D&D 5E Should D&D be easier to learn? If so, how would you do it?

[Reynard]

That's why I feel they should just jump in and play (no chargen, no rules lecture). They can pick up the rules as they go along. Once they've got a few sessions under them, reading the rules might actually make some sense to them. As should making a character.

Those people are fine. The ones who have been playing for a couple years or decades who don't want to learn the rules get under my skin, tho.

 

[Andvari]

"Should" depends on the target audience. If you want players to have lots of options for "building" their character, with subclasses, feats, skills and more, then it's going to be harder to learn.

It's a trade-off, and the answer depends on the individual's preference.

They could try a modular approach. A "Basic" Player's Handbook without backgrounds, subclasses and feats. At character creation, players just roll stats, then pick a race and a class from a limited selection. No other decisions. Perhaps there are no skills, or skills are determined by class choice. Then you can have an "Advanced" Player's Handbook that has optional features you can add on, such as feats, customizable skill selection, subclasses, more classes and races etc.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Those people are fine. The ones who have been playing for a couple years or decades who don't want to learn the rules get under my skin, tho.

Yeah, they can be frustrating. Seem to always be around, though.

 

[Guest 7034872]

At the risk of sounding like a snob or a jerk, I don't want D&D to be simpler to learn.

I do. I have some twelve-year-old students getting way into this thing, and it'd be great for them to have a Moldvay-like beginners' system that made it easy.

Per your worries, though, what I'm suggesting is not simplifying 5e further: I suggest bifurcating the game into a chopped-down basic version and a full advanced version much like we had during 1e. I don't know if the Starter Set darjr linked works like that (haven't studied it), but I would think doing this should be a natural progression for WotC in the current environment. They want more new, young players, the game is white hot, and more books and modules to sell along with growing the customer base--well, that looks financially inescapable to me. I imagine conversations about this have already happened somewhere in WotC's offices, no?

 

[beancounter]

In my experience a lot more people want to play D&D than want to learn the rules to play D&D.

Yea, it seems that a lot of new players just want to relive Critical Roll.

 

[Vaalingrade]

Yea, it seems that a lot of new players just want to relive Critical Roll.

Having a fun collaborative storytelling experience with friends?

I'm an old player and that's the thing I want too.

 

[beancounter]

Having a fun collaborative storytelling experience with friends?

I'm an old player and that's the thing I want too.

My point was the emphasis on RP vs combat.

Most of the guys in my group want to focus on fighting monsters and completing the objective (which is in fact a collaborative story telling experience, btw)

Whereas there is one guy who wants to spend most of his time on RP monologs and/or talking with the shopkeepers and other NPCs.

 

[beancounter]

I do. I have some twelve-year-old students getting way into this thing, and it'd be great for them to have a Moldvay-like beginners' system that made it easy.

Per your worries, though, what I'm suggesting is not simplifying 5e further: I suggest bifurcating the game into a chopped-down basic version and a full advanced version much like we had during 1e. I don't know if the Starter Set darjr linked works like that (haven't studied it), but I would think doing this should be a natural progression for WotC in the current environment. They want more new, young players, the game is white hot, and more books and modules to sell along with growing the customer base--well, that looks financially inescapable to me. I imagine conversations about this have already happened somewhere in WotC's offices, no?

Well, I did learn 1E when I was 12....

And I also walked 3 miles to school in the snow, uphill both ways.

 

[Guest 7034872]

Well, I did learn 1E when I was 12....

And I also walked 3 miles to school in the snow, uphill both ways.

I was spoiled: started on Moldvay and rode the bus.

 

[Argyle King]

Not to beat a dead horse, but coherent layout of information is a big part of the learning experience.

•improve the indices of the books
•things such as a list of monsters by CR shouldn't be limited to an online extra -it should be in the book
•tropes and cliches can be a helpful shorthand for getting across information; there's a reason why those literary concepts exist
•if you're going to use "natural language," have other people (outside of your immediate circle) read it to make sure your intended meaning is clear
•"natural language" is easier to achieve if the game rules are built in a coherent and intuitive way (there are some weird ambiguities when comparing unarmed attacks; melee attacks; and melee weapon attacks)
•jargon isn't necessarily the opposite of natural language; it's okay to have game-specific terms if they are highlighted and defined