DnD Podcast April 13

[Yora]

Can you get the important facts in written form somewhere?

 

[Minigiant]

Hmm... it seems like they are thinking about giving themes and backgrounds interesting powers.

Nobles with a free cohort. Sound like that's where Leadership is going.

 

[Sunseeker]

Can you get the important facts in written form somewhere?

Not a real fan of podcasts either, so a transcript or a cliffnotes would be great if anyone would/could/has.

 

[GM Dave]

If 5e gives you 6 spells to choose from at each level, that's hardly different from the 12 "1st level spells" that you got to choose from in BD&D at 1st and 2nd levels, and the 12 "2nd level spells" that you could choose from at 3rd & 4th level, etc.

Except that I didn't care on the limit of spells in BD&D when it came out.

I didn't like it but I didn't care because I had my AD&D 1st ed book at the time.

We used to hodge podge at that time and mix systems freely.

I'd have to go back to revamping spells from earlier editions (hopefully not as radical a change as 4e requires doing where you keep the name and little else).

 

[Iosue]

Except that I didn't care on the limit of spells in BD&D when it came out.

I didn't like it but I didn't care because I had my AD&D 1st ed book at the time.

We used to hodge podge at that time and mix systems freely.

I'd have to go back to revamping spells from earlier editions (hopefully not as radical a change as 4e requires doing where you keep the name and little else).

There will plenty of spells in 5e. The "6 iconic" spells thing was talking about the stripped down, foundational game that the modules will all build on. There will certainly be a "high magic" module as well.

 

[pauljathome]

As a side note, it would be really nice if they included these in a format that doesn't assume you use iTunes.

I just downloaded the file and it played fine on my Windows machine. And I am most definitely NOT using iTunes on Windows (there we are in violent agreement )

 

[Incenjucar]

I just downloaded the file and it played fine on my Windows machine. And I am most definitely NOT using iTunes on Windows (there we are in violent agreement )

Windows Media Player rejects it, and the little podcast player doesn't work in Firefox or IE on my Vista machine, but instead just blinks "Buffering 100%" forever. *shrug*

 

[Greatwyrm]

I've just noticed the version I downloaded is an .m4a, not .mp3. For those having problems, see if your player supports whatever that is.

 

[kevtar]

Ok. I'm going to go out on a limb here and state the obvious.

As I listened to the podcast, I got the sense that when they mentioned Basic D&D, they were saying that they were following the Basic "concept" rather than "content." I know, I know... that seems really obvious, but what I mean is that it's a philosophy, and that philosophy may affect how content is developed, organized, and delivered.

They aren't going to have Dwarves, and Elves as classes (obvious again!) - that's not really what I'm talking about. I'm just saying that "Basic" was... well - basic. It was a list of bare-bones rules written in a very encouraging and inviting way (I'm talking about the Mentzer red box). Things like numbers of spells, the combat math, and other game details, those are going to be influenced from latter editions and/or new innovations. So, when the designers mention a choice of "6 spells" - that's determined from a philosophy of design (obvious again... I know, I know).

I think it's a great idea. There are a lot of times in the basic set where the text encourages players & DMs to create solutions, and they also include optional rules, like poison use. It's written to intrigue non-players, inspire new players and prepare experienced players to move on to more complex interpretations if they so desire.

Personally, in this "new basic" approach, I hope they keep things centered around the D20 - that was a great unifying concept in 3.5 both in marketing and design. Wizards mentioned that they want to "recall" the original feel of D&D and to identify the "essence" of D&D. Those are good goals, and I hope that they take steps to honor the origin and essence of D&D while tying it in to possibly its most important, contemporary symbol - the D20.

The question I do have is this. When they mentioned a choice of "6 iconic spells," arethey saying a choice from 6, or a choice of 6 from a larger number? If it's a choice of 6 spells at particular level, are those 6 spells of a particular level or are they a mix? What kinds of choices are these six spells - at will, cast & forget, ritual? The answer to these questions, for me at least, weren't as obvious.

 

[tuxgeo]

I have a third-party program called "Media Player Classic" (note: not "Windows Media Player," as it's not by Microsoft) installed on my PC, and the downloaded podcast file played just fine in that (MPC) player.

I'm using Version 6.4.9.1; there may be a newer version available by now (I haven't looked).