People have the strangest deal-breakers

[Minigiant]

To me the whole thing feel like people arguing about touchdowns in basketball.

The only thing close to a dealbreaker for me is not being able to import one of my 5 PCs. And one of them has a personality that is summed up by the phrase "talking proper Axe".

 

[SensoryThought]

I've always said, if I can't play my CG dual scimitar wielding drow ranger then I'M OUT!

 

[Incenjucar]

And I'm the exact opposite. I don't want D&D to be the game the represents the game playing fad of the moment, I want D&D to be well, D&D.

I never said anything about game playing fads, so I will thank you to not attribute such ideas to me.

I enjoy contemporary fantasy. That hasn't been defined by games in decades.

 

[SeRiAlExPeRiMeNtS]

Sorry...

 

[delericho]

You know what may well be a weird deal-breaker for me:

The light spell.

I have had exactly two experiences with real-world 'dungeons', and those were enough to convince me that the seemingly-banal issue of light sources is actually a huge deal. In one of them, our guide switched off her torch to let us know what it was actually like down there, and what resulted was a darkness unlike anything I had experienced before.

(And when we "split the party"? That was actually scary, being unable to see anything. And all that had happened was that she'd gone around the corner!)

But 4e gives Wizards light as an at-will power. And Pathfinder lets them cast 0-level spells at will, including light. In doing so, both games utterly trivialise the issue.

So, yeah: bring back light as a strictly limited-use resource, especially at low levels!

 

[Lwaxy]

Also, I think some people are simply looking for an excuse to reject it and keep playing whatever it is they're already invested in. Truth is, we shouldn't worry about them too much. In some ways, they're lucky. They'll never have to spend money on D&D materials again and can keep playing their nearly-perfect game.

It is not about nearly perfect, because it isn't. It is about being able to use what you have already paid for. Indeed, if the idea was to make most of the former material obsolete I would not buy it.

However, fat chance of this gonna happen, especially as I'm good at adapting about anything from one game to the next.

 

[Lwaxy]

You know what may well be a weird deal-breaker for me:

So, yeah: bring back light as a strictly limited-use resource, especially at low levels!

Oh gods no.

I've always allowed light to be cast at will, because of the need for it and because it is kind of silly not to allow a magic user the simplest things.

If you want it dark, separate them from the wizard or add a magic dampening field

 

[WheresMyD20]

The funniest thing is I've been going into this whole thing incredibly open-minded. I only had one deal-breaker... and it looks like they've broken the deal. I want 5E to be a NEW D&D, not an old D&D with a little makeup and powder. Unless they are playing their cards close to the vest, we're getting a tricked-out 1970 Impala.

I've been pretty open-minded too, but I have the exact opposite deal-breaker. I want D&D to be D&D... not Generic Fantasy RPG #543 with the D&D name plastered on it. If you don't like D&D, there are lots of other fantasy RPGs out there. The D&D game has a 35+ year history. Things that have been around since the beginning should carry a lot more weight than stuff that's only been around for the last couple of years.

 

[DEFCON 1]

If there are a few things in 5E I don't like, I'll just use this cool new thing I found out about while following someone on Twitter. I think it was called a "house-rule"? Is that it? Not sure, because I never used it before in any of the D&D games I've ever played. I hope it works though, cause it sure sounds useful.

 

[Reynard]

I admit to having a "strange" deal breaker: encounter powers. Seriously, if they keep that design paradigm, I am out.