D&D 5E D&D Podcast: A1 Playtest (Part 2)

[Blackwarder]

http://www.wizards.com/DnD/Article.aspx?x=dnd/4pod/20130717

Lots of interesting things in this podcast, I really enjoy the live streams and the following podcasts.

In this podcast Mike and Rodney talks about improvisation,DMing skills, starting ability scores, exploration and interaction rules and role-playing incentives.

Enjoy!

Warder

 

[jodyjohnson]

Good stuff. Sounds like they are getting to the meat of the development beyond the 'what' of the design.

Many of the comments speak to the debates on game mechanics.

 

[Warbringer]

Are they streaming today?

 

[jodyjohnson]

Yes

 

[Jeff Carlsen]

It sounds like they're considering lowering starting ability scores. I hope they decide to go with that.

 

[keterys]

Below 4d6 drop the lowest? Cause, I mean, point buy is already below what people supposedly roll randomly on (choose your rolling method), so I'm dubious how they'd accomplish it.

I'm also not big, at this point, on things which reduce your primary (hitting) ability score, because things that do so will mean you take feats more slowly (while you pick up +2 to it)

 

[Plaguescarred]

I was fairly happy to listen to this conversation. I am with Rodney on ability scores significancy. 18 has always been a big thing rather than a standard and 20 has always meant ''beyond human capabilities'' to me and my group.

 

[Li Shenron]

At this point I'm all for 3d6.

 

[Majoru Oakheart]

I'm still going to have to listen to this. However, I've always felt that stats were way too important to the game. When the bonus you get to hit from a class at level 20 is 5, a stat shouldn't give you an equal number.

I've felt that stat modifiers need to be lowered so you can still have the super strong 18 str fighter who wasn't 5 times more powerful than the 10 str fighter.

I suppose lowering starting scores might be a suitable work around. Though, unless they are changing it to something like 4d4 for stats instead of 3d6, I don't see how they can really prevent this. You'll always have that one player who rolled so much better than everyone else. In 5e as it is now, someone with all 18s in their stats are nearly 4-5 times more powerful than an equivalent level character with all 10s.

 

[Aloïsius]

In 5e as it is now, someone with all 18s in their stats are nearly 4-5 times more powerful than an equivalent level character with all 10s.

As it should. Put a mountain of muscles with the dexterity of an olympic gymnast on the ring against 5 average joes, without weapons involved, and you probably have 5 average joes KOed.
If you don't like this possibility, don't roll for abilities. I'm tired of the game rules being slavish to the sacred balance sacrificing things like "fun" and "suspension of disbelief" in its name. It's the DM works to make sure any character can shine in his game, by tailoring the challenges for his gaming party.