D&D 5E What are the highlights of D&D 5th edition for you?

[Parmandur]

It could be that I'm just not understanding what's shown in the photo.

That Backgrounds in the upcoming rulebooks work the same way they did in 2014, just slightly more concisely phrased.

What you're describing and what is shown in the photos provided does not seem to be the same thing I'm referencing.

But it is is: the fluffy "Background features" are included in the fluff prose.

I have not purchased a 5e book in quite a while, and I haven't followed much of anything regarding the playtest after a handful of early surveys.

This is simply comparing the 2014 PHB with the very first playtest packet: the Backgroind system is essentially unchanged.

 

[Oofta]

That Backgrounds in the upcoming rulebooks work the same way they did in 2014, just slightly more concisely phrased.

But it is is: the fluffy "Background features" are included in the fluff prose.

This is simply comparing the 2014 PHB with the very first playtest packet: the Backgroind system is essentially unchanged.

I think the issue may be that the current backgrounds have what some consider concrete-must-follow-rules. Like the noble's position of privilege which some people say applies no matter where or even when the noble is. They're replacing features with feats, which makes a lot of sense to me. A PC noble from a minor house that expects special treatment from another noble that has never heard of the country they come from, much less their house, is not going to automatically get an audience. Especially if the noble they want an audience with has not been seen by anyone but their advisor for 5 years or something similar.

Using feats is a much better solution.

 

[Argyle King]

That Backgrounds in the upcoming rulebooks work the same way they did in 2014, just slightly more concisely phrased.

But it is is: the fluffy "Background features" are included in the fluff prose.

This is simply comparing the 2014 PHB with the very first playtest packet: the Backgroind system is essentially unchanged.

From what I can see, the "fluffy prose" in the provided pictures doesn't actually do anything. It just describes how/why you learned certain languages and stuff like that.

From what I'm familiar with, PHB backgrounds had Features that had tangible benefits such as the Traveling Merchant having what was essentially a team of lawyers to help get you out of legal trouble; the Folk Hero being able to get free lodging with common folk; or the Sailor being able to secure passage on a ship.

I see that the newer version of Backgrounds provides a Feat (cool), skills, tools, and etc. However, the "fluffy prose" doesn't seem to have the same sort of tangible in-game benefit as before.

Though, again, it could be that I'm not understanding what you are describing. I haven't participated in the playtest, nor have I purchased a 5e book in quite a while.

 

[Oofta]

From what I can see, the "fluffy prose" in the provided pictures doesn't actually do anything. It just describes how/why you learned certain languages and stuff like that.

From what I'm familiar with, PHB backgrounds had Features that had tangible benefits such as the Traveling Merchant having what was essentially a team of lawyers to help get you out of legal trouble; the Folk Hero being able to get free lodging with common folk; or the Sailor being able to secure passage on a ship.

I see that the newer version of Backgrounds provides a Feat (cool), skills, tools, and etc. However, the "fluffy prose" doesn't seem to have the same sort of tangible in-game benefit as before.

Though, again, it could be that I'm not understanding what you are describing. I haven't participated in the playtest, nor have I purchased a 5e book in quite a while.

But the issue with the features is that if the DM and group care about in-world logic there's no reason for them to apply. If you get sucked into a dimensional portal and find yourselves 500 years in the past, your PC with the criminal past having a contact is not logical. You can ignore logic and reason of course, it's just not the type of game I prefer. In the game I'm currently in I'm supposed to have access to a library but we're stuck in Ravenloft. No libraries in sight, so my feature is totally useless.

 

[Argyle King]

I think the issue may be that the current backgrounds have what some consider concrete-must-follow-rules. Like the noble's position of privilege which some people say applies no matter where or even when the noble is. They're replacing features with feats, which makes a lot of sense to me. A PC noble from a minor house that expects special treatment from another noble that has never heard of the country they come from, much less their house, is not going to automatically get an audience. Especially if the noble they want an audience with has not been seen by anyone but their advisor for 5 years or something similar.

Using feats is a much better solution.

I would prefer to add feats to the already existing structure. (In my mind, one of 5e's flaws is publishing a bunch of feats but then providing very few choice-points at which a feat can be chosen.)

I think the background features could provide a lot of ways to engage with the in-game world and have the PCs be built as part of the world (rather than being divorced from it).

Also, part of how I see that concept being expanded (instead of being cut) would be to flesh things out more so as to avoid conflicts like the one you cited. In other games I play, it would be understood that a character's reputation with a faction (i.e. the Folk Hero's "common folk") would be dependent upon proximity, fame, or other such factors (that could be explored through play).

*Edit to Provide an Example: Maybe in the Folk Hero's hometown, the feature works automatically. However, in a different kingdom, it may be less-likely that the hero's story is known or recognized, so the DM asks for some sort of roll. Later, if the hero gains more fame, perhaps the area for which no roll is required grows larger. In contrast, if the "Folk Hero" builds a reputation as being a selfish murder-hobo that robs shopkeepers, perhaps some of that benefit starts to go away -even in the hero's home area. I see it as a narrative negotiation between the player and the DM, as well as a resource that may help the group approach an adventure in a different way than strictly planned by the book.>

It's an aspect of 5E that has/had a lot of room to grow, but it was largely left to wither and die after the initial core books.

I had hoped that some of the promised "modular design" might further explore those aspects of play.

 

[delericho]

In terms of product, Lost Mine of Phandelver is the only one.

But it's a really playable version of the game, and while it's probably not my favourite, its simple popularity is a major boon.

 

[Parmandur]

From what I can see, the "fluffy prose" in the provided pictures doesn't actually do anything. It just describes how/why you learned certain languages and stuff like that.

It does the same thing that the fluff features in the 2014 books do...?

From what I'm familiar with, PHB backgrounds had Features that had tangible benefits such as the Traveling Merchant having what was essentially a team of lawyers to help get you out of legal trouble; the Folk Hero being able to get free lodging with common folk; or the Sailor being able to secure passage on a ship.

They provide suggestions for reasonable actions and resolutions thst players and DMs can use. As do the fluff paragraphs in these paragraphs.

I see that the newer version of Backgrounds provides a Feat (cool), skills, tools, and etc. However, the "fluffy prose" doesn't seem to have the same sort of tangible in-game benefit as before.

It is no less tangible in practice than in 2014...?

 

[Parmandur]

I would prefer to add feats to the already existing structure.

But...that's exactly what theybare dping...? The fluff suggestions and framework are intact.

 

[Kurotowa]

But...that's exactly what theybare dping...? The fluff suggestions and framework are intact.

Some people regard Background Features as concrete character abilities, the same as Class Features. Which... I have almost never seen them come up in play. They're narrow, they're situational, and very often they make no sense if you try to apply them broadly. I am not sorry to see them go in place of a starting Feat. No more fishing for a Background that's close enough to the Skill and Tool package you want, no more bloat in new books with a couple of pointless new Backgrounds that are hardly different from what came before.

 

[Oofta]

I would prefer to add feats to the already existing structure. (In my mind, one of 5e's flaws is publishing a bunch of feats but then providing very few choice-points at which a feat can be chosen.)

I think the background features could provide a lot of ways to engage with the in-game world and have the PCs be built as part of the world (rather than being divorced from it).

Also, part of how I see that concept being expanded (instead of being cut) would be to flesh things out more so as to avoid conflicts like the one you cited. In other games I play, it would be understood that a character's reputation with a faction (i.e. the Folk Hero's "common folk") would be dependent upon proximity, fame, or other such factors (that could be explored through play).

*Edit to Provide an Example: Maybe in the Folk Hero's hometown, the feature works automatically. However, in a different kingdom, it may be less-likely that the hero's story is known or recognized, so the DM asks for some sort of roll. Later, if the hero gains more fame, perhaps the area for which no roll is required grows larger. In contrast, if the "Folk Hero" builds a reputation as being a selfish murder-hobo that robs shopkeepers, perhaps some of that benefit starts to go away -even in the hero's home area. I see it as a narrative negotiation between the player and the DM, as well as a resource that may help the group approach an adventure in a different way than strictly planned by the book.>

It's an aspect of 5E that has/had a lot of room to grow, but it was largely left to wither and die after the initial core books.

I had hoped that some of the promised "modular design" might further explore those aspects of play.

When someone takes, for example, the noble feat I do take it into consideration. In the areas where their family is known they get special treatment and the feature usually works. But even in areas where it makes no sense for it to work, another plane of existence for example, they still get benefits from knowing how nobility works and how they think. Both of those things can still be covered by fluff but it's left up to the DM's discretion. Which it will be anyway.