D&D (2024) I think we are on the cusp of a sea change.

[Thomas Shey]

Just the addition of magic to the game already adds complexity to the base system.

Base system - the only pluses and minuses are advantage/disadvantage. Add in spells and we have, Guidance, Bless, Bane etc.

That was my point. The spell system already loads enough complexity on to the system that I absolutely think you could toss in a lot of additional things without notably upping the average complexity. Hell, you could probably do that and make it simpler if you went to a build-a-spell system with common components, but we all know most of the base would have apoplexy at that.

 

[Oofta]

I'm going to again say a game with as much exception based design as D&D has had from day one (even the simplest versions had it in terms of spell lists) is not going to be able to say it couldn't have more flexibility if it wanted it without significantly increasing complexity, especially since the flexible components can be dutifully ignored by anyone who doesn't want to use them, and a such supply no meaningful cognitive load.

I think making a modular system is easier said than done and also carries it's own set of risks. If there had been enough demand maybe it could have been done. But I don't think there's that much of a demand.

 

[teitan]

I really don't know where they would be going with a new major rules overhaul. 3rd, 4th, and 5th edition all addressed underlying mechanical aspects that many people were not really happy about.
What about 5th edition would need fixing, other than character option bloat?

There is character option bloat in 5e? Where?

 

[Thomas Shey]

I think making a modular system is easier said than done and also carries it's own set of risks. If there had been enough demand maybe it could have been done. But I don't think there's that much of a demand.

It absolutely does, but its not intrinsically any more complex than what D&D has been for a long, long time. But as you say, its not what people expect, or the spell system would have been addressed years ago; even the ones in 4e were fundamentally ad-hoc.