D&D 5E Your one hope for D&D?

[Inchoroi]

I would like to see someone (WoTC or Third Party) release a really good low-fantasy, dark, gritty 5th Edition gameworld - original and as gripping as Greyhawk back when it first got going, or Dark Sun when it was a new idea.

I was originally thinking maybe a Swords and Sorcery gameworld or 5th Edition ruleset would be great, but I don't see any low fantasy offering going that far...

... pity...

Check out Lost Lands by Frog God Games. It's a pretty dark, gritty setting. Well, at least how I run it, anyway.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

For 'Tales From the Yawning Portal' to become a series - I much prefer short adventures over the extended campaigns.

And another one - for WotC to never release an 'official' book expanding game mechanics/combat tactics. If they do, and my gaming groups latch onto it, then I will be gone from 5E, never to return.

Literally regardless of what is in it?

Like, if it was mostly stuff from recent UA articles, some new feats, etc, it wouldn't matter if it's all nicely balanced, fits within the starting design framework, whatever?

 

[Uchawi]

A standardized maneuver system for martial classes.

 

[doctorbadwolf]

I treat magic items like a black market art economy. Sure, you can try to find someone looking to sell a +1 greatsword...but you might not like who is selling it, or their price. It also varies a lot based on location, with the bigger the city being more beneficial to you finding what it is you're looking for.

That works too, if you are looking to keep some of that "even low level magic is rare" flavor. For me, part of the point of Eberron is to escape most of that, so I wouldn't really go that way, but there certainly are some things you'd want/have to talk to a fence or black market arms dealer for. Like wands to do stuff like causing disease, or otherwise risk harming people other than their immediate target. And higher level stuff just isn't available in a shop, while mid level stuff is only available via exclusive venders/brokers, or by commission, crafting, theft, or liberation from fallen enemies who tried to kill ya with the thing you're taking as your own.

That last part is an important balancing factor, and a missed opportunity in every edition. Why am I taking the +2 Thing of Stuff from a chest, instead of the cold, dead hands of the ogre warrior who tried to kill me with it, to keep me from stealing his other treasure?

4e helped me run this way by giving me Inherent Bonuses, so that PCs didn't need magic items to have the right numbers for the system math, but it gave me no guidance on what effect magic items in the hands of enemies had on encounter difficulty, level, or XP value/budget. Even worse in 5e, none of that is really all that consistent to begin with, so it's all pure guesswork once the Yuan-ti cultist has a Poisonous Spear of Returning, and a Ring of Regeneration. (I make my own magic items a lot in 5e because there are so few of them. )

That's another thing I'd wish for, for dnd 5e. An Adventurer's Vault style book, but with a whole chapter on dealing with the consequences of giving enemies and NPCs magic items.

 

[Arnwolf666]

Ironic and amazing. That's the one thing I don't like in an RPG. I don't like magic items having a price or being available in a store. And even the option makes me queasy because when players see it in the book with a price or in a store they feel entitled to it. Nothing wrong with that playstyle, but I hope they keep it in an optional book. Although quite fitting for Eberon, great setting.

 

[JonnyP71]

Literally regardless of what is in it?

Like, if it was mostly stuff from recent UA articles, some new feats, etc, it wouldn't matter if it's all nicely balanced, fits within the starting design framework, whatever?

Yep, I don't want any more game crunch. 5E works for me with it's simplicity, any movement towards a more tactical style of play and I would no longer enjoy the game.

I'd prefer such additions to the core game remained in the realm of homebrew, it makes it easier for me to find games which suit me, and ensure the games I'm already in remain as they are.

The whole 'Players Options' series killed all interest in 2E for me, I don't want to see history repeat itself with 5E.

See the thread about keeping players engaged with a game to find the reason why....

 

[TheCosmicKid]

Even worse in 5e, none of that is really all that consistent to begin with, so it's all pure guesswork once the Yuan-ti cultist has a Poisonous Spear of Returning, and a Ring of Regeneration.

Eh. You can run the updated numbers through the DMG's CR calculator. Poisonous spear of returning is probably just extra damage per round, ring of regeneration might require a little more estimation on how much HP it's equivalent to (I'd use the same rule of thumb as for spells of "assume the monster lives three rounds"). And the formula is hardly exact in any case. But it's not pure guesswork.

 

[Lanliss]

Yep, I don't want any more game crunch. 5E works for me with it's simplicity, any movement towards a more tactical style of play and I would no longer enjoy the game.

I'd prefer such additions to the core game remained in the realm of homebrew, it makes it easier for me to find games which suit me, and ensure the games I'm already in remain as they are.

The whole 'Players Options' series killed all interest in 2E for me, I don't want to see history repeat itself with 5E.

See the thread about keeping players engaged with a game to find the reason why....

Personally, I am of an open mind on this. I would prefer for all of the options possible to be available, allowing me to decide what I feel like playing today/next week/this campaign. I most definitely have not played enough 5e to get burnt out on any of the options, but I don't think more options will hurt, especially since a single new class adds a multitude of new options. I understand that that could be the reason for people NOT wanting more options added, but for me it is a good thing.

Maybe it is because I never dealt with all this "Bloat" that people talk about on here, but afaic they can add several more classes, and even more subclasses before they are "done"(not really done, but done with all of the options that would be needed to realistically, or at least easily, mimic any possible archetype.) I would say that 2 or three more classes, and maybe somewhere between 7-10 subclasses total per-class would be good. I would put fighter on the high end, with 9-10, but ones like wizard should, imo, actually have fewer subclasses than they started with. Necromancer, and maybe diviner, would have worked as Warlock subclasses. I also don't really want a cleric domain for every individual rock on faerun ("ah, but the Quartz domain is WAY different from the Rosey Quartz domain. One has PINK!" bleh). So yeah, a max 10 sub-classes would be good for me, and maybe just the Warlord and Mystic that everyone is so up-in-arms about, and those will fulfill any archetype I can personally think of.

 

[Tony Vargas]

The whole 'Players Options' series killed all interest in 2E for me, I don't want to see history repeat itself with 5E.

I'm actually with you, there. The first Player's Option book was the last D&D book I bought until 3.0 came out.

The key difference between 5e and 2e in this regard is in the title of that 2e series Players' Option. 5e is nominally 'modular' (not my definition of modular, but it has a lot of optional rules is what I'm say'n, starting in the PH, itself). They are DM Options, not player options. It's not 3e where once something is in the RAW, you have to pry it out of their cold dead fingers if you want to ban it. It's not 4e where everything got tossed in the CB and good luck sorting out the chaff.

It's *our* game again. If, at any point so far, you've looked at 5e and gone "damn, this game's just about perfect for me," then you can lock it in, just like that. Just don't opt into anything else coming down the line.

Yeah, that's easy if you're DMing, and, yes if you're playing, you have to take the extra step of finding a DM who's running the stuff you really want, without any of the stuff you really can't stand. The earlier you get all the former, and the longer it takes for the later to drop, the better off you are. Just keep in mind that for others out there, it's been the reverse: the stuff they can't stand is already in there and has to be extracted, and the stuff they really want they're still waiting for.

 

[Grognak]

Support for previous editions. Specifically, an OSRIC type book for 1e that is essentially OSRIC but without any modifications to the tables. All of AD&D 1e in one handy, well organized book.