result?

I considered it of course. But that isn't it. I didn't learn D&D on 3e, and I've had no problem playing and reading several other d20 and non-d20 games.

Often people used to a more complicated way of doing things will unconsciously complicate simpler systems and ways of doing things because it requires a paradigm shift.

True enough. And people who aren't used to a system at all may fail to grasp certain tricks of the trade. Any game probably works in the minds of the people who wrote it. But I think it's a fair test to ask whether it works for someone who's used to something else.

 

[Iosue]

The thing that takes me longest in Next character creation is tabbing through PDFs. I am so analog.

 

[darjr]

The thing that takes me longest in Next character creation is tabbing through PDFs. I am so analog.

oh man you nailed it for me, I wish there was a pdf reader that I could flip through and keep fingers in between certain pages as I did so.

 

[ValeLywoud]

oh man you nailed it for me, I wish there was a pdf reader that I could flip through and keep fingers in between certain pages as I did so.

I know the feeling, though I tend to use old playing cards. Granted, I did port mine over to a tablet so my players for my 4E campaign and it works nicely there at least.