D&D 5E Let’s Read Mordenkainen Presents: Monsters of the Multiverse.

[Ruin Explorer]

Yes, that's why they are making the changes, to increase the appeal of the brand identity.

Yup. I don't get why anyone would think WotC would be making these changes without researching them and determining their popularity. I do think WotC maybe trusts their own surveys a little less than they used to, because I suspect the demographics of the people who fill out the surveys do not match well with the demographics WotC is seeing with more serious/aggressive market research (probably older, male-er and pale-er). Of course the surveys still offer value because they give some pretty in-depth comments on things. I mean I agree with Micah that they may go overboard, but so far that has yet to really bite them in the butt except with the incredibly misguided early marketing of and decision-making about 4E, but that looked like they just took their eye off the ball more than anything else.

 

[Jer]

Probably because no one can be bothered with encumbrance.

I mean, nobody carries much of anything in our games so even if we did it wouldn't matter. The only folks who would need to really worry about it because they wear heavy armor are the ones who aren't dumping Strength.

 

[Reynard]

I mean, nobody carries much of anything in our games so even if we did it wouldn't matter. The only folks who would need to really worry about it because they wear heavy armor are the ones who aren't dumping Strength.

Probably because no one cares about food, camping supplies, dungeon exploration tools, etc...

 

[Micah Sweet]

Yes, that's why they are making the changes, to increase the appeal of the brand identity.

I hope they're right that it'll do that.

Actually, I kinda don't hope that. I understand what they're doing and why, but I strongly disagree the game will be in any way better for it.

 

[Ruin Explorer]

I hope they're right that it'll do that.

Actually, I kinda don't hope that. I understand what they're doing and why, but I strongly disagree the game will be in any way better for it.

"Better" for a specific set of tastes and "more successful" in terms of broad appeal generally are often at odds, as anyone who liked 4E a lot knows

 

[Leatherhead]

You missed one of the things that makes Hutijin really deadly. Infernal Despair gives any non-devil within 30 feet disadvantage on saving throws. His save DC is 22, so this is a threat even to PCs proficient in the save.

True.

Second, it seems like anyone who would care about and being truly adversely affected by losing INT would probably have it as a proficient save.

Debuffing INT while losing proficiency in INT saves also makes the subsequent saving throws to end the effect harder, seeing as how your new INT save is -3.

 

[Jer]

Probably because no one cares about food, camping supplies, dungeon exploration tools, etc...

They're adventurers, not Boy Scouts. How much camping supplies do they really need? They're either going to sleep under the stars, sleep in a cave behind a barricaded door, or find an inn for the night.

With an 8 Strength you can carry 120 pounds of weight. IIRC an Explorer's pack is around 60 lbs of weight. Add on light armor and weapons and you end up with a number that makes encumbrance IMO not worth tracking unless I'm doing an old school dungeon crawl where I'm going to give out XP based on treasure pulled out of the dungeon and want the players to have to make some hard choices.

 

[GMforPowergamers]

With an 8 Strength you can carry 120 pounds of weight.

when I go camping for the weekend I don't take weapons or armor but I also don't get close to 120lbs... maybe between 3 of us we bring that much stuff... and I can't hunt or forage for food, so that weight includes the food

 

[Reynard]

when I go camping for the weekend I don't take weapons or armor but I also don't get close to 120lbs... maybe between 3 of us we bring that much stuff... and I can't hunt or forage for food, so that weight includes the food

The idea that 120 lbs is a trivial amount of weight (ie no penalties) for someone with a below average strength to carry is absolutely laughable.

 

[Jer]

The idea that 120 lbs is a trivial amount of weight (ie no penalties) for someone with a below average strength to carry is absolutely laughable.

And yet - that's the rule in 5e.