D&D 5E [+]Exploration Falls Short For Many Groups, Let’s Talk About It

[UngainlyTitan]

"Dragonbane actually defines how your individual pieces of mundane clothing & equipment assist your attempts to not die in the wilderness"

TRADE GOODS
ITEM COST SUPPLY WEIGHT EFFECT
Abacus 2 gold Common 1 Boon on INT rolls for solving mathematical problems.
Blanket 5 silver Common 1 Required to avoid a bane on rolls to avoid the effects of cold
(page 54).
Chess Set 1 gold Common 1 Opposed roll for INT determines who wins.
Dice 1 silver Common — Chance determines who wins.
Field Kitchen 4 gold Common 2 Boon on BUSHCRAFT rolls for cooking (page 103).
Field Ration 1 silver Common 1/4 One ration must be consumed per day, otherwise
you become
hungry (page 54).
Grappling Hook 3 gold Common 1 Can be used to secure a rope. Can be thrown and secured with
an ACROBATICS roll up to STR meters (STR × 2 with a bane).
Lockpicks,
Advanced
20 gold Rare 1 Boon on SLEIGHT OF HAND rolls for picking
locks.
Lockpicks, Simple 1 gold Uncommon 1 Required to avoid a bane on SLEIGHT OF HAND rolls for
picking locks.
Magnifying Glass 30 gold Uncommon 1 Boon to SPOT HIDDEN rolls.
Map 5 gold Uncommon — Required to avoid a bane on BUSHCRAFT rolls for leading the
way during journeys.
Marbles 1 gold Common 1 Can be thrown at a humanoid enemy within 10 meters, as an
action. Next turn the enemy must make an EVADE roll (not an
action) in order to move.
Padlock 10 gold Common — Locks a door or chest. Can take 20 points of damage,
armor rating 5.
Perfume (10
doses)
5 gold Common 1 Boon on CHA-based skill rolls when the GM finds it reasonable.
Playing Cards 5 silver Uncommon — Opposed roll for BLUFFING determines who wins.
Quiver of Arrows,
Iron Head
2 gold Common 1 Required to fire bows or crossbows.
Quiver of Arrows,
Wooden Head
5 silver Common 1 Required to fire bows or crossbows. The effectiveness of
armor is doubled.
Rope, Hemp (10 meters)
1 gold Common 1 Boon on ACROBATICS rolls for climbing, but the rope must be
secured to something.
Rope, Silk (10 meters)
10 gold Uncommon — Boon on ACROBATICS rolls for climbing, but the rope must be
secured to something.
Saddle 10 gold Common 1 Required to avoid a bane when fighting from horseback.
Sleeping Fur 1 gold Common 1 Required to avoid a bane on BUSHCRAFT rolls for making camp.
Spyglass 50 gold Rare 1 Boon on BUSHCRAFT rolls for leading the way during journeys.
Tent, Small 2 gold Common 2 Can accommodate up to two people. Grants a boon on BUSHCRAFT
rolls for making camp. Only one person rolls, but others
can help.
Tent, Large 4 gold Common 4 Can accommodate up to six people. Grants a boon on BUSHCRAFT
rolls for making camp. Only one person rolls, but others
can help.
Whistle 5 silver Common — Can be heard from up to 100 meters away.

That is interesting. Each item has a property that interact with the ability check system. There is no good reason that base line D&D does not have something similar. It reminds me of the weapon properties in Baldur's gate III which have properties that grand additional standard and bonus action per short or long rest.
I presume that boons and banes are similar in function to advantage and disadvantage.

Now excuse me while I go away and have a little rant about yet another equipment list that provides very short ropes.

 

[Micah Sweet]

No, WotC did not decide what new players enjoy. They decided what game they wanted to produce.

No finite ruleset can provide EVERY game experience available. So, as a practical matter, each game must cater to only some play experiences. It is not a fair critique that the designers made choices - they all have to.

You don't like their particular choices, for your own play? Fine. Trashing them for doing a thing that is literally necessary to publish a game? Not fine - that's an awful argument.

Perhaps, but it is a fair critique that WotC refuses to tell you what their design choices are or why they made them.

 

[S'mon]

That is interesting. Each item has a property that interact with the ability check system. There is no good reason that base line D&D does not have something similar. It reminds me of the weapon properties in Baldur's gate III which have properties that grand additional standard and bonus action per short or long rest.
I presume that boons and banes are similar in function to advantage and disadvantage.

Yes, Boon/Bane is Advtg/Disad except
1. They stack, you can have multiple net boons or banes
2. There are no plus or minus modifiers in DB, Boon/Bane is the sole modifier to success chance. Because skill levels are fixed/Platonic, as in Runequest, I find this works well in practice. Eg IMC Orla has maxed out Bow skill, 18. 90% chance to hit. Even with a Bane she's hitting 81% of the time.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

No, WotC did not decide what new players enjoy. They decided what game they wanted to produce.

No finite ruleset can provide EVERY game experience available. So, as a practical matter, each game must cater to only some play experiences. It is not a fair critique that the designers made choices - they all have to.

You don't like their particular choices, for your own play? Fine. Trashing them for doing a thing that is literally necessary to publish a game? Not fine - that's an awful argument.

It’s also a [+] thread, so if they’re just posting to trash how wotc did exploration or whatever, they’re threadcrapping.

(I don’t know what they post)

 

[mamba]

Level up doesn't have to cater to the whole community.

I am not sure offering more options would somehow cater to fewer people

 

[mamba]

"Dragonbane actually defines how your individual pieces of mundane clothing & equipment assist your attempts to not die in the wilderness"

wasn’t really interested in Dragonbane so far, but this I am curious about now

 

[MichaelSomething]

It is unlikely that the average DM has wilderness navigation experience. More especially, experience of navigating an unexplored landscape with some potentially hostile local forces.

So you're saying the solution is for DMs to go camping in the wilderness to gain a better understanding of exploration???

 

[Micah Sweet]

So you're saying the solution is for DMs to go camping in the wilderness to gain a better understanding of exploration???

That would certainly help. They could at least watch a season or two of Alone.

 

[UngainlyTitan]

So you're saying the solution is for DMs to go camping in the wilderness to gain a better understanding of exploration???

Nope, I am suggesting that the designers do some camping and may be a bit of orienteering . Then they can explain what they have leaned. While they are at it, they can try some rope based challenges with only 50 feet of rope.

 

[S'mon]

Nope, I am suggesting that the designers do some camping and may be a bit or orienteering . Then they can explain what they have leaned. While they are at it, they can try some rope based challenges with only 50 feet of rope.

I remember in the forest near my family's highland house (Boganclogh Lodge), it took an hour or so for my son & me to cross some boggy ground with a small stream, the Kirkney Water, in the middle. I think I carried him across in the end; there was a fallen log over the stream, but it seemed too fragile and I didn't cross it. Maybe 100' in an hour?