5.5E What do you want in the revised DMG?

[Greggy C]

I think the new DMG should point players to use dndcombat.com to test their battles, and WOTC should pay to have to it finished

Because no CR system is useful when you can create a party of optimized bladesingers and warlock hexblades that can fight double what your default random party can fight.

 

[THEMNGMNT]

What do I want in a new 5E DMG? The 4E DMG1 and DMG2.

 

[Shardstone]

As a new DM back in 2015 who had never ran before, the game was pretty hard to grok. I needed a lot of help from another community I found to really get a hand on it. How about we not try to condescendingly speak for all new age dms? For me, a better dmg would have helped a lot.

 

[bennet]

As a new DM back in 2015 who had never ran before, the game was pretty hard to grok. I needed a lot of help from another community I found to really get a hand on it. How about we not try to condescendingly speak for all new age dms? For me, a better dmg would have helped a lot.

What is condescending? the 5.0 dmg? how?

 

[Oofta]

As a new DM back in 2015 who had never ran before, the game was pretty hard to grok. I needed a lot of help from another community I found to really get a hand on it. How about we not try to condescendingly speak for all new age dms? For me, a better dmg would have helped a lot.

I think it's going to vary a lot. Personally I get more from a video and hands-on than I ever will from a book.

Could the DMG be improved? Of course, everything can be improved. But there are plenty of resources out there now, far more than there used to be.

I'm not saying this to be condescending, I'm trying to understand what could help. The more DMs the better but I can't change what WOTC publishes. Is there any kind of advice or resources we can provide on a forum like this?

 

[clearstream]

This isn't necessarily about the topic, but the responses did make me wonder if there was a correlation between folks who want more robust and concrete encounter creation rules and folks who do not like or refuse to fudge dice rolls and/or adjust encounters mid-fight?

It just seems like the people who would prefer not to "wing it" have a reason for not wanting to... and the idea that they do not want to adjust the encounter mid-encounter due to however they see the verisimilitude of the game to be, might be a strong reason for that? I dunno? It's just something I noticed and was curious about.

Relatedly, I moved to

• ΣCR < Σlevels/2 = "Attritional" (easy to hard)
• ΣCR > Σlevels/2 = "Lethal" (deadly)
• Circa 3A + 1Lper long rest
• 3-6 foes = x1.5 not x2, scale from there
• In general, encounters with multiple types if foe are the most interesting

Simple rules if thumb that keep the game on an even keel, without stressing too much. Wounded foes can flee. Smart foes can go for the wizard. Rich foes can hire the party and get some payback. There's so much at play that power alone is a bad guide, and CR is only a very rough guide to power anyway.