D&D 5E To all the Play-testers: Is it worth it?

[Maul]

Hey guys,

To all you play-testers out there play testing D&D next........Is it worth it?

Does it make that significant of a change to every existing version of D&D to justify spending the money?

All of these questions are based on what you think the end product will be like.

 

[Dragonblade]

Well, I think that really depends on what you like. The first playtest I didn't care for. But they have made some definite progress over the past few iterations. While, its still an unfinished game, I'm feeling more positive about it.

Also, for me its not a binary issue. Buying and playing 5e doesn't mean I'm choosing to no longer play Pathfinder or 4e. I own lots of games, and enjoy them all for different reasons. I don't need 5e to be a "better" D&D to justify buying it. I just need it to be a fun D&D.

 

[MortalPlague]

Yes. Absolutely yes.

This has been some of the best D&D my group and I have ever played.

I go into more detail in my playtest thread, but the game runs fast and flavorful. We really enjoyed 4th Edition, but the inability to have more than two big combats per session was starting to become an annoyance. That has instantly disappeared with 5th.

Also, each class feels unique and interesting. The playtest rogue may see my table next session (we had some casualties last session), for which I'm very excited. The skill tricks look like a ton of fun. Monk is a whirling dervish of death. Fighter is tough as nails. Cleric is more versatile than ever before. And wizard has hit a definite sweet spot.

 

[Droogie]

Hard to know what I think what the finished product will look like, since they do have a ways to go before this thing is done. As it stands now, they are taking some rather elegant mechanics and piling on the fiddliness, which is the same exact mistake wotc made with 3e And 4e. I don't have a lot of faith that they will craft a d&d that I will spend money on at the moment.

 

[RangerWickett]

Personally I think they started okay, got cool (around the time the sorcerer and warlock were in), and then got worse (when they added boring high level stuff).

I hope it gets back to getting better, but there's still a year or more of playtesting left.

 

[Alzrius]

Hey guys,

To all you play-testers out there play testing D&D next........Is it worth it?

Does it make that significant of a change to every existing version of D&D to justify spending the money?

All of these questions are based on what you think the end product will be like.

Without getting into a boring discussion on statistics, isn't asking people who are playtesting the material going to get you a disproportionately positive set of responses? People who don't think the material is worth it probably won't be playtesters (anymore).

 

[am181d]

It's a work in progress. Since they've been pretty upfront about introducing a mix of elements they like and don't like into the playtest documentation to gauge player response, I don't think it would be appropriate to make any judgements about the final product based on any individual iteration.

 

[DEFCON 1]

Well, let's do some math.

If we say for the sake of argument that it gets released some time around GenCon 2014 in August... that's approximately 80 weeks from now. 80 weeks times 7 days is 560 days until release.

If the three books cost around $100 total (as has usually been about the case)... 100.00 divided by 560 is 17.85 cents a day.

So do I think D&DNext is going to be worth it to save 18 cents a day for the next year and a half?

Uh... YEAH...

 

[Obryn]

I'm one of the ones who has fallen off the playtest wagon. I am still checking out each packet... When something catches my eye, I'll bring it back up with my group.

-O

 

[the Jester]

Hey guys,

To all you play-testers out there play testing D&D next........Is it worth it?

Is it worth what? Having fun while helping to make the game better? Sure.

Does it make that significant of a change to every existing version of D&D to justify spending the money?

Uh... the playtest is free. As for the final version, we don't know yet. We have still only seen bits and pieces. But so far, it looks pretty good, and by the time all is said and done and the game is released, I am hoping it will be the Best D&D Evar.

All of these questions are based on what you think the end product will be like.

Yeah, it's too early to have much of a clue what the final product will look like. If you're that curious, you could download the playtest materials and judge for yourself- it doesn't cost anything.