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

[Micah Sweet]

I wonder if equipment lists could be a thing that can be done like they do with encumberance now, where they have a very stream lined default and then a more crunchy option. And they could put a slot/load/whatever one in as another option.

Can and has been, I'm sure. Just not be WotC.

 

[Oofta]

Sure, but that table is already ignoring varying costs in the interest of simplicity. I'd think building a fortified tower close to a quarry and nearby settlement with available labor is going to cost less than building one far from both. I'm sure the table leans towards the average. The table doesn't seem to address number of workers needed to complete the structure in the timeframe, so in the case of a cottage having a basic timeframe and material cost would be enough.

Fair enough. On the other hand the whole cost of having a place to live has just been rolled into the cost of living expenses in order to simplify things. Most people, in my experience, don't want to even bother with that, so I can't imagine many people wanting detailed building costs for building a standard house.

 

[Cadence]

I wonder how something like "PF Unchained" would work if WotC put one out for 5e. Maybe do a new one every x years that contained the rules that worked best.

 

[Velderan]

Fair enough. On the other hand the whole cost of having a place to live has just been rolled into the cost of living expenses in order to simplify things. Most people, in my experience, don't want to even bother with that, so I can't imagine many people wanting detailed building costs for building a standard house.

I wouldn't refer to cost and time to build as being exactly detailed. I'm also not quite sure how adding literally 1 line to a chart that already exists is problem enough that you have to keep pushing back on it.

 

[Oofta]

I wouldn't refer to cost and time to build as being exactly detailed. I'm also not quite sure how adding literally 1 line to a chart that already exists is problem enough that you have to keep pushing back on it.

There's a bazillion things we don't have a price for. If you want detailed accounting D&D is not the right game for you. Or find some 3PP that provides it.

 

[Gammadoodler]

There's a bazillion things we don't have a price for. If you want detailed accounting D&D is not the right game for you. Or find some 3PP that provides it.

And this is the problem with including stuff in the book which has zero mechanical impact.

A tent, a shovel, a bedroll, and a house currently all have equal mechanical impact in play. Some are accounted for and some are not.

 

[Micah Sweet]

And this is the problem with including stuff in the book which has zero mechanical impact.

A tent, a shovel, a bedroll, and a house currently all have equal mechanical impact in play. Some are accounted for and some are not.

Which is why IMO all of them should be accounted for mechanically.

 

[Gammadoodler]

Which is why IMO all of them should be accounted for mechanically.

I wouldn't mind this, but the potential catalog of fantasy equipment would seem, to me, to be nigh infinite. At some point you have to surrender to the law of diminishing returns.

 

[Micah Sweet]

I wouldn't mind this, but the potential catalog of fantasy equipment would seem, to me, to be nigh infinite. At some point you have to surrender to the law of diminishing returns.

This is what supplements are for. There are ton of them out there. Even D&D used to do them. My own 5e houserule document started with an expanded gear list, and by now its pretty extensive.

 

[Oofta]

And this is the problem with including stuff in the book which has zero mechanical impact.

A tent, a shovel, a bedroll, and a house currently all have equal mechanical impact in play. Some are accounted for and some are not.

Shovels and whatnot don't have interactions with the rules like, as pointed out above, unlike torches which we need to know how much light they shed.

Meanwhile housing is covered under costs of living.