D&D 5E DMs Expectations for Next

[billd91]

Our attitude back in the day was that any old thing in Dragon was at least worth trying, if someone wanted to, but we viewed all such additions with a gimlet eye. That is, after it got a fair try, the whole group would tend to approve it for future use or not--or perhaps only in certain situations.

Oh, we certainly experimented as well. Just don't hand me any official line and say I gotta follow it. That's a sure tactic to NOT get your way.

 

[Tony Vargas]

Really? Back in the day, this was pretty standard for anyone I played with. Someone picked up a Dragon Magazine, or Unearthed Arcana or whatever and wanted to play using it. Why would you buy a book and not expect to use it?

What can I say, when the broader community was united only through the occasional letter to 'out on a limb,' play experiences probably varied even more than they do now. In all the time I played AD&D, I never saw anyone run it 'RAW,' every DM had their own spin, binder of house rules, or used variants from Dragon (or banned them), or whatever. The Dragon was what passed for a barometer of the community, and it regularly included rules variations, particularly Len Lakofka's in 'Leomund's Tiny Hut.' Seems like house rules were generally more acceptable then.

If 5e does turn out to be a module-heavy, DM-customized "Frankenstein edition," at least that might tend to bring back tolerance of house rules and variants, which is something I'd love to see.

There, I just said something positive and hopeful. Mark your calendars.

 

[Hussar]

I guess that's where I'm finding it difficult to agree with you Tony V. Given the HUGE amount of loving that 3PP got and get for 3e/3.5, how can you say that 3e wasn't a "Frankenstein" edition?

I think the big difference, in my mind anyway, is simply that instead of each group having to invent their own house rules, there were all sorts of companies out there more than willing to sell you a book full of house rules, that were generally as good as many DM's could put together themselves.

 

[Vael]

The main thing I need to switch to 5e, both as a player and as a DM, is a superior play experience.

This means, as a DM:
1. Easy to prep. This means both having good prepublished adventures, and good tools to prepare stuff, like toolboxes for environments, monsters and NPCs.
2. Easy to run. I don't want to have to track a lot of stuff, monster, trap and NPC statblocks should be self-contained (no cross-referencing) and short, and I shouldn't have to constantly flip through rulebooks.
3. I should be having fun DMing. Ideally, playing a PC or DMing should offer equal enjoyment. I can have fun playing 3.5, but 4e gives me fun on both sides of the screen.
4. More variety in play experience. I'll confess, 4e, in my experience, really is mainly a combat game, and my group treats it as such. Skill challenges haven't really taken off, and roleplaying in general isn't done much. Now, I know, as a DM or a player, I could be doing more to mitigate that. But if 5e helps me out in this regard, (while keeping the fun of 4e combat) this will be a major reason for me to convert.