D&D 5E Reducing Power Gaming

[tetrasodium]

What about slowing leveling? Double XP required to reach levels 5-9, Quadruple the amount for levels 10-14, etc.

In some ways that makes the problem worse. Either PCs accumulate too much in the way of magic items or the players get bored of getting nothing while not advancing & they start subverting things to have an impact

 

[jmartkdr2]

Great if you can find players that want to play 1e.

If you can't find 1e players, houseruling 5e into 1e isn't going to work either.

 

[Micah Sweet]

If you can't find 1e players, houseruling 5e into 1e isn't going to work either.

I'd like to try to come to some conclusion other than, "there is no hope".

 

[jmartkdr2]

I'd like to try to come to some conclusion other than, "there is no hope".

You can find OSR players (to make the analogy more realistic) - and if you've built enough trust as a dm you might be able to turn players 5e-only players into OSR players by running such a game for people who know you as a dm and having them realize OSR can be fun.

What you can't do is force the issue. You can't make anyone an OSR player, really. You can only help them discover enjoyment in it. Some players just won't enjoy OSR and that's that.

 

[Micah Sweet]

You can find OSR players (to make the analogy more realistic) - and if you've built enough trust as a dm you might be able to turn players 5e-only players into OSR players by running such a game for people who know you as a dm and having them realize OSR can be fun.

What you can't do is force the issue. You can't make anyone an OSR player, really. You can only help them discover enjoyment in it. Some players just won't enjoy OSR and that's that.

Believe me I know some players can't get into OSR. My wife is one of them.

 

[Horwath]

Just say "no more class features or spell slots after level 5, only HP and proficiency bonus increases"

or just multiclass after lvl6.
highest class features are at 6th.

would be even better if they stick with universal subclass progressions.

 

[Warpiglet-7]

I am really torn. I have really enjoyed 5e but am a 1e fan. Really played it from mid to late 80s as kids right up to 3rd in 2000, skipping 2e.

When we play 5e, I enjoy lower levels a lot. Staying there longer makes sense if you like that kind of play. Milestone is ok but if you like more grit, it’s not the way generally.

I think what some have said is right—-u can always up the challenge. But worth the number of powers we always seem to have some untapped firepower…it’s possible to forget subclass abilities and class
Abilities if you are multiclass especially.

I have found that I don’t care about magic items anymore really. The magic is baked in. The advantage is less need for fudging…for most AD&D campaigns I played in DM fiat was needed to create longevity until much higher levels which were slower to get to.

That said…the power for me is less the issue than the number of things….lots of dials and tweaking is a different feel.

Others have said slow down progression, focus more on core classes…

But I hate to ask: what do your players want? Power is crack and I find I do like 5e a lot and would struggle as a player with greatly limited options.

 

[Plaguescarred]

Some ways to reduce powergaming could resort to some things like stats roll 3d6, set slow Milestone level progression, ban Multiclassing, Ability Score increase and Feats, limit Magic Items and spell components availability, halve full caster spell slots, remove Hit Dice healing, use Variant Rules such as Healer's Kit Dependency, Slow Natural Healing or Gritty Realism.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

It sounds like you want to reduce complexity almost more than you want to reduce power - and that's fair! I have more trouble with complexity than I do power. I wouldn't get rid of bonus actions and reactions, but you can encourage people to avoid taking too many features that rely on those action types. I would definitely ban Multiclassing, and not use feats (or limit to feats that don't add new features but simply increase a feature they already have). Definitely don't roll for Abilities (or really, truly enforce that you get what you roll the first time - good luck with that).

But like others have said here - I wonder what your players think. It's important.

 

[GothmogIV]

Thank you, everyone. I have done a few of these things in the past--slow level progression, gritty realism, etc. Part of the issue is that I play on Roll20, so other systems are much less well supported. I appreciate all these suggestions! I really do like 5e as a system, but it plays a bit too superhero for my tastes as a DM. My players like it, for the most part, but I'm fortunate in the fact that my group wants everyone to be having fun, not just the PCs.

We have played the Free League Middle Earth game and liked it. We've played DCC which we all like. Dragonbane, too. Castles&Crusades is on the docket, but it's really clunky on Roll20.