D&D (2024) Playstyle Changes from 5E to 5.5E?

[tetrasodium]

I think your overestimating the magnitude of the changes. The Devs are going out of their way to make sure everything works together, specifically to avoid a split.

I've played with 2014 and playtest characters side by side without any issues. Simply trading out existing characters with their new versions each time it dropped (except the fist druid attempt, no one wanted to try that).

So in my experience, actually using it, half the people will grab the new stuff right away. The other half will decide there's not enough change to warrant buying another book. And 95%* will just continue playing their current campaign, together.

Then over the next decade, as campaigns end, characters die, and books are passed around, the second half will slowly switch.

*I am sure there will be a few people somewhere who dig their heals in.

There is also the fact that most of the resistance seems to be in the form of "zomg they [fixed] $OP-thing I'm going to fight my gm if they try to switch over the game I play in".

That's not exactly a position within most groups that is capable of doing much more than maybe delaying the inevitable a bit without taking on a role that reveals why it was changed &runs their nose in it. Players making those kind of complaints are not typically known for taking on the gm role all that often (if ever)

 

[Stormonu]

Even without the 2024 books, I think interest in D&D is beyond peak. I do wonder how many people will end up avoiding books after 2024 with the mistaken belief they aren't compatible with those still playing with 2014 rules (that was something that my friends who were playing 4E fell afoul of with the Essential line, for example).

 

[Kaiyanwang]

To me everyone gets a tune-up and rebalance but there are three major differences:

• Martials all are much stronger out of combat than just their stats and the same number of skills everyone else gets
• Combat is a lot less about playing paty-cake with sponge enemies until someone runs out of hp
• Forced Movement is much more of a thing meaning that battle maps are more needed and combat feels more on location and less green screen

As someone that likes all of this, is the third point going to fly with those that like 5e because can be easily played "theater of the mind"?

 

[Belen]

To me everyone gets a tune-up and rebalance but there are three major differences:

• Martials all are much stronger out of combat than just their stats and the same number of skills everyone else gets
• Combat is a lot less about playing paty-cake with sponge enemies until someone runs out of hp
• Forced Movement is much more of a thing meaning that battle maps are more needed and combat feels more on location and less green screen

Yeah and I refuse to use battle maps. I will never got back to them after 3.5/PF1.

 

[Belen]

I think your overestimating the magnitude of the changes. The Devs are going out of their way to make sure everything works together, specifically to avoid a split.

I've played with 2014 and playtest characters side by side without any issues. Simply trading out existing characters with their new versions each time it dropped (except the fist druid attempt, no one wanted to try that).

So in my experience, actually using it, half the people will grab the new stuff right away. The other half will decide there's not enough change to warrant buying another book. And 95%* will just continue playing their current campaign, together.

Then over the next decade, as campaigns end, characters die, and books are passed around, the second half will slowly switch.

*I am sure there will be a few people somewhere who dig their heals in.

People are always burned by backwards compatible. They tried to tell us that 3.5 and 3e were backwards compatible. They were not. WOTC quickly started reprinting the same material with updates to 3.5 and games stores were trying to liquidate stock that no one wanted any longer.

Honestly, just doing a new edition of the core books will make a lot of people discount older material and DDB will start listing content as legacy which will further enhance that feeling.

The changes I am seeing in the core rules and the fact that they have rules to "update" old content tell me that things are not really backwards compatible.

 

[mellored]

As someone that likes all of this, is the third point going to fly with those that like 5e because can be easily played "theater of the mind"?

There only are 3 weapons that push, so I would only call it a little bit more battle map friendly. And it's still easy enough to avoid/change such stuff if don't like it.

But I am currently playing a Fathomless warlock with Repelling Blast + Lance of Lethargy + Grasp of Hardar + bonus action slowing tentacle. So... I may be a bit biased.

 

[mellored]

People are always burned by backwards compatible. They tried to tell us that 3.5 and 3e were backwards compatible. They were not. WOTC quickly started reprinting the same material with updates to 3.5 and games stores were trying to liquidate stock that no one wanted any longer.

Honestly, just doing a new edition of the core books will make a lot of people discount older material and DDB will start listing content as legacy which will further enhance that feeling.

The changes I am seeing in the core rules and the fact that they have rules to "update" old content tell me that things are not really backwards compatible.

Well again.

I've used playtest and 2014 stuff side by side without issues.

Feel free to try it yourself. Here's a compilation of the playtests.
Playtest compilation

 

[KYRON45]

You're massively outnumbered by all the people who would complain if they weakened spell casting instead.

I've been complaining about all kinds of things for decades and no one listens to me at all about any of it!!!

 

[Stalker0]

Grapple, Push, Trip is also a saving throw instead of Athletics. Which just nerfs a specific build.

Well it nerfs any martial that had athletics.....which isn't exactly a high cost.

People severely underestimate just how much control current strength martials have through grapple. In some ways I think its stronger than caster control just because of how easy it is to apply to most monsters. I currently have a grapple loving martial in my game, anything large or smaller..... grappled, tripped (basically restrained when you combine the two), and then they move them wherever they want. Any cliff.....they are going over it. Any dangerous terrain, their face is getting shoved into it. And that creature is never attacking anything except that martial, all at disadvantage because they are doing it from the dirt.

The change to a saving throw is a major nerf, so while martials are getting a lot of good new toys they have lost one of their best old ones.

 

[Krachek]

I’m not sure about play style, but for every one it will be slower combat!
Weapon mastery will certainly slow thing down,
More usage and options for bonus action too.
Wider spell lists, and more choice will also take more time.