D&D 5E RPGNet Report: D&D 5TH EDITION AT GEN CON, PART 1

[PinkRose]

He did play the character with the least amount of playtesting behind it.
I would suggest to the author to playtest the fighter and see how that goes since we know it's been worked and reworked.
(But also good to know the Sorcerer seems overpowered as well)
Also, the sorcerer is given a greatsword in the playtest material but only gains Martial weapon proficiency. (I'm at work and don't know if Maul is Martial or Heavy)

And my biggest concern right now is that I think Monsters have too low BAB so that's going to play a role in his concerns.

As someone else said, it's good to hear a negative review as long as it is constructive.

 

[Herschel]

I ran in to the opposite issue, we played Rocket Tag. The Orcs we faced dropped whatever they hit in one shot, Fighter, Cleric or Sorcerer. I played a Guardian build and used my reaction and Expertise Dice and they still dropped three of us in a round. When we went, we dropped one with every (or every two) hits normally.

 

[Libramarian]

I think a big part of the problem is poor DMing.

It sounds like some of his criticism comes from playing with a DM who didn't set the stage very well.

It sounds more like having a DM who didn't knew how to run the advanture.

No!

From the report the DM seemed to be at least competent. They just weren't carrying the game with their storytelling and purple description.

I DON'T think that should be required to have fun with D&D. The game should have a pulse of its own, even when you're doing a basic plotless dungeon crawl. It should be dangerous and mentally stimulating and provide risky, gamble-y thrills, and have meaningful rewards, hard-won.

It sounds like basic dungeon crawls suck right now in 5e, and that's a big problem.

 

[Bow_Seat]

No!

From the report the DM seemed to be at least competent. They just weren't carrying the game with their storytelling and purple description.

I DON'T think that should be required to have fun with D&D. The game should have a pulse of its own, even when you're doing a basic plotless dungeon crawl. It should be dangerous and mentally stimulating and provide risky, gamble-y thrills, and have meaningful rewards, hard-won.

It sounds like basic dungeon crawls suck right now in 5e, and that's a big problem.

Based upon this playtest alone I would be inclined to agree with you. I certainly agree with your sentiments on how plotless dungeons should still be stimulating, but with all of the other reports that have been on this forum about how dangerous adventuring has been for other groups I'm really not sure what to believe yet.

 

[Rhenny]

I haven't DMd or played 2nd playtest package yet, but I do see a potential problem that speaks to the RPG review.

Most of the monsters in the beastiary have +2 or less to hit. Many of them are -1, -2, +1. The big boppers (Ogres, Trolls, Minotaurs, Wight) are +4. Their hit points have also been erroded.

Even with reduced hp for PCs, if the monsters don't hit enough, there will be less fear.

On the other side, PCs have an average of +6 to hit (some have +7). This, coupled with the reduced hit points of the monsters takes some of the omph out of these foes.

If 5 PCs focus fire on any relatively dangerous foe, the foe will not stand for long.

I'm all for storytelling and heroic feel, but I think WotC needs to work on the "to hit", damage and hit point dial a little bit more.

I'm optimistic that they will take these criticisms in stride and really put the numbers through more testing.

 

[ForeverSlayer]

Brought to you today by D&D Next.

Where you can effectively play Drizzt the Necromancer.

 

[jrowland]

Well, I think the bump in character power from Playtest (PT) 1 to 2 is clear. But what is also clear is the monsters didn't see any bump at all. I'd rather place the "blame" on the monsters, rather than on too powerful characters (sorcerer maybe a notable exception).

For those DMing, have you tried bumping monster HP and adding +2 or so to attacks? Or in any way "bumped" monster power?

 

[Mercule]

Considering that my style has always been to use PC race adversaries heavily, I'm very concerned that a PC can dish out 2d6+ damage on a regular basis, while the NPCs can only take half that. Sure, mooks are there to be fodder, but an even fight shouldn't amount to who can get in the first hit.

I also want 1st level to remain gritty. I don't really mind if the 10th (or even 5th) level fighter can dance merrily through a band of orcs, but the 1st level fighter should be cautious of going up against more than one at a time, solo.

 

[Mongo]

Hi,

I'm Charlie's brother, who played through the two playtests with him. Yes, I'm the one who cast Burning Hands on him.

I share most of Charlie's conclusions about the playtest. Some of it could be laid at the feet of the DM. The DM (I'm pretty sure that we had the same one both times) seemed to know the rules, but he didn't rise to the occasion of demonstrating the glory of 5th Ed.

Part of the problem may have been the scenario design. No NPCs to interact with. No non-combat challenges to overcome. Nothing to engage us as players. After 4 hours of playtesting 5th Ed., I couldn't tell you how skills worked or how PCs interacted with the world. A better scenario might have helped here.

I agree with Charlie that the PCs just seemed to powerful. I played a wizrard who hung back and popped a Magic Missile every round. I didn't need to blow a Burning Hands because the front line fighters, including Charlie's character, had things well in hand. The one time that I did cast BH, I blasted Charlie's character as well as the monster, mostly out of boredom. It was near the end of the session and no one in our party was down any HP.

Toning down the powers of the PCs or upping the power of the monsters would help. I also think that the designers of 5th Ed. need to work on rules other than combat, or at least offer scenarios with a greater range of options.

mongo

 

[Scylla]

I haven't tried the second packet yet, but everything I'm reading here make it sound like the PCs are way overpowered. First-level characters shouldn't be striding around wacking down wights without fear.