Pour
First Post
There are a ton of knowledgeable, insightful, and generally gifted 4thers on these boards. Had 5e been a direct evolution of 4e, what do you think WotC would have or should have done to push its designs and sure up the issues?
My own personal guesswork would have me believe:
1. Some form of skirmish/combat challenge to facilitate quick, complementary encounters to the more set piece, tactical ones.
2. A retooling of the skill challenge system (incorporating some 4thcore 'gambit' stuff); potentially Next pillar-themed challenges, aka exploration challenge, social challenge, combat challenge (mentioned above) mixing skills, abilities, backgrounds, and player savvy.
3. Smaller numbers, but the same solid, transparent mathematical foundation.
4. More detailed item creation (thus producing more interesting magic items) for players and DMs, providing clearly charted options and some sort of budget system so that they were as easy to assemble as monsters in an encounter.
5. Campaign frameworks and rules variants, allowing for more easily-applied and defined campaign types: low magic, high fantasy, renaissance, seafaring, mystery, espionage, etc; coupled with tweaks in rules (inherent bonuses, variations of milestones and resting, a more robust diplomacy/bluff/intimidate system emulating social combat, etc)
6. A more robust action point that could do more than a standard action.
7. Playtesting of levels 1-30, with Paragon and Epic playable from the get go. Similarly, all three tiers supported from the start to the finish.
8. Less bloat and more definition.
What I would have hoped for:
1. A fully operational digital suite: Compendium, Character Builder and Visualizer, Monster Builder, Trap/Hazard Builder, Item Designer, 3D-VTT, Map Maker, Campaign Blogging, 3rd Party Store; ipad and mobile friendly
2. 3rd Party
3. The cannibalizing of the Arcane power source. There should be an Elemental and true Shadow power source, and with it a Sorcerer whose spells are exclusive and very different than the Wizard's and which deal primarily in fire, cold, thunder, and lightning damage. There should also be an actual Necromancer class.
4. Monster design that addressed monsters MUCH bigger than gargantuan.
5. New settings.
6. A better Dungeon and Dragon, quality AND quantity.
Upon seeing other systems, what I now want incorporated:
1. 13th Age style skill system, basically a set number of points to be invested in backgrounds ala "Torturer", "Thief", or "Blacksmith". Whenever a skill is needed that's pertinent to a character's background, they roll with the background modifier, or else a straight ability score. It increases with level. Why bother with meticulously-defined skills when you can have this? Granted, there is a modicum of DM fiat, but no more, I believe, than when DMs adjudicate whether or not certain skills can be used in skill challenges.
My own personal guesswork would have me believe:
1. Some form of skirmish/combat challenge to facilitate quick, complementary encounters to the more set piece, tactical ones.
2. A retooling of the skill challenge system (incorporating some 4thcore 'gambit' stuff); potentially Next pillar-themed challenges, aka exploration challenge, social challenge, combat challenge (mentioned above) mixing skills, abilities, backgrounds, and player savvy.
3. Smaller numbers, but the same solid, transparent mathematical foundation.
4. More detailed item creation (thus producing more interesting magic items) for players and DMs, providing clearly charted options and some sort of budget system so that they were as easy to assemble as monsters in an encounter.
5. Campaign frameworks and rules variants, allowing for more easily-applied and defined campaign types: low magic, high fantasy, renaissance, seafaring, mystery, espionage, etc; coupled with tweaks in rules (inherent bonuses, variations of milestones and resting, a more robust diplomacy/bluff/intimidate system emulating social combat, etc)
6. A more robust action point that could do more than a standard action.
7. Playtesting of levels 1-30, with Paragon and Epic playable from the get go. Similarly, all three tiers supported from the start to the finish.
8. Less bloat and more definition.
What I would have hoped for:
1. A fully operational digital suite: Compendium, Character Builder and Visualizer, Monster Builder, Trap/Hazard Builder, Item Designer, 3D-VTT, Map Maker, Campaign Blogging, 3rd Party Store; ipad and mobile friendly
2. 3rd Party
3. The cannibalizing of the Arcane power source. There should be an Elemental and true Shadow power source, and with it a Sorcerer whose spells are exclusive and very different than the Wizard's and which deal primarily in fire, cold, thunder, and lightning damage. There should also be an actual Necromancer class.
4. Monster design that addressed monsters MUCH bigger than gargantuan.
5. New settings.
6. A better Dungeon and Dragon, quality AND quantity.
Upon seeing other systems, what I now want incorporated:
1. 13th Age style skill system, basically a set number of points to be invested in backgrounds ala "Torturer", "Thief", or "Blacksmith". Whenever a skill is needed that's pertinent to a character's background, they roll with the background modifier, or else a straight ability score. It increases with level. Why bother with meticulously-defined skills when you can have this? Granted, there is a modicum of DM fiat, but no more, I believe, than when DMs adjudicate whether or not certain skills can be used in skill challenges.
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