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Community
General Tabletop Discussion
*Dungeons & Dragons
making 5E more "old school" (updated)
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<blockquote data-quote="epithet" data-source="post: 7265823" data-attributes="member: 6796566"><p>If you're going to do that, then you're wasting your time starting with 5e and trying to strip away all the "new school" elements. You'd be a lot better off with AD&D, or an OSR retroclone like Swords & Wizardry.</p><p></p><p>That said, there is a who lot of room for improvement in those old systems, and I think 5e is a much better system for a campaign. In fact, I don't think I would seriously consider an earlier edition for anything other than a one-shot or an adventure over a couple of sessions. What I would consider is making a couple of tweaks to try to recapture some of the feel of an older edition without changing the core 5e mechanics. Keep in mind that if your players have any experience with 5e, even a few tweaks will probably be enough to "flavor" the game experience.</p><p></p><p style="margin-left: 20px">1. Slow natural healing (DMG 267) would remove the hit point restoration of a long rest. All natural healing comes from using hit dice, and you only get half your hit dice back every day. This makes class features like <em>Song of Rest</em> and feats like <em>Healer </em>much more valuable.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">2. Injuries (DMG 272) make combat a lot more interesting. I would say that if you're using the injuries rule, though, that you should make sure you know ahead of time where the <em>regeneration </em>spell or an effect that imitates it can be obtained by relatively low level characters. I'm partial to the lost magical spring guarded by a Guardian Naga or a Unicorn, rumors of which are overheard at the tavern. The point is that getting your leg back can be an adventure, but if your 2nd level character's leg's off and there's no apparent way to fix that situation, you're likely to hobble your way into the thick of an orc horde with the intent to re-roll. </p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">3. Massive damage (DMG 273) leading to system shock rolls make combat more dangerous in a way that is, in my opinion, a lot more interesting and fun that simply saying you're dead at 0, no death save.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p> <p style="margin-left: 20px">4. Greyhawk initiative (<a href="http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/unearthed-arcana/greyhawk-initiative" target="_blank">Unearthed Arcana</a>) will definataly slow down your combats at first, but it looks like it would become pretty smooth once you and your group got the hang of it. It would add a huge "we're not in Kansas any more" element to your game, and would also get your players to think more tactically and be more prepared when their turn comes around.</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"></p><p></p><p>I think when it comes down to it, 5e is 5e--if you like it well enough to use it as the game system for your campaign, then it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to go ripping out the parts of it that make it what it is. There are some options that have been specifically designed to work with that system, though, that can go a long way toward capturing a more dangerous, dynamic world that might be reminiscent of your old school experience without unnecessarily limiting player's character options or running the risk of changing a rule that throws the entire game system out of alignment.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="epithet, post: 7265823, member: 6796566"] If you're going to do that, then you're wasting your time starting with 5e and trying to strip away all the "new school" elements. You'd be a lot better off with AD&D, or an OSR retroclone like Swords & Wizardry. That said, there is a who lot of room for improvement in those old systems, and I think 5e is a much better system for a campaign. In fact, I don't think I would seriously consider an earlier edition for anything other than a one-shot or an adventure over a couple of sessions. What I would consider is making a couple of tweaks to try to recapture some of the feel of an older edition without changing the core 5e mechanics. Keep in mind that if your players have any experience with 5e, even a few tweaks will probably be enough to "flavor" the game experience. [INDENT]1. Slow natural healing (DMG 267) would remove the hit point restoration of a long rest. All natural healing comes from using hit dice, and you only get half your hit dice back every day. This makes class features like [I]Song of Rest[/I] and feats like [I]Healer [/I]much more valuable. 2. Injuries (DMG 272) make combat a lot more interesting. I would say that if you're using the injuries rule, though, that you should make sure you know ahead of time where the [I]regeneration [/I]spell or an effect that imitates it can be obtained by relatively low level characters. I'm partial to the lost magical spring guarded by a Guardian Naga or a Unicorn, rumors of which are overheard at the tavern. The point is that getting your leg back can be an adventure, but if your 2nd level character's leg's off and there's no apparent way to fix that situation, you're likely to hobble your way into the thick of an orc horde with the intent to re-roll. 3. Massive damage (DMG 273) leading to system shock rolls make combat more dangerous in a way that is, in my opinion, a lot more interesting and fun that simply saying you're dead at 0, no death save. 4. Greyhawk initiative ([URL="http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/unearthed-arcana/greyhawk-initiative"]Unearthed Arcana[/URL]) will definataly slow down your combats at first, but it looks like it would become pretty smooth once you and your group got the hang of it. It would add a huge "we're not in Kansas any more" element to your game, and would also get your players to think more tactically and be more prepared when their turn comes around. [/INDENT] I think when it comes down to it, 5e is 5e--if you like it well enough to use it as the game system for your campaign, then it doesn't make a whole lot of sense to go ripping out the parts of it that make it what it is. There are some options that have been specifically designed to work with that system, though, that can go a long way toward capturing a more dangerous, dynamic world that might be reminiscent of your old school experience without unnecessarily limiting player's character options or running the risk of changing a rule that throws the entire game system out of alignment. [/QUOTE]
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