D&D (2024) Why aren't you using 5e 2024?

[Micah Sweet]

In what way do you find 5E is bland?
I see this a bit on these boards, usually in comparison to OSR.

To me, having played OSE, I found that bland in that there was little in the way of options or flavour.

I rolled poorly when making a character for example and so was pretty limited in what my character could be. I went with fighter, and fighter doesn't get anything when leveling up, apart from some numbers that go up, and I think it said if I could afford it, I could build a castle or keep (which I'm not sure why I need to be a fighter to do that anyway).

I had no skills, no abilities, I couldn't do anything but roll to hit. Ever. There was nothing to look forward to in character progression. IN 5E, even just picking a subclass adds more flavour and option.

I can see having that reaction. Personally I prefer an OSR with a few more bells and whistles.

 

[Maxperson]

Lots of rants in threads about the new books, so let's make a safe place for salty goblins to really let go, and vent about why this is the end of the civilized world. Let the vitriol spew like the breath of your favorite black dragon, but remember to follow rules about decorum and personal attacks.

Mine isn't on the list. There's just not enough that's different or needed by me to warrant spending the money. Plus there's some just plain bad design(see the hide rules). I went with A5e.

 

[CellarHeroes]

In what way do you find 5E is bland?
I see this a bit on these boards, usually in comparison to OSR.

To me, having played OSE, I found that bland in that there was little in the way of options or flavour.

I rolled poorly when making a character for example and so was pretty limited in what my character could be. I went with fighter, and fighter doesn't get anything when leveling up, apart from some numbers that go up, and I think it said if I could afford it, I could build a castle or keep (which I'm not sure why I need to be a fighter to do that anyway).

I had no skills, no abilities, I couldn't do anything but roll to hit. Ever. There was nothing to look forward to in character progression. IN 5E, even just picking a subclass adds more flavour and option.

I'm also in the "5e is bland" camp.

My feeling is that I'd rather play MacGyver than Batman. The options aren't handed to you, instead you get to handcraft those options through play.

On the surface, a Fighter may seem like any other Fighter. But through play, imagination, and creativity, you can craft a fighter unlike any other.

Your fighter had skills and abilities, they just weren't in a list of buttons to push. Those skills and abilities were up to you to create and hone.

 

[Maxperson]

That a corn cob would do a better job?

Please! A corn cob is a pipe dream.

 

[FrogReaver]

Please! A corn cob is a pipe dream.

So, sears catalog?

Or the don’t shake left hands method?

 

[Maxperson]

So, sears catalog?

No no. That would be the new cosmology.

Or the don’t shake left hands method?

That works, too!

 

[TwoSix]

For example, one PC is a half-orc Fighter with STR and CON 20 (rolled two 18's and decent scores to go with them...). He just topped over 100 hp thanks to some rolling and the Tough feat. He has AC 19 thanks to the adamantine plate he forged after finish a quest helping some dwarves, has Dual Wielder for the AC bump and two longswords, one silver, one also adamantine. Thanks to Two-Weapon Fighting style, he consistantly deals about 25-30 damage per round, and none of this includes his Rune Knight subclass features, which are substantial IMO but he really liked the concept so I went with it. But I've even had to go to the point of nerfing his Rune Knight features a bit! Granted, rolling scores he got lucky, especially as it's his first 5E character! But, I saw the rolls, so I know there was nothing shady going on there. All told he is a tank and consistent damage dealer. That is his role and he's really happy playing it, so that's good.

The other PCs in the group, all powerful in their own ways, are pretty much on par with this one. The 5th PC is joining this week, an evoker Wizard. So, now in addition to the tanky fighter, nova paladin, ranged sneak-attacker rogue, and healer/support sorcerer/cleric, we have AoE-artillary. The power level just seems crazy at 7th level.

To be fair, rolling 2 18s is essentially getting 4 free bonus feats.

20 Con + Tough + 10 HP at 1st level is 59 HP out of the 100, so he rolled 41+ on 6d10. Solid roll, but nothing too crazy.

But yea, this just might be a question of expectations. Even with his outsize stat rolls, nothing about that character seems like a problem.

 

[TwoSix]

If everyone on earth played Beyond the Wall, even once, the world would be a much happier place.

Nothing would make me happier than a version of D&D that revolved around playbooks.

And yes, I know about Dungeon World, but I mean more specific playbooks like Beyond the Wall.

 

[Not a Decepticon]

AD&D-derived OSR game that uses Powered by the Apocalypse-style playbooks for each character class to randomly generate a character, who is also connected to the rest of the group, as well as the collectively-generated starting town, all in aid of a game that's basically a 1970s YA fantasy novel like the Chronicles of Prydain, featuring a group of young heroes going out into a mysterious fey-touched world. Super-wholesome while still being the basis for all sorts of dark and epic adventures and campaigns, especially with the supplements.

Adventures are also randomly generated off of very simple frames.

It doesn't sound like it should work but it, and its sibling games (Through Sunken Lands, which is swords & sorcery, and Grizzled Adventurers, which is a tongue in cheek game about elderly adventurers going on "one last score") work amazingly well and the adventure generation system is truly top notch.

I'll add it to ever growing list of games I want to try, alongside Vilesworn and Helluva Town

 

[Maxperson]

To be fair, rolling 2 18s is essentially getting 4 free bonus feats.

20 Con + Tough + 10 HP at 1st level is 59 HP out of the 100, so he rolled 41+ on 6d10. Solid roll, but nothing too crazy.

But yea, this just might be a question of expectations. Even with his outsize stat rolls, nothing about that character seems like a problem.

Not even close. I mean, the rules tell you that, but what you get from 4 feats far outstrips the usefulness of the two 18's. Two 18's isn't that much better than the two 14's when you get down to it.