How's D&D Working Out For You? First official feedback survey looks at CLASSES and FEATS!

D&D 5th Edition has been out for 7 months now, with a boxed Starter Set, a free basic game, three core rulebooks, two hardcover adventures, and range of accessories. and WotC has just launched the first of its feedback surveys. From the start, WotC promised 5E would be a "living game" and that they would periodically survey the fan base to find out how the game is working and what areas need to be looked at. This first survey is focused on character classes and feats. "Future surveys will touch on other areas of the game. We’ll also launch more detailed surveys of classes or feats as needed to refine the information we gather and better understand your feedback."

You can take the survey here. It can take up to about 18 minutes to complete if you answer all of the questions. But once you've done it, please do feel free to comment here and share what you think for others to read, too!

Most of the released products have high ratings when looking at consolidated ratings from fans and reviews from popular sites like GeekDad, Forbes, The Escapist, Examiner.com, The Mary Sue, Aint-It-Cool-News, Boing Boing, and iO9. The Player's Handbook and the Dungeon Master's Guide both current have 92.5%, and the Monster Manual is not far behind with 91%. The Starter Set, also, has a strong 84%. The adventures have not fared quite so well; Hoard of the Dragon Queen has only 55%, although Rise of Tiamat is more popular with 76.5%. The initial DM Screen from Gale Force 9 is unpopular with a rating of 30%, but the new one from WotC was much better received with 84.5%.

 

[TrippyHippy]

Guy just turned up tonight to the D&D Adventurers League game I DM each week, with a Dwarf Barbarian. Nothing unusual about that, but it transpired that he had designed his character to fight in unarmed combat……without checking the rules. He had no weapons beyond his fists and did a dutiful 1 HP of damage each round.

So, more effective than a Fighter?

 

[Grainger]

Mathematically that's incorrect, they happen at a pace to keep the rogue close to par with other martial damage dealers. If they reduced their frequency the sneak attacks would have to be even more powerful, resulting in even bigger nova.

I think the issue is simply one of terminology - "sneak attacks". That suggests to me (and presumably other people) that the rogue's attack is a complete surprise - that the opponent doesn't know they're there at all. In reality, it seems to (usually) represent moving around the opponent while he or she is occupied fighting someone else, and getting in an attack that the opponent isn't prepared for.

 

[ren1999]

O.k. I did not take the survey because I can't log in to Wizards.
So I will give my thoughts and maybe one of you can pass those thoughts on if you agree.

The Player's Handbook is very difficult to read. Especially the Class Features.

A lot of the spells are never chosen by players because those spells are too weak.

I have a solution for both problems.

Here is what you do for the organization. The following is an example of the Clerics of Knowledge. My players can't even begin to understand their level-up rewards without a summary like this.

A very brief shorthand summary is also needed. See the Spellcasting listing here for an example. All the spells too should have a brief summary. See Sacred Flame below.

The solution for the spells is to eliminate the duplicate spells that do the same thing.
The next thing, if you have Mage Hand, give it a scale, put the Bigby's spells in this and make it a Force Attack spell package. Do this for all spells like Create Water, and Darkvision. Put create water in with a Lightning Attack spell package. Put Darkvision and Breathe Water in with Wild Shape.

5E has a good game system.
We can play it all the way to 20th level.
But the class features and spells needs a clean up.

Cantrips.
@1st(3).
@4th(4).
[]Guidance.
[]Light.
[]Mending.
[]Resistance.
[]Sacred Flame(the range, the damage type, the damage die, the duration, and any other brief and important statistic here, the description is not needed).
[]Spare the Dying.
[]Thaumaturgy.
.
1st Slot.
@1st(2/2).
@2nd(3/3).
@3rd(4/4).
[]Bane.
[]Bless.
[]Command.
[]Create or Destroy Water.
[]Cure Wounds.
[]Detect Evil and Good.
[]Detect Magic.
[]Detect Poison and Disease.
[]Guiding Bolt.
[]Healing Word.
[]Inflict Wounds.
[]Protection from Evil and Good.
[]Purify Food and Drink.
[]Sanctuary.
[]Shield of Faith.
.
2nd Slot.
@4th(2/2).
@5th(3/3).
[]Aid.
[]Augury.
[]Blindness/Deafness.
[]Calm Emotions.
[]Continual Flame.
[]Enhance Ability.
[]Find Traps.
[]Gentle Repose.
[]Hold Person.
[]Lesser Restoration.
[]Locate Object.
[]Prayer of Healing.
[]Protection from Poison.
[]Silence.
[]Spiritual Weapon.
[]Warding Bond.
[]Zone of Truth.
.
3rd Slot.
@5th(2/2).
@6th(3/3).
[]Animate Dead.
[]Beacon of Hope.
[]Bestow Curse.
[]Clairvoyance.
[]Create Food and Water.
[]Daylight.
[]Dispel Magic.
[]Feign Death.
[]Glyph of Warding.
[]Magic Circle.
[]Mass Healing Word.
[]Meld into Stone.
[]Protection from Energy.
[]Remove Curse.
[]Revivify.
[]Sending.
[]Speak with Dead.
[]Spirit Guardians.
[]Tongues.
[]Water Walk.
.
4th Slot.
@7th(1/1).
@8th(2/2).
@9th(3/3).
[]Banishment.
[]Control Water.
[]Death Ward.
[]Divination.
[]Freedom of Movement.
[]Guardian of Faith.
[]Locate Creature.
[]Stone Shape.
.
5th Slot.
@9th(1/1).
@10th(2/2).
[]Commune.
[]Contagion.
[]Dispel Evil and Good.
[]Flame Strike.
[]Geas.
[]Greater Restoration.
[]Hallow.
[]Insect Plague.
[]Legend Lore.
[]Mass Cure Wounds.
[]Planar Binding.
[]Raise Dead.
[]Scrying.
.
6th Slot.
@11th(1/1).
@19th(2/2).
[]Blade Barrier.
[]Create Undead.
[]Find the Path.
[]Forbiddance.
[]Harm.
[]Heal.
[]Heroes Feast.
[]Planar Ally.
[]True Seeing.
[]Word of Recall.
.
7th Slot.
@13th(1/1).
@20th(2/2).
[]Conjure Celestial.
[]Divine Word.
[]Etherealness.
[]Fire Storm.
[]Plane Shift.
[]Regenerate.
[]Resurrection.
[]Symbol.
.
8th Slot.
@15th(1/1).
[]Antimagic Field.
[]Control Weather.
[]Earthquake.
[]Holy Aura.
.
9th Slot.
[MENTION=6748906]17th[/MENTION](1/1).
[]Astral Projection.
[]Gate.
[]Mass Heal.
[]True Resurrection.
.
@1st(Spellcasting(DC8+wis+pro+focus)).
.
Channel Divinity.
@2nd(1/1).
@6th(2/2).
[MENTION=6749508]18[/MENTION]th(3/3).
.
Divine Domain.
@1st(Knowledge).
.
@1st(Blessings of Knowledge).
@1st[x]Command.
@1st[x]Identify.
@3rd[x]Augury.
@3rd[x]Suggestion.
@5th[x]Nondetection.
@5th[x]Speak with Dead.
@7th[x]Arcane Eye.
@7th[x]Confusion.
@9th[x]Legend Lore.
@9th[x]Scrying.
.
@2nd(Knowledge of the Ages).
.
@6th(Read Thoughts).
.
@8th(Potent Spellcasting).
.
[MENTION=6748906]17th[/MENTION](Visions of the Past).
.
Ability Score Improvement.
@4th().
@8th().
@12th().
@16th().
@19th().
.
@5th(Destroy Undead).
@5th(CR 1/2).
@8th(CR 1).
@11th(CR 2).
@14th(CR 3).
[MENTION=6748906]17th[/MENTION](CR 4).
.
Divine Intervention.
@10th.
@20th

 

[ren1999]

I did not explain why Class Features and spells needs a clean-up.

New players are overwhelmed because they have to keep looking up the same spells and class features just to remember the details. This frustrates new players.

Wizards should immediately release free summary sheets.

I've heard the argument that people should just keep looking this stuff up in the book and eventually they will learn what the features and spells do. I think this is a very poor argument. Players just end up making summary notes for themselves anyway. But they often miss important features or do not interpret what the spells are saying correctly, sometimes because the descriptions in the book are poor.

 

[Sadras]

@ren1999, I'm curious, which system of D&D spells are easy enough for your players or new players to remember and why?

 

[MoonSong]

@ren1999, I'm curious, which system of D&D spells are easy enough for your players or new players to remember and why?

4e?

 

[Sadras]

4e?

Well you're not @ren1999, but since you have answered, how was 4e easier? Without D&D Insider printed character sheets I'd reckon 4e users would be looking up Powers and Rituals all the time.

• With regards to class features photostat the pages that relate to your class, I'm thinking maximum 2 pages;
• With regards to spells, photostat and cut-out spells and create your own 'player-character' spellbook.

Keep both of the above with your character sheet - and there you go D&D Insider 5e the Manual Edition.

 

[MoonSong]

Well you're not @ren1999, but since you have answered, how was 4e easier? Without D&D Insider printed character sheets I'd reckon 4e users would be looking up Powers and Rituals all the time.

• With regards to class features photostat the pages that relate to your class, I'm thinking maximum 2 pages;
• With regards to spells, photostat and cut-out spells and create your own 'player-character' spellbook.

Keep both of the above with your character sheet - and there you go D&D Insider 5e the Manual Edition.

Well, I believe most people actually came to relly on Insider for that. But even then, 4e standardized way to handle powers and features makes for quick and short notes, something I wouldn't do with a previous edition.

 

[halfling rogue]

I'm starting to think this survey process is a horrible idea. The whole 'living edition' is a horrible idea.

Because the vast majority of respondents will be very opinionated gamers who can't resist blurting out a long list of pet peeves and nitpicks, even if they haven't actually seen the damn thing in play (really... in half a year there isn't that many who have seen in play all classes, much less all classes until 20th level). A lot of respondents will also probably feel afraid that their opinion won't be taken into consideration, and therefore they will lie about how much they have played the game, in an attempt at promoting their feedback as more valuable.

Then I am afraid WotC itself would largely overestimate the value of this feedback, and proceed with a huge rule update, thinking that 1000 gamers asking to tweak feature X of class Y means this is a welcome change, while the truth is that tweaking will cause an inconvenience to 10000 gamers who didn't give feedback on that simply because it was fine. Really 100% of the game is good enough, we gamers (esp. those active online) just have to find something to nitpick all the time, just to pretend we know better how the game should be played, just to feel we're better gamers than average.

I totally endorse @SteelDragon suggestion to give positive feedback about what works for you, but it won't happen because that's not how feedbacks and polls ever work.

I have the exact same feeling as you. When I first heard that there was going to be a living document or whatever I had a case of the 'uh ohs'.

That said, I don't think we still know exactly what WotC means by 'living'. Does it mean continual minor rule changes that slowly morph or 'turn' the game in a new direction? Does it mean all of the extra 'growth' will be merely optional, like the modifications provided in the DMG, where one might say "This is 5e, but it's not Basic"? Or does it mean simply that it is going to expand the foundation, meaning will they slowly increase their Basic document to include everything not included in the Core Books? Not changed material, but new material, or at least new Basic material? (because from what I gather, the purpose of Basic is to be the fundamental game where anyone can play Basic alongside anything else released for 5e, including the PHB.)

Ultimately I dread the same as you. But it really depends on what they mean by 'living' and how they receive, ignore, and implement stuff from the surveys.

 

[Sacrosanct]

Guy just turned up tonight to the D&D Adventurers League game I DM each week, with a Dwarf Barbarian. Nothing unusual about that, but it transpired that he had designed his character to fight in unarmed combat……without checking the rules. He had no weapons beyond his fists and did a dutiful 1 HP of damage each round.

So, more effective than a Fighter?

Why wouldn't he get his ability modifier to damage?