D&D 5E (2014) New DM Question on Options

[Enrico Poli1]

Hi! I'm a Grognard too. I personally use PHB only (NO Sword Coast, Xanathar, or Tasha). I do love Feats, but I don't like Multiclassing. So far I'm satisfied.

 

[reelo]

For that matter, every race except Standard Human, Dwarf, Elf, and Halfling are expressly called out as optional as well in the Player's Handbook.



My vote: ignore all of the above and download the file found here:

Basic Rules for Dungeons & Dragons | Dungeons & Dragons

It's the complete 20 level game, stripped down to the races and classes you're used to. It's available as a free download from the Wizards of the Coast website.

The easiest approach IMO is to start there and worry about adding more later.

This was gonna be my suggestion as well! The free "Basic" rules are a perfectly fine standalone game for newcomers and comebackers.

 

[jasper]

Thanks, good advice so far. Especially regarding resource management...thanks Flamestrike!

I do intend to use RAW as much as possible. Over the years I've developed an aversion to house rules until I'm very familiar with the system.

I would suggest PHB only for the first six months. Mainly because as an old AD&D Dm also; I still try to use my AD&D knowledge of spells. As an Adventure League DM the Players +1 is okay too. And then hit the DM's Guild and other locations to find ports of the old AD&D modules which have been updated to 5E.

 

[Oofta]

I don't have a lot to add, other than running straight (free) basic rules for a little bit until you get a feel for the game is a good option. I think the game works fine with all the options thrown in, about the only combo I've ever considered limiting is multi-classing spell casters. Specifically a level or two of warlock and then some other class because of the way warlocks recover spells. I also limit allowable races, but that's a campaign style preference more than anything.

I generally shoot for 5-10 encounters between long rests so for pacing purposes I use the optional rule of short rest is overnight, long rest is usually a week or more. Depends on your style and preferences of course.

The guidelines for encounter difficulty are just that, guidelines. You'll have to adjust for your group. Oh, and I'd recommend running a fairly low level magic campaign as far as items at least at first. Unlike previous editions of D&D you won't ever see a +5 anything and for the most part I don't miss it.

That's about it off the top of my head. If you have specific questions feel free to ask, just don't ever expect much of a consensus.

 

[Ovinomancer]

Welcome aboard. I'm not going to try to tell you what you should be comfortable with in terns of options -- nothing's broken on it's face but things may noy fit your preferences. Limiting the number of books you have to flip through can be helpful, but you know your tolerence best.

Rather, I will strongly advise that you approach 5e as a completely different, new game rather than an rehash of D&D you're familiar with. There are a number of changes under the hood (spells being huge), so approach this as something new and you'll get more out of it. Read the DMG! Even if you already "know how to run" there's a lot in there about how this edition runs.

 

[iserith]

Welcome aboard. I'm not going to try to tell you what you should be comfortable with in terns of options -- nothing's broken on it's face but things may noy fit your preferences. Limiting the number of books you have to flip through can be helpful, but you know your tolerence best.

Rather, I will strongly advise that you approach 5e as a completely different, new game rather than an rehash of D&D you're familiar with. There are a number of changes under the hood (spells being huge), so approach this as something new and you'll get more out of it. Read the DMG! Even if you already "know how to run" there's a lot in there about how this edition runs.

This, absolutely.

 

[ChaosOS]

Since everyone else is going to war over sources and optional rules, I'll just bring up two things that a lot of new-but-experienced DMs screw up due to assuming they work like older editions

1. 5e doesn't have "skill checks". It has ability checks where you can sometimes add a skill proficiency. So, first thing you decide is what ability is relevant to a situation - strength, dexterity, constitution, etc. - then you decide which (if any) proficiencies apply. Usually these are obvious relations, like dexterity (stealth), but this is the basis from which you can decide to do things like charisma (stealth) to blend into a crowd.
   1. Tools can also fit into this paradigm, or alternatively provide a source of advantage on a skill check. Up to you how to exactly run that, some tools are pretty distinct (Leatherworking, Cooking) others not so much (Navigator's Tools vs. Survival Checks).
2. Darkvision is best understood as "upgrade all light sources within 60' by one step". So no, darkvision doesn't replace torches - if you're dungeon crawling in the dark, your party only has dim vision which imposes a -5 penalty to passive perception! A human with a torch has 20' of bright vision then 20' of dim vision. An elf with a torch has 40' of bright vision then 20' of dim vision. I think the big goof comes from VTTs not implementing this and teaching people the wrong rules.

EDIT: Added comment about tools

 

[MonkeezOnFire]

So, what sources are actually available for options? Apart from the PH, I'm aware of Xanathar's and UA. Then, the setting specific options like the Sword Coast. I'm not familiar with Tashas...

Xanathar's Guide to Everything is the main player options expansion. You seem to be familiar with what's in there options wise so I will just point out that many in the community feel that the spell Healing Spirit is unbalanced. It's fine if used in combat as enemies can break concentration, but the problem is that when used out of combat uninterrupted it is a disproportionate amount of healing compared to other spells of its level.

Elemental Evil Player's Companion is a free to download pdf that accompanies the adventure path Princes of the Apocalypse. Contains elemental themed races and spells. Many of these options went on to be reprinted in other material like Volo's and Xanathar's so that they would be in hard copy form that wasn't an adventure path.

Tasha's Cauldron of Everything is not yet out. But it promises to be the next Xanathar's, that is the next expansion to really focus on more mechanics. So far we have seen new options for customizing races. There were a number of UA playtests related to customizing class features as well and they will hopefully find a home here as they were fairly well received.

There are options scattered around other books but they aren't the primary focus. 5e has shifted it's release schedule to be slower but each release contains a bit of everything.

Volo's Guide to Monsters is primarily a monster book containing new stat blocks as well as lore and ecology information. On the player side it contains only additional races. So if you want to allow it will depend primarily on your setting.

Mordenkainen's Tome of Foes is also a book primarily about monsters both crunch and fluff wise. However, it also contains some player options this time mostly taking the form of subraces of races that already exist in the PHB. You got more elves, duergar, deep gnomes, and variant tieflings.

Then you have the setting specific books. They often have the specific races that appear in that setting (both new and some reprinted from Volo's), as well as setting specific subclasses. But their main purpose is to introduce a setting with all the lore and details you'll need to play in it.

Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide focuses on the Sword Coast in the forgotten realms. Contains some subclasses but they are fairly generic and can be brought to basically any setting with little effort. Of note is that it also contains some new spells, two of which the designers went on to state they feel were mistakes (EDIT: I can't find the quote to back this up, and it looks like neither Mearls or Crawford are very outspoken about these so take this statement with a hefty grain of salt). They are Greenflame Blade and Booming Blade, cantrips that allow the user to make a melee attack and add other effects. If there's anything in any of the supplementary material that is unbalanced I'd say these are the closest to it. A lot of the other spells that play nicer went on to be reprinted in Xanathar's.

Guildmaster's Guide to Ravnica brings a setting from Magic: the Gathering to D&D. Contains new races, some generic like centaurs or loxodons (anthropomorphic elephant people). Others not so generic like Simic Hybrids which are mutant humanoids. Also contains a couple of subclasses.

Aquisition's Incorporated is a guide to running a game in the vein of a popular podcast of the same name. That is it focuses on having your adventure party be structured like a corporate company. Definitely leans more toward a humorous satire tone.

Eberron: Rising from the Last War contains the player options needed to play in Eberron. Races like the warforged and shifter are here. Also notable for containing the first new full class: the artificer.

Explorer's Guide to Wildemount is a book for the setting used in another popular podcast Critical Role. Contains some subclasses based on manipulating time.

Mythic Odyssey of Theros is another Magic: the Gathering setting, this time the ancient Greek inspired Theros. You can probably guess what I'm going to say here by now: contains races and subclasses.

 

[Ancalagon]

To answer the OP more directly, I concur with just the PHB, DMG and MM to start.

Are your players new as well? If they are, avoid multi-classing. It's a great way to accidentally mess up your character.

 

[BluejayJunior]

Others and the OP have mentioned Unearthed Arcana, so I want to point out that UA is explicitly playtest material. It's there for players to try out and give feedback on before it is published in an official product. I would avoid using if you're starting out. Some things can be pretty unbalanced. But you should definitely realize that it is playtest material before deciding whether or not to allow it.