Micah Sweet
Level Up & OSR Enthusiast
Completely agree. I like spells just fine. I just generally don't like reskinning.
Besides, Level Up has plenty of great non-magical options, with lots of choice points along the way for different abilities.
D&D (2024) My wishes for 6e: less dark vision and spellcasting classes
- Thread starter Skyscraper
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Besides, Level Up has plenty of great non-magical options, with lots of choice points along the way for different abilities.
Vaalingrade
Legend
Remove lighting rules so we can stop pretending to care about the rule designed to make you count torches for no good reason.
Everything has both magic and non-magic options. Yes, even the mage has the charlatan, a stage magician built on convincing people they have magic.
Everything has both magic and non-magic options. Yes, even the mage has the charlatan, a stage magician built on convincing people they have magic.
On the first, I do miss 4e's differentiation of low light vision & darkvision, though I can see why they ditched in the interest of simplicity. I too, would like to see a reduction on the actual casting of spells for some classes & monsters, if for no other reason than to reduce the nearly endless refrain of "Well, that's a DM spell," when spell design is criticized (something I almost never, or at least rarely, heard in previous editions).
jgsugden
Legend
My hopes for 6E:
1.) It is far away - 2030? 5E is working, and still has fertile ground.
2.) Artificers, Barbarians, Bards, Fighters, Monks, Paladins, Rangers and Warlocks do not have spells as part of the base class. HOWEVER, they all have multiple subclass options based around spellcasting or other forms of innate magic. I don't want to eliminate the feel of these classes as we see them in 5E, but I want to expand the design space for non-spellcasters.
3.) Psionics released into the game within the first year.
4.) 4 Core Books: 1.) PHB (Crunch for players including core rules, heritages, backgrounds, classes, equipment (including dozens of common magic items) and spells. 2.) DMG (Crunch for DMs with magic items, traps, treasure, environment rules (lava versus snow versus desert versus dessert), downtime mechanics, planar rules, dseases, poisons, rules for ability checks, etc...) 3.) Monster Manual (With better spacing - I'd rather pay an extra $1 for a physical copy with better spacing than having so many entries that span pages) 4.) Role Playing Guide - While the PHB and DMG tell you game mechanics, this book will advise on methods (plural - as there are many different approaches to cover) to role play characters. While the other books deal with the body of D&D, this will deal with the soul of it. It will have advice on creating and using backstories. It will have advice on Session 0 discussions. It will talk about acting and storytelling techniques. It will talk about story structures and how they differ when applied to a one shot delve, a 6 session adventure, or a 2 year campaign. It will talk about the different ways you approach a minor NPC and a main recurring NPC, and how to transition a minor character into a robust main character (the Frazier problem). It will cover how to build the story behind a dungeon. It will cover how to approach depth in your PCS - including when you might consider removing depth from your PCs for the sake of the story. It will include guidance for how to interact with player and PC input into storylines (both before the campaign, proactively during the campaign, and retroactively during the campaign [when a player wants to add to the history of their PC, for example]. It'll cover how to decide between requiring a role, and making a decision. It will cover ways to approach player and character autonomy. It'll deeply explore the differences between a railroad, a sandbox, and other variations.
5.) It will remember that in D&D, while there is room for shades of grey, redemeption, and moral ambiguity... there is also room for true unrepentant and horrible evil that needs to be stopped - period.
6.) Present the Great Wheel Cosmology in a simplified form to make it more accessible. You can maintain the core of the Great Wheel and make it easier to learn in levels. For example, in my Homebrew, there is one Hell Plan. At the 'center' of it are the 9 Hells controlled by the Devils, and surrounding it are the seemingly infinite wastes controlled by Demons. Avernus is the outer ring of the 9 Hells, and the Battlefield of the Blood War. When players first learn my lore, they can learn this in phases. 1.) There is a Hell. 2.) There are realms controlled by Devils, and realms controlled by Demons. 3.) They're at war. 4.) Demons want to fight their way to the Heart of the 9 Hells, Nessus, and the Devils are fighting them off. 5.) There are 9 Hells controlled by Devils - Nessus at the core, 7 more realms surrounding it, and Avernus encircling those 7 realms. 6.) .... (You can peel into it deeper and deeper to get more detail, but you can also just start with a very simple starting level and stay there if there is no need to dive deeper).
7.) Redo weapons. I'd like them to have more personality. I want someone wielding a battleaxe, longsword and warhammer to feel different in their everyday adventuring. I'd like PCs to be able to decide they want to use a Star Trek Bat'leth with their PC and have rules to cover it. I want for the magic weapons in the game to not be mostly swords.
1.) It is far away - 2030? 5E is working, and still has fertile ground.
2.) Artificers, Barbarians, Bards, Fighters, Monks, Paladins, Rangers and Warlocks do not have spells as part of the base class. HOWEVER, they all have multiple subclass options based around spellcasting or other forms of innate magic. I don't want to eliminate the feel of these classes as we see them in 5E, but I want to expand the design space for non-spellcasters.
3.) Psionics released into the game within the first year.
4.) 4 Core Books: 1.) PHB (Crunch for players including core rules, heritages, backgrounds, classes, equipment (including dozens of common magic items) and spells. 2.) DMG (Crunch for DMs with magic items, traps, treasure, environment rules (lava versus snow versus desert versus dessert), downtime mechanics, planar rules, dseases, poisons, rules for ability checks, etc...) 3.) Monster Manual (With better spacing - I'd rather pay an extra $1 for a physical copy with better spacing than having so many entries that span pages) 4.) Role Playing Guide - While the PHB and DMG tell you game mechanics, this book will advise on methods (plural - as there are many different approaches to cover) to role play characters. While the other books deal with the body of D&D, this will deal with the soul of it. It will have advice on creating and using backstories. It will have advice on Session 0 discussions. It will talk about acting and storytelling techniques. It will talk about story structures and how they differ when applied to a one shot delve, a 6 session adventure, or a 2 year campaign. It will talk about the different ways you approach a minor NPC and a main recurring NPC, and how to transition a minor character into a robust main character (the Frazier problem). It will cover how to build the story behind a dungeon. It will cover how to approach depth in your PCS - including when you might consider removing depth from your PCs for the sake of the story. It will include guidance for how to interact with player and PC input into storylines (both before the campaign, proactively during the campaign, and retroactively during the campaign [when a player wants to add to the history of their PC, for example]. It'll cover how to decide between requiring a role, and making a decision. It will cover ways to approach player and character autonomy. It'll deeply explore the differences between a railroad, a sandbox, and other variations.
5.) It will remember that in D&D, while there is room for shades of grey, redemeption, and moral ambiguity... there is also room for true unrepentant and horrible evil that needs to be stopped - period.
6.) Present the Great Wheel Cosmology in a simplified form to make it more accessible. You can maintain the core of the Great Wheel and make it easier to learn in levels. For example, in my Homebrew, there is one Hell Plan. At the 'center' of it are the 9 Hells controlled by the Devils, and surrounding it are the seemingly infinite wastes controlled by Demons. Avernus is the outer ring of the 9 Hells, and the Battlefield of the Blood War. When players first learn my lore, they can learn this in phases. 1.) There is a Hell. 2.) There are realms controlled by Devils, and realms controlled by Demons. 3.) They're at war. 4.) Demons want to fight their way to the Heart of the 9 Hells, Nessus, and the Devils are fighting them off. 5.) There are 9 Hells controlled by Devils - Nessus at the core, 7 more realms surrounding it, and Avernus encircling those 7 realms. 6.) .... (You can peel into it deeper and deeper to get more detail, but you can also just start with a very simple starting level and stay there if there is no need to dive deeper).
7.) Redo weapons. I'd like them to have more personality. I want someone wielding a battleaxe, longsword and warhammer to feel different in their everyday adventuring. I'd like PCs to be able to decide they want to use a Star Trek Bat'leth with their PC and have rules to cover it. I want for the magic weapons in the game to not be mostly swords.
James Gasik
We don't talk about Pun-Pun
I remember when they tried to simplify the Great Wheel, and we got 4e's cosmology, and I don't think anyone particularly cared for it if they were used to the old lore. I liked 4e a lot and I completely ignored most of that (other than incorporating the Shadowfel and Feywild into my games).
James Gasik
We don't talk about Pun-Pun
I'm still not sure Darkvision needs to be fixed. We had better darkvision (and low-light vision) in previous editions, and I never heard anyone complain about it. Sure, it's common now because there's no longer a difference between the two, and many races had one or the other historically, but it really is terrible. Sure you can find a niche situation where it's ok, but you can also have an entire party of people who dip Warlock for Devil's Sight.
EzekielRaiden
Follower of the Way
Been a month or so since the last thread like this, so my opinions haven't changed much.
Not that they've changed much in a year...or several, for that matter (but I only have evidence for a year).
Not that they've changed much in a year...or several, for that matter (but I only have evidence for a year).
Vaalingrade
Legend
A lot of people liked the World Axis cosmology.
I was just glad to be rid of the Wheel.
James Gasik
We don't talk about Pun-Pun
Well if you liked the World Axis, that's fine. I was a Planescape fan. So.
But I do remember a lot of gnashing of the teeth about the World Axis and simplified alignment.
But I do remember a lot of gnashing of the teeth about the World Axis and simplified alignment.
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