D&D (2024) Wrapping up first 2-20 2024 campaign this week, some of my thoughts

[ECMO3]

@ECMO3 did you basically run this as a direct series of short dungeons, or did you fill in with a broader campaign? I'm only asking because 4 months or so seems really fact for 20 levels.

We did it as part of a larger campaign. This group has played a lot of 1-20 5E campaigns. Probably around 10 or so (I have lost count). 4 months is actually about average, maybe a little above average for a non-XP campaign for this group.

I am in another 2024 campaign as well that we started the same week. That is a Greyhawk 1E series redone for 2024. It is Temple of Elemental Evil-Scourge of the Slavelords-Against the Giants-Drow.

This one is XP based, we finished TOEE and are almost done the first location in Scourge of the Slavelords. We are 10th level which is high for where we are in the campaign (designed for 7th I think), but that is how it rolls sometimes in an XP game.

 

[Bomberooski]

I agree, ten rings? But since many of those were resistance and the bosses dropped in round one, they did not really contribute much to that. Not sure what other items there were though


yeah, that is all fine, but then they make it so easy to craft stuff that this notion is undermined quite a bit

2014 was too superheroic for my taste already, and 2024 dialed that up, so I won’t use it. The MM might be an improvement, but they can keep the PHB

In the end though the book doesn’t run your game either crafting and purchasing. The DM does. Just don’t know that a personal dislike or vendetta for the book can be at blame here

 

[WanderingMystic]

The one thing to remember about those magical item expectations is that includes single use items which are about half of the total items and item upgrades into that total.

 

[Zardnaar]

Out of curiosity, what has made 2024 characters that much more powerful? Is it the way abilities and spells and such have been rewritten, or is it something more fundamental like extra feats and ASIs etc?

Rewritten spells and classes mostly.

Lots of knocking prone setting up advantage and weapon masteries. Rewritten spells like chromatic orb and command.

 

[Zardnaar]

Either way that is a ridiculous amount of magic items when the game is balanced around having 0! That is not a system issue (I am sure there are some though), but a DM issue. Did the DM not do anything to compensate for the seriously over geared PCs?

Read the new DMG suggestions for magic items?

At higher levels it's close to bg3.

I'm doing a bg3.5 campaign seling curated lists and uncommon items so it's not as bad as his situation.
. At level 18 having a legendary item or 2 each, several very rare and a few rares is expected.

 

[Bomberooski]

Read the new DMG suggestions for magic items?

At higher levels it's close to bg3.

Again I am curious. Did your DM just not sense that there were too many magic items and change things up?

 

[Reynard]

they raised the floor without addressing the ceiling

I was hoping for more specifics.

 

[mamba]

In the end though the book doesn’t run your game either crafting and purchasing. The DM does.

yes, but I would want the book to give good advice, that certainly is one of the main reasons to buy it

 

[DEFCON 1]

I suspect that the actions and results of this campaign will not be a very useful point of comparison or warning to 99% of the other tables out there.

As for instance, just because the rules do not prohibit the wearing of 10 rings of resistance by each PC (resulting in like 50 odd rings of resistance being made available to the players for some reason)... almost no other table out there will actually see that possibility in play.

 

[Bomberooski]

yes, but I would want the book to give good advice, that certainly is one of the main reasons to buy it

totally but it also seems like in this thread your group is sort of on an island of how your DM interpreted the advice from the book.

And that statement kind of undersells the loads and loads of great advice