Ultimately, I've enjoyed my experiences with the D&D Next playtest rules, which I've primarily seen as a DM of D&D Encounters. Terribly important to me was that combat could take place at speed, which it did. I was often able to have 4-5 battles in a single 2-hour session, and some of the battles it handled worked as big, set-piece battles as well. So, that's all good.
My chief concern at this point is about additional options for the game, and - in particular - those created by fans and 3rd-party publishers. 3rd Edition allowed, through the OGL, a wealth of these options to surface. Not all were good, but there were enough to provide possibilities for those dissatisfied with what was in the actual rulebook. The caveat here is that you had to like the basic structure of 3E. 4E, through its GSL and, perhaps to a greater extent, the Character Builder, restricted the ability of people to create additional options. So, I'm hoping that Next cleaves more to 3E freedom than 4E freedom when it comes to other publishers.
Of course, this presumes that one can build on the basic system. I think this is likely. In fact, with the basic system being simpler, there's the possibility of a greater range of additional options. We shall see. That the potential of these options exists as a core design feature of the system, I'm quite hopeful.
Can you see someone designing a 4E-style class and plugging it into the Next system? Can you see the potential for simpler spellcasters or more complex warriors?
One of my greatest regrets with the 4E line is that it took too long to break away from the strict AEDU structure, and, when it did, it didn't really go far enough. If the underlying mathematics of the system is understood, then I believe that you can have a great range of character options on top of that, approaching the problem of "what makes a fun character" in different ways. I saw the potential for it in 4E, I don't believe Next will be any different.
However, all of this would be greatly helped if 3rd party publishers could contribute to the exploration of the D&D Next design space.
What do you feel about this matter?
Cheers!
My chief concern at this point is about additional options for the game, and - in particular - those created by fans and 3rd-party publishers. 3rd Edition allowed, through the OGL, a wealth of these options to surface. Not all were good, but there were enough to provide possibilities for those dissatisfied with what was in the actual rulebook. The caveat here is that you had to like the basic structure of 3E. 4E, through its GSL and, perhaps to a greater extent, the Character Builder, restricted the ability of people to create additional options. So, I'm hoping that Next cleaves more to 3E freedom than 4E freedom when it comes to other publishers.
Of course, this presumes that one can build on the basic system. I think this is likely. In fact, with the basic system being simpler, there's the possibility of a greater range of additional options. We shall see. That the potential of these options exists as a core design feature of the system, I'm quite hopeful.
Can you see someone designing a 4E-style class and plugging it into the Next system? Can you see the potential for simpler spellcasters or more complex warriors?
One of my greatest regrets with the 4E line is that it took too long to break away from the strict AEDU structure, and, when it did, it didn't really go far enough. If the underlying mathematics of the system is understood, then I believe that you can have a great range of character options on top of that, approaching the problem of "what makes a fun character" in different ways. I saw the potential for it in 4E, I don't believe Next will be any different.
However, all of this would be greatly helped if 3rd party publishers could contribute to the exploration of the D&D Next design space.
What do you feel about this matter?
Cheers!
