D&D (2024) Wow, 5.5e characters are STRONG!

[FitzTheRuke]

There was an untested change that assigns sample backgrounds all ASIs and has those same backgrounds with a single proscribed feat.

What do you mean by "untested"? It was in the very first UA.

I hate that change, but the photos from the 24PHB (not yet final) make it pretty clear

Yeah, they're going with it. It scored high. The thing is: Because you can make up your OWN background, you can ALSO take one of their example backgrounds and change LITERALLY ANYTHING YOU WANT about it. So you can take their "Gladiator" and give it +2 to INT and the Magic Initiate feat (Call it a survivor of the Spell Pit fighting ring if you want some good fluff).

Or you can just make your BG up whole-cloth. Their backgrounds are for quick-picks.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

I did. And then we see class guides online where you are advised to get the sailor background because it is the only one with perception...

So ignore those for the fools they are?

 

[FitzTheRuke]

Unless you're a Paladin. They suck in 2024.

You have a crystal ball? We haven't actually seen the final Paladin.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

That's what they've been telling you, yes.

Of course the plan is to make as many people switch.

The question is how to do that without pissing people off?

By making them want to rather than to feel forced.

What's a surefire way to accomplish that?

Part one: tell them they don't have to switch.

Part two: give new characters more freebies.

Part three: Profit.

More insidiously: change an annoyingly large amount of small details under the pretense of "improving" the game, so it becomes a pain to keep playing the original (unless you completely isolate yourself).

Look this isn't rocket science.

I don't think anyone is arguing that they're doing all that. Why on earth would they not?

It's not some kind of evil plan (and TRUST me, I hate evil corporate plans!)

It's what EVERYONE (us included) would want out of a new rule book: Better rules. But hey, if you don't like Rule XYZ for whatever reason, use the ones you do like that you already know!

 

[Gladius Legis]

You have a crystal ball? We haven't actually seen the final Paladin.

It's not getting a republish in Unearthed Arcana, which means WOTC considered the latest version fit for print.

That is not a good thing in the Paladin's case. It's easily the weakest class for 2024.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

It's not getting a republish in Unearthed Arcana, which means WOTC considered the latest version fit for print.

That is not a good thing in the Paladin's case. It's easily the weakest class for 2024.

That's not how it works. It means that they think that they understand what they need to do to make a final version without needing another pass. It doesn't mean that they print without ANY revisions! They very specifically speak of the "balance pass" at the beginning of every UA.

I mean, I don't KNOW that you'll like it when it's done - I've certainly seen them NERF things that I think ought to have been buffed (or left alone) from UA's, and the other way around. But we really don't know what the Paladin will look like or how it will relate to the other classes (which we also haven't seen the final version of).

They'll be SIMILAR to what we've seen, but some of the minor details will change. You are absolutely free to worry that the Paladin will suck, but to PROCLAIM it is... not speaking the truth.

 

[bedir than]

What do you mean by "untested"? It was in the very first UA.


Yeah, they're going with it. It scored high. The thing is: Because you can make up your OWN background, you can ALSO take one of their example backgrounds and change LITERALLY ANYTHING YOU WANT about it. So you can take their "Gladiator" and give it +2 to INT and the Magic Initiate feat (Call it a survivor of the Spell Pit fighting ring if you want some good fluff).

Or you can just make your BG up whole-cloth. Their backgrounds are for quick-picks.

the original UA didn't show them assigned to Backgrounds, but had them as floating.
Putting out twenty pages of material with art will greatly overshadow the supposed default, which I've said many times now, but somehow just gets ignored.

Graphic design and layout are rules. If a rule isn't important or optional it shouldn't be shown with heavier weight than the default.

 

[FitzTheRuke]

the original UA didn't show them assigned to Backgrounds, but had them as floating.

Uh... I'm afraid you're mistaken. I just made a character this morning using it.

Putting out twenty pages of material with art will greatly overshadow the supposed default, which I've said many times now, but somehow just gets ignored.

That's because many of us aren't worried about something that is very clear being "overshadowed". Tell your players they can make their own; then they'll do it. I don't know what more needs to be said.

Graphic design and layout are rules. If a rule isn't important or optional it shouldn't be shown with heavier weight than the default.

I mean, that stuff is just to look cool. Many people LIKE to pick a default background and move on. Some people like to pick and choose each little detail. BOTH are represented by these rules. Me, I'm in the middle - I'll pick a background, sure, but I'll change anything that I like. I've made 20 or so characters using the UAs. I don't think I've ever used a background exactly as they print them (even if all I change is the language or tool proficiency, or the +1 ASI to a different secondary ability). Mostly, I'll change the feat. It's easy enough to do.

Personally, I think that your CLASS should give you your +2 ASI at Level 1, and your "background" feat should give you your +1 ASI (and they should combine Level 1 and level 4 feats into a big list of half-feats.

But: This is hardly something to get too worked up about! It's just a stylistic choice.

 

[Parmandur]

the original UA didn't show them assigned to Backgrounds, but had them as floating.
Putting out twenty pages of material with art will greatly overshadow the supposed default, which I've said many times now, but somehow just gets ignored.

Graphic design and layout are rules. If a rule isn't important or optional it shouldn't be shown with heavier weight than the default.

No, you are incorrect about the content of the Unearthed Arcana: what they showed in the photos is word for word the text from thar document, including the ASI assignments.

 

[tetrasodium]

Uh... I'm afraid you're mistaken. I just made a character this morning using it.


That's because many of us aren't worried about something that is very clear being "overshadowed". Tell your players they can make their own; then they'll do it. I don't know what more needs to be said.


I mean, that stuff is just to look cool. Many people LIKE to pick a default background and move on. Some people like to pick and choose each little detail. BOTH are represented by these rules. Me, I'm in the middle - I'll pick a background, sure, but I'll change anything that I like. I've made 20 or so characters using the UAs. I don't think I've ever used a background exactly as they print them (even if all I change is the language or tool proficiency, or the +1 ASI to a different secondary ability). Mostly, I'll change the feat. It's easy enough to do.

Personally, I think that your CLASS should give you your +2 ASI at Level 1, and your "background" feat should give you your +1 ASI (and they should combine Level 1 and level 4 feats into a big list of half-feats.

But: This is hardly something to get too worked up about! It's just a stylistic choice.

There is a problem you are overlooking. When a player makes up a backstory that says their PC is a noble a spy a guild artisan a soldier or whatever it is something they created on their own & has no real weight backing it in the game world. When a player chooses a "default background" that dubs their PC to be one of those things they now have weight supporting the claims their character makes because the "default background" they chose is provided as a reasonable thing