D&D 5E Would you define the current edition of D&D rules-light or rules-heavy?

[redrick]

These rules for measuring rules-weight weigh in at a whopping 43 points on the Morrus scale

You shouldn've seen our first draft of the rules. Readability was evaluated on a 13 point scale, with 7 being the most readable, 1 being the least readable due to over-simplicity and poor spelling and 13 being the least readable due to over-complexity. Now, at least we have a unified, 44 point scale for all categories.

 

[Saeviomagy]

I said heavy, but it's kind of both, and in a bad way.

My metric for rules being too light is when I struggle to work out how to adjudicate something because the game doesn't have an obvious way to do it and there's no advice on how to handle it, or that advice is difficult to find. 5e has that in spades.

Rules (too) heavy is when every decision you make actually has some specific rule that's totally unnecessary, confusing, brittle (ie - difficult to use in a different situation) and hard to find. Again, 5e has that in spades.

 

[Shasarak]

I personally prefer a 44-point scale. Some divisions include light-light-light-medium-medium, light-light-light-medium-medium-medium, medium-medium-heavy-heavy-heavy, and so on.

Your 44 point scale does not include enough Spam for my tastes.

 

[amethal]

Oh sure, there are other things that come up. Proficiency bonus on damage is a common one.

I've never played 5th edition, but am I right in thinking that (generally) you only get your proficiency bonus on d20 rolls? If so, that seems like an easy way to remember it. If you aren't rolling a d20, you aren't getting your bonus.

Of course, I did once play with someone who was there only for the social aspects, and played 3rd edition for a couple of years without gaining even the most basic rules knowledge.

"Make an attack roll / saving throw / skill check."
"Which dice do I use?"
"There's a reason this is known as the d20 system ..."