D&D 5E I'm so excited (and I just can't hide it)

[Thaumaturge]

As for the PHB, DMG, and MM, my guess is that they will revise and reprint them every few years to reflect rules additions, tweaks, etc. Or maybe only the PHB. My guess is that it won't be "5.5" but more like "5.2" in 2-3 years, "5.4" in another 2-3 years, etc.

This. I got the same feeling after reading the coverage yesterday.

So rather than saying they're "planning 5.5 already," my sense is that they are trying to make room for inevitable rules tweaks and adjustments, which will always be reflected in the free Basic D&D document. I mean, we want them to continue to improve the game, right? I think they may have stumbled upon the best way to do that without pissing people off with a major revision every few years - they're offering a high quality PDF for free that will always be up-to-date.

Not only will the changes to the core system be in Basic, but any changes will be well communicated through public playtests of those changes, after the community has requested the changes in the first place.

Things are so much better than "planning 5.5". They know iterations on 5e will, eventually, be a necessity. They're implementing systems so the community determines the timing and content.

That's my, optimistic because we're in a thread about being excited(!), view.

Thaumaturge.

 

[Mercurius]

That's my, optimistic because we're in a thread about being excited(!), view.

At this point it seems not only optimistic, but realistic. WotC is very aware of how they've screwed up over the last 5+ years--that is, distancing a large portion of the fan-base--and they seem consciously intent on doing otherwise.

That said, there are still going to be a vocal minority who are unhappy--this is inevitable. But hopefully it will be minimized, and I think WotC is doing their best to minimize it.

 

[the Jester]

I don't know how it would, especially when one of the key design goals fo 5E was to make it customizable for individual DMs and groups.

I'll speak to the topic of the effect of online tools on homebrewing.

In 4e, the math is so fiddly and there are so many details that you need to catch that many players went to the CB as their only way to make sure they caught all that stuff. Hell, my own group did that eventually. I am an inveterate homebrewer, with dozens of custom paragon paths and magic items, quite a few custom epic destinies and a few races and feats. With those not being in the CB, from the period at which my players started to use it until one of them learned to hack it well enough to program in that homebrewed stuff, the players were extremely reluctant to use homebrewed material because it messed up the CB for them.

If the e-tools are able to easily add custom material, this shouldn't be a problem; the 4e versions were not able to do so.

 

[Gilwen]

Am I excited? Hell yes I'm excited. I'm going to my first Gen Con this year so I can catch the launch events and volunteered at my local store to help out with their AL games when they start. I loved the playtest and I am cautiously optimistic that Wizards will pull off their modular theme in the DMG. If not I'm ok with that because I think the default game will be solid. I do have my concerns though but not enough to overshadow the excitement I have to start a game with my groups (local and online). Neither of my concerns are deal breakers for me as a consumer. First one is how will the morningstar thing unfold and how will it be customizable. My second is how will the ability for 3pp to support the game unfold, that's important to me in the long run.

It's game on!

gil

 

[Daelkyr]

I missed the 3e launch. D&D (or any RPG for that matter) wasn't on my radar back then. But once I was introduced to 3e, I took to it like a duck to water. 4e, however, I was following intensely.

And now!!! 5e! So excited! Been following on the WotC message boards, here on ENWorld, several blogs, and Twitter. I'm counting down the days until the Starter Set and Basic D&D launch. I can't wait to start playing and running games for the Adventurers League.

 

[PinkRose]

The future's so bright, I gotta wear shades!

I started about 1988. Mostly AD&D 2nd edition.
I showed up here before 3e.
I actually submitted a logo for the 3e website.
I was around for the 4e ramp-up and used the Pre-release.
I went to the 4e PH release in Seattle and had my game DM'd by Mike Mearls.
I helped organize LFR on MapTools in 2008 and that's where I met Daelkyr.
I'm headed to GenCon to help with the 5e release and volunteer 20+ hours with WotC.
I'm excited.

 

[atgeirr]

I'm also looking forward to the new edition, for multiple reasons, but one stands out: magic items are wondrous again. While we have enjoyed playing 4th edition, and 3rd before that, they both made magic items an issue of money, scaling and optimizing. Not about wonder. The new design of wands and staffs for example stand out as making you want to use them, both as a player and DM. The ability to hand out a cool item to low-level players and still have them loving and using it at high level is back, and better than before. Letting weapons etc. go only to +3 and limiting stacking (arrow + bow, armor + shield) makes the +1 item with the cool ability a reward that may last the whole game, instead of being sold for a pittance in the next tier.

The tables provided for origins and other random properties are a great inspiration for making magic items special, too.

 

[Psikerlord#]

I'm also looking forward to the new edition, for multiple reasons, but one stands out: magic items are wondrous again. While we have enjoyed playing 4th edition, and 3rd before that, they both made magic items an issue of money, scaling and optimizing. Not about wonder. The new design of wands and staffs for example stand out as making you want to use them, both as a player and DM. The ability to hand out a cool item to low-level players and still have them loving and using it at high level is back, and better than before. Letting weapons etc. go only to +3 and limiting stacking (arrow + bow, armor + shield) makes the +1 item with the cool ability a reward that may last the whole game, instead of being sold for a pittance in the next tier.

The tables provided for origins and other random properties are a great inspiration for making magic items special, too.

yeah I really like items this edition. spells too feel more magical again, as silly as that might sound.

 

[Cybit]

I'm excited because every game I'm running, I get to have a conversation before the game starts about what kind of game we want, and thus, what rules we want to do. My little kids game is very rules light (no opportunity attacks, no feats, really simplistic) vs my work game where we are all mathematicians and like fiddly things (crit rules, OAs, feats, etc).

That makes the game last much longer, IMO.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

Yep, put me in the "excited" category too. I didn't feel this way when 4E was about to be released, but I think it's simply that I'm ready for a new edition of D&D after getting close to burnt out running 3.5E. I'll be getting the Starter set, the core 3 rulebooks and the first adventure (and probably the second one too). I can't wait to get stuck in.