D&D 5E What are the "True Issues" with 5e?

[Zardnaar]

It is

It is. Dismissing new players because they're new is counter-productive.

From a game poverty they kinda of are. If they play for a yearcor two they're no longer newbies.

If they haven't DMed either that's another issue.

For all we know it's a heap of new players providing feedback.

 

[Kobold Stew]

Honestly, I am pressed to think of a tabletop roleplaying game I have ever played where managing wealth feels like a vital part of play (that isn't just an alternative progression path). Except maybe Blades in the Dark, but that was tied to a much tighter gameplay loop. In damn near every trad game I have ever played money just fades into the background.

It's a key part in many Classic Traveller campaigns, where ship upkeep maintains constant debt for any merchant. It's an engine for adventure/risk.

 

[W'rkncacnter]

Monsters should have levels instead of CR (Demogorgon, 32nd level monster!)

ok, i know you're joking, but unironically pf2e does this and it (along with the game's math, obviously) genuinely helps clarify how powerful an average PC is compared to a particular monster.

 

[Micah Sweet]

It is

It is. Dismissing new players because they're new is counter-productive.

On the other hand, as has been said, new players generally can't articulate what they want, and you to veteran fans to sustain your business.

 

[Zardnaar]

On the other hand, as has been said, new players generally can't articulate what they want, and you to veteran fans to sustain your business.

Or they can.

New Player "I like free money"
DM " and I have to pay"

Do you hire news to paint your house? Probably not.

Doesn't bother me if new players are participating in the playtest I doubt they're a significant number but could be completely wrong.

 

[kigmatzomat]

Why are spell levels and caster levels not aligned?

In other words, why do I have to use a chart to figure out what level spell I can cast? At first level, a caster should have access to first level spells. At second level, second level spells. And so on.

Seems a needless legacy of older editions that a Wizard cannot cast a second level spell until third level and doesn't get 5th level spells until 9th level. If a 5th level spell is too powerful for a 5th level Wizard, why not just make it a 9th level spell?

In editions where each class had a unique spell list, you would be correct.

But in 5e, a 3rd level spell is a 3rd level spell regardless of if it is cast by a cleric or a paladin. The cleric gets 3rd level spells at cleric 5, while a paladin gets it at paladin 9. Should a Paladin 9's Daylight spell be more powerful than a cleric 5 when a paladin is a "half caster"?

Having said that, they could use a different term*. 3rd Order spell, maybe. Or 3rd Tier. Then at least the word "level" doesn't need significant context to be understood.

"My bard just picked their 3rd level spells." Are those the spells the bard get as a 3rd level character or did they pick 3rd level spells at bard 5/6?

*Although I am sure a particular group of grognards would lose their collective dice bags at d&d having 9th order spells instead of 9th level spells.

 

[kigmatzomat]

Is gold not being that important an actual gameplay issue? There are essentially 2 ways to make gold important (cost sinks and more fungible magic items). I'm not sure adding in more upkeep cost sinks would improve the play experience at the table in a way that feels rewarding instead of painful. More fungible magic items have their own set of issues.

I always used cash as a way to tie characters to settings, give them reasons to care about NPCs and places. Minor heroes might get an exemption from taxes at the annual fair. Save a town from a calamity, give them a (now empty) house. Clear a bandit camp? Sell their weapons & armor to the militia. Loot a hoard? Maybe invest in trade convoys.

Later those become plot hooks. Your house keeper has gone missing. Or one of the militia's weapons was cursed. Ore your ship was sunk and the captain is being ransomed. Or maybe a guildmaster is offended that bloodthirsty PCs are "corrupting" their town. Or there are eligible unwed relatives who could manage those affairs. Or.. or... or...

The trick was it needed to work both ways. Wagon load of stuff with marks of a cult from the southern isles? Let's ask the ship captain what they know. Or maybe the town guard will recognize the wagon. Or one of those families with unwed relatives is from the southern coast.

I like having as many or's as possible.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

If ever caster had a "Arcane/Bardic/Divine/Primal/Sorcerous Recovery" and every Short rest class had a Meditation and "Going Nova" Mode as optional class feature swaps, a DM could swap class features to match the pace the party enjoy.

I’d rather modules like that be DM-facing, but if it’s gonna be player side (and nothing inside the class should be DM-decides. Ever.) I’d want it to be very much fully player side.

No “optional variant ask your DM”. No.
It’s gotta be “When you gain second level as a Paladin, you can choose between [long rest casting model], [short rest casting model], and [short and long rest mixed casting model].

But really for that part I think a better idea is to give every class some things that recharge on a long rest and some on a short rest.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

So to be more organized

Re gold: I don’t view it as an issue. What is an issue is the utter lack of guidance on using the world to give them things to spend money on.

Re monster/encounter design and the adv day: yeah there are some issues here, mostly in the form of bad guidance for DMs, but also in a lack of guidance.

However, a lot of critters have garbage stats. Cats don’t have dark vision or any special sense, even though real cats can sense the shape of room without using vision, and have incredible vision in near total darkness. Also, just way too many creatures that just don’t do anything.

Overarching, it’s the DM guidance. That’s the answer to this thread’s query.

 

[Undrave]

I think an alphabetical arrangement of spells is best, especially if it is coupled with 3e style spell lists which are arranged by level with a sentence explaining the spell. There have been many times in 2e where I've remembered the name of a spell but can't remember the level leading me to search through spell lists until I find them.

Eeh... that feels like a niche issue compared to how often you gain a level or preparing your daily spell load out as a Cleric or something.

And that closes off a lot of useful design space for differentiating between classes. Why would they do that?

Sometimes when you design a game you gotta cut out rules you like for the sake of simplicity and streamlining.