What does a character look like from what we know so far?

[Crazy Jerome]

Well, I guess the biggest question mark I have here is the attack line. There's been some discussion of flattening math to prevent some of the scaling issues of previous editions. The ability bonuses of (X-10)/2 have two editions of history behind them, and have the convenience of being instantly calculable . . . but can we afford to keep them there and just try and reign in ability score increases?

Just because the math is relatively flat, it doesn't necessarily start at or near zero at 1st level. There might be 20 levels, and the typical mods (counting ability scores, feats, magic items, etc.) might run from around +4 to +14. That's still very flat compared to 3E/4E, but no particular reason it has to go from +0 to +10 to do that. Having the scale a bit off of zero allows for several disparate things to stack, with characters missing those things being a little on the weak side by comparison, but still in the "plus" territory. It really doesn't make much difference anywhere else, but does allow a handful of stacking +1 mods relatively early in the levels, without messing up the entire range.

 

[Morrus]

I have very little knowledge concerning game design, but with the emphasis on ability scores driving skills, I'm wondering why 5e might not utilize the approach to skill/ability checks from 1e. For example, if a character with an 18 DEX had to make a Dex check in 1e, the player simply rolled a D20 and if the roll was 18 or less, the check was successful.

Is there a flaw with this type of check, or would it still be a potential option for checks in 5e?

The main issue is that for years now we've trended away from non-standard rolls. Having some things be "roll under" and others be "roll over" is something I don't imagine we'll ever see again in D&D.

Plus what happens if the DEX is 21? You always succeed? Or are you applying difficulty modifiers to the roll, in which case it's no simpler than d20+x.

 

[The Shadow]

A Noble Gladiator? There's GOT to be a story behind that!

I'm wondering if we'll see Fighter give damage bonuses. I've always wondered why level makes it easier to hit, but not to do damage. If the Fighter is going to have parity with the wizard, he's gonna need to hit harder. (Granted, they've said the wizard will do more damage when going nova, but that the fighter will do more damage round-by-round.)

 

[FinalSonicX]

If this is what a 5e stat block looks like, I'll be quite pleased

I'm very happy with what I'm seeing. Stat blocks should be compact and easy for me as a DM to scribble down in my notebook. I'm more than okay with players having more complex character sheets (and hope that's an option, for certain), as long as it's not mandatory that I flesh out PC equivalents just to challenge the party.

The only thing that really gives me pause in this mockup is the length of the character title and how unwieldy it is. I can't imagine a character explaining that they're a 1st level NG half-orc fighter noble gladiator, nor can I imagine explaining such an idea to players in an easy to understand way.

Saying it's a lvl 5/5 half-orc fighter/thief is easy, saying it's a halfling wizard scholar farmer is going to sound awkward. I hope they put a little bit of effort in to make it easier to reference these concepts. I also hope the themes and backgrounds are easy to remember and apply on the fly.

 

[Minigiant]

A Noble Gladiator? There's GOT to be a story behind that!

Obviously it is a noble half orc who got his pleasures from jumping in the pit and betting on himself.

 

[Grimmjow]

HP 15 (dead at -14)

would this mean a great ax could reduce him to 0 with one hit? or did i miss something about HP and damage?

 

[Morrus]

would this mean a great ax could reduce him to 0 with one hit? or did i miss something about HP and damage?

Again, we simply don't know. We know that death is at negative CON and that most characters "start with about 15 hit points". We don't know what damage a greataxe does. That's all we know about that. All we can do is speculate further.

 

[Grimmjow]

Again, we simply don't know. We know that death is at negative CON. We don't know what damage a greataxe does. That's all we know about that. All we can do is speculate further.

the only problem is if they do decide to do it that way, what will happen to d12s and d10s?

 

[Morrus]

the only problem is if they do decide to do it that way, what will happen to d12s and d10s?

I'm afraid I don't understand your question. What does that have to do with d12s and d10s?

 

[hafrogman]

Saying it's a lvl 5/5 half-orc fighter/thief is easy, saying it's a halfling wizard scholar farmer is going to sound awkward. I hope they put a little bit of effort in to make it easier to reference these concepts. I also hope the themes and backgrounds are easy to remember and apply on the fly.

I would assume that in general you never mention your theme and background at all. Backgrounds exist in 3.X and 4th (mechanically) and have existed as long as story has been in the game. Okay, yes, being Taran the Assistant Pig-Keeper might be the most defining feature of the character, but in general, people won't bring up their past when its not relevant.

The halfling wizard is still a halfling wizard. The theme and background inform your character, but don't need to be listed in your simplest character summary any more than specific feats or other detailed choices you made.