I'm also curious. Which "edition style" of DnD do you think is impossible to get with current hinted core, once you add different options?
I've asked this same question.
I'm also curious. Which "edition style" of DnD do you think is impossible to get with current hinted core, once you add different options?
I've asked this same question.
I agree 3ed core was not modular, but your definition of modular is strange and I disagree with that...you could ignore PrCs. You could ignore individual feats or skills (fine grain modularity). Classes are modular (vancian caster= wizard, spontaneous caster = sorcerer, pick your arcane caster module). In fact you could ignore all sorts of things and lots of people did. What I disagree with is the notion that "modularity" is only "things that you can ignore". Modularity is the notion of "things that you can swap" (include nothing/ignore). Until there is another way to gain feats in a playtest, all we have at the moment is Specialty. Until there is another way to gain skills, all we have at the moment is Backgrounds. Ignoring those things is something I could do at any edition. Swapping them with another method of acquiring them would be modular and new in the context of 5th edition.
I'm also curious. Which "edition style" of DnD do you think is impossible to get with current hinted core, once you add different options?
I've hinted at it in my first post, IMHO it's quite hard to imagine how 5e can get close to a BECMI-era style.
Things that at the moment go against the style might be:
- classes and races being separate concepts
- the human race many bonuses to ability scores
- the average damage output of every class at 1st level
- cantrips/orisons at will
- rituals at will
Actually, as a BECMI fan, I'm very happy with how the playtest looks, and with what they've said about what they want to do. I believe Blacky, writer of Dark Dungeons (retroclone of RC) also likes it. Removing Hit Dice and Specialties does create an old-school feel, even if Clerics and Wizards are a little more powerful than in BECMI. Even including Backgrounds doesn't really detract from the feel, since skills are a very simple system of essentially bonuses to ability checks, rather than a separate resolution system.Unfortunately I think in this they are already partially failing. 3ed and 4ed gamers may have no problems with 5e, and perhaps even AD&D fans. But I have serious doubts that OD&D/BECMI/RC fans (probably considered a small minority anyway) would be interested in 5e. Removing skills and feats is not nearly enough to provide an "old-school" feel... that is already impossible to achieve when you have for example 1st level characters that have even more stuff and abilities than in 3ed (even after you remove skills and feats), and genetically superior humans.
Remove backgrounds and Specialities.
Remove races.
add prebuilt classes for Dwarf, Elf and halfling
no rituals
consider cantrips to be level 1 spells and you are close enough for all practicality.
I've hinted at it in my first post, IMHO it's quite hard to imagine how 5e can get close to a BECMI-era style.
Things that at the moment go against the style might be:
- classes and races being separate concepts
- the human race many bonuses to ability scores
- the average damage output of every class at 1st level
- cantrips/orisons at will
- rituals at will
Actually, as a BECMI fan, I'm very happy with how the playtest looks, and with what they've said about what they want to do. I believe Blacky, writer of Dark Dungeons (retroclone of RC) also likes it. Removing Hit Dice and Specialties does create an old-school feel, even if Clerics and Wizards are a little more powerful than in BECMI. Even including Backgrounds doesn't really detract from the feel, since skills are a very simple system of essentially bonuses to ability checks, rather than a separate resolution system.
Human superiority is hardly a BECMI dealbreaker, since it has racial limits and humans that can go up to 36th level.