D&D 5E Tired of doing WotC's job

[atanakar]

Seems like this a case of someone preferring «Hard Coded» language over the «Natural Language» of 5e. It's best to find a game to works for him at this juncture. Tastes may vary over the years.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

5E is definitely not in the semi-"simulationist" style of 2E, which is the edition I associate with lots of lists and minutia and detail.

It's not really simulationist at all though. A standardised price list is completely unrealistic. Realistically, how much something costs depends far more on where you buy it and who you buy it from, and, especially in a low tech society, how much the seller thinks you can afford.

Likewise, how much something weighs is a poor guide to encumbrance. How the load is distributed matters far more.

 

[jasper]

I just looked at my campaign notes I made 2016-7-28 before I started doing AL. Here they are.
1% of certain spells going wrong. Bestow curse, Polymorph, True polymorph
Aging. Gate 5, True Resurrection 3, Potion of Speed 1, haste 1 recipient.
Work on domestic spells and cantrips.
Variants
Mixing Potions dmg page 140
Scroll Mishaps dmg page 140
Wands don’t recharge dmg 141
Plots Rod of 7 parts, Staff of Arch Magi,
So it looks like I brought back aging from 1E. Need some helpful but non combat spells for grins. And I don't remember what I was doing with the 1% of spells going wrong. So this means I would be down to 2 house rules.

 

[Fanaelialae]

The AD&D DMG has a very extensive discussion of lycanthropy and how to cure it.

It gives an overview, but the questions I was referring to were somewhat esoteric. You might be able to infer from the AD&D rules that lycanthropy doesn't register to detect magic, but I don't recall the DMG explicitly stating that in its discussion. Nor can I recall an explanation as to why it is unaffected by dispel magic, only that remove curse is needed (iirc).

 

[wingsandsword]

Question? Why not just use the equipment cost form whatever D&D source you find most complete? That is the great thing about D&D to me, you can pretty much grab from any edition and plug it into whichever edition you are playing. I feel 1e/2e & 5e are the best at that, but you can do it in any edition.

This.

I've got no compunctions about going back to equipment manuals for older editions.

It's not like the cost of a cloak should really have changed between editions, certainly not to any meaningful degree.

It's a 2nd edition sourcebook, but I still consider Aurora's Whole Realms Catalog to be the last word in generic equipment for D&D. Whatever gear (other than magic/alchemy items and weapons and armor) you want, they'll have it, a price for it, and a nice description (and usually an illustration in a somewhat period-appropriate sketch style).

I'm finding a lot of things I don't like about 5e, which largely mirror the original posters complaints, but a lack of a good equipment list is pretty far down on the list since that's easily replaced from other systems.

 

[Weiley31]

I don't know. To turn 5e back into 3.5e would take at least 30 pages of house rules.

/wink

I already have a notebook of a couple of pages full of house rules for when I play DND 5E.

 

[Weiley31]

It's a 2nd edition sourcebook, but I still consider Aurora's Whole Realms Catalog to be the last word in generic equipment for D&D. Whatever gear (other than magic/alchemy items and weapons and armor) you want, they'll have it, a price for it, and a nice description (and usually an illustration in a somewhat period-appropriate sketch style).

I am ALL FOR using previous editions books for world lore and stuff in DND 5E. I use the Complete Book of Druids and the Complete Book of Necromancers for Druid and Necromancer lore in my 5E games.

 

[Reynard]

It's not really simulationist at all though. A standardised price list is completely unrealistic. Realistically, how much something costs depends far more on where you buy it and who you buy it from, and, especially in a low tech society, how much the seller thinks you can afford.

Likewise, how much something weighs is a poor guide to encumbrance. How the load is distributed matters far more.

"Simulation" is not related to realism. It is about completeness and immersion. 2E had A LOT of material, most of it dedicated toward making its worlds seem "real" not in the realistic sense, but in the "complete" sense. Folks have mentioned things like Aurora's Whole Realms Catalog, but other examples exist including Monster Ecologies and in depth guides on religions and cultures. The 3.x era was more focused on the mechanical impact of things, but also included a lot of material. The individual environment hardbacks and books like the Draconomicon are good examples of the kinds of depth development.

 

[Guest 6801328]

"Simulation" is not related to realism. It is about completeness and immersion. 2E had A LOT of material, most of it dedicated toward making its worlds seem "real" not in the realistic sense, but in the "complete" sense. Folks have mentioned things like Aurora's Whole Realms Catalog, but other examples exist including Monster Ecologies and in depth guides on religions and cultures. The 3.x era was more focused on the mechanical impact of things, but also included a lot of material. The individual environment hardbacks and books like the Draconomicon are good examples of the kinds of depth development.

I suspect the disagreement comes down to two diametrically opposed philosophies. For some people "there's a rule for that!" increases their enjoyment, and for others it (or too much of it) gets in the way.

 

[Parmandur]

Question? Why not just use the equipment cost form whatever D&D source you find most complete? That is the great thing about D&D to me, you can pretty much grab from any edition and plug it into whichever edition you are playing. I feel 1e/2e & 5e are the best at that, but you can do it in any edition.

Chris Perkins has recommended Aurora's All-Realms Catalog as a 5E resource.