D&D 5th edition- what you think??

[Blood axe]

Printer friendly pdf link: http://media.wizards.com/downloads/dnd/ ... cRules.pdf




What you think??

Magic is very powerful in this edition.
Firebolt is a cantrip that does 1d10 damage.
Magic missile starts with 3 missiles.

[merias]

...and it's 300xp to second level, and only 355,000 to 20th level. WOTC wants to cheapen the levels by quite a bit, but I suppose it's hard to say for sure until we know how XP awards are handled for monsters (since they aren't in the PDF yet). I played a pre-test version last fall, and it was not too bad as a player. The advantage/disadvantage mechanic worked very well. It still seems a bit rules-heavy for a basic set of rules when compared to LL, if you consider the PDF has no monsters and no DMs section and is still 100+ pages.

I love the disclaimer on the first page "Disclaimer: Wizards of the Coast is not responsible for the consequences of splitting up the party, sticking appendages in the mouth of a leering green devil face, accepting a dinner invitation from bugbears, storming the feast hall of a hill giant steading, angering a dragon of any variety, or saying yes when the DM asks, “Are you really sure?”"

[tumblingdice]

It looks promising! I too noticed the low XP required for advancement, and while Merias is right that we should wait and see how XP will be awarded before passing judgment, I think it's a good thing overall. While one may argue that "kids these days" are used to easy advancement and get discouraged easily, consider also the "responsible adults like us" who want to play but are short on time or participate in ponderously slow play-by-post games. Getting through that first level in a session or two could really help games build momentum quickly.

Of course, I'm the same guy who got all grumpy when I saw that some versions of Monopoly included a speed die for faster play.

As for the rest of the rules, I'm willing to give them a chance. While I found 3rd and 4th edition too complex on the combat front, I also realize that these rules overshadowed some real improvements to earlier editions to the game. For example, I'm fine with rolling a d20 to resolve most situations. I don't need to roll percentage dice to resolve thieving abilities or 2d6 to resolve reaction rolls and morale checks, or 1d6 for initiative. Are these idiosyncrasies part of the charm of the original game? Of course, but I wouldn't miss them at the gaming table.

My only beef against the free PDF is that it doesn't include any DM information. I don't blame WOTC for not including this, but I got the impression that the free PDF would include everything you needed to play.

I look forward to hearing what others have to say.

[Blood axe]

Ive only skimmed it , but what bothers me is the magic. It is very powerful this edition.

What I do like about magic, is that you can cast a low level spell at a higher spell slot.
Example- Magic missile is a level 1 spell- if you cast it with a level 2 slot, it creates more missiles.
You could cast Sleep (Level 1) with your Level 3 spell slot to affect more creatures.
Pretty neat.

Im going to get the Starter Box set and check it out. $20 for a 32 page basic rule book, 64 page adventure and dice in a box seems very reasonable to me. Though I was thinking the page count should have been reversed. (64 pages of rules and a 32 page adventure)
No one in my area has the early release (July 3rd) so I have to wait until July 15th+.

The hardcover are $50 each and 320 pages each. Big books!

[tumblingdice]

Ive only skimmed it , but what bothers me is the magic. It is very powerful this edition.

What I do like about magic, is that you can cast a low level spell at a higher spell slot.
Example- Magic missile is a level 1 spell- if you cast it with a level 2 slot, it creates more missiles.
You could cast Sleep (Level 1) with your Level 3 spell slot to affect more creatures.
Pretty neat.

Im going to get the Starter Box set and check it out. $20 for a 32 page basic rule book, 64 page adventure and dice in a box seems very reasonable to me. Though I was thinking the page count should have been reversed. (64 pages of rules and a 32 page adventure)
No one in my area has the early release (July 3rd) so I have to wait until July 15th+.

The hardcover are $50 each and 320 pages each. Big books!

Unless you buy them on Amazon.com. Much cheaper.

I hadn't read through the magic section carefully. We'll have to see how it goes. Let's hope they don't have to fix it in 5.5. Or, Next.5 as they'd have us call it.

[merias]

Found some links to 5e monsters, with XP awards:

Hobgoblin:

http://www.enworld.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=62400&d=1403859185

Nothic, Ogre, Ochre Jelly:

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Article.aspx?x=dnd/4ex/20140626

Kill 3 hobgoblins and reach second level :). Even OD&D's 100XP per hit die wasn't that generous, given the class XP tables.

[Blood axe]

Found some links to 5e monsters, with XP awards:

Hobgoblin:

http://www.enworld.org/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=62400&d=1403859185

Nothic, Ogre, Ochre Jelly:

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Article.aspx?x=dnd/4ex/20140626

Kill 3 hobgoblins and reach second level . Even OD&D's 100XP per hit die wasn't that generous, given the class XP tables.

Wow. Really? It will only take 3 slain Hobgoblins to gain 2nd level? I have to check if you still get XP for gold/treasure.

[tumblingdice]

Kill three hobgoblins by yourself and reach second level. Still, that doesn't sound right. Let's hope we're missing something.

[Blood axe]

Kill three hobgoblins by yourself and reach second level. Still, that doesn't sound right. Let's hope we're missing something.

I may be wrong, I only skimmed it. But a level 1 Wizard should be able to finish off 3 Hobgoblins alone. He has 2 level 1 spells and 3 cantrips too.
A Magic Missile does 1d4+1 , 3 missiles & auto hit. Cast that twice, and finish up with cantrip Firebolts.(1d10 damage)

Still, I will certainly buy the $20 box set. Seems a good value. Maybe some ideas will sneak into my LL game.

[shart2069]

I've tried to read the PDF, but hurts my eyes to read on screen too much of it in one stretch.

Spent 3 days reading blog & forum posts about what others are finding in it or commenting about.

So far reminds me kind of 2nd Edition AD&D, kinda... mashed up with 3rd Edition.

A few "4isms" that might break my suspension of disbelief, but not too many.

The ideas of the Backgrounds and Skills I like a lot, would fit right into my old D&D world I think.

I'd certainly be in favor of some sort of limitations on casters, as they might have the common WOTC thing of being overpowered (because all the limitations from earlier than 3rd Edition were pretty much discarded). Unlimited damage-dealing cantrips, no need to actually learn new spells from a mentor or captured spellboook, ways to get around having to be able to speak or have hands free to cast, those sort of things really need to be reigned in.

They also seem to have "rogues" with "Flank Attack" instead of "Backstab," which I have never liked... don't need surprise , just an opponent already engaged with somebody already. There should at least be some sort of defense possible, maybe some kind of Perception roll by the intended target or something?

Also, unless you are outright dead, one night's rest and you get back ALL your HP and are good as new?

There better be better options for some of this in the real rulebooks when they come out.

Still, all in all, it is a step in the right direction after 15 years of WOTC veering away from what made D&D ... D&D.

If it becomes the "second-favorite edition" for enough players, it might start to reverse the fracturing of the player-base into smaller and smaller populations. That existing trend could lead only to ruin, as eventually nobody would be able to find enough players for "their edition" to actually run a game.

(Also seeing the things abut the low XP for the first couple levels, yeah that is because levels 1-2 are kind "training wheels" so you can get up to a less-fragile state more quickly. Progression then slows down to more reasonable rates.)

(As for the hobgoblins, they are WAY too deadly compared to earlier edition hobgoblins. They have a thing called "Martial Advantage" that gives them HUGE damage bonus when they have an ally within 5 feet of their target. Fighting more than one hobgoblin is a BAD idea for a party of Level 1 PCs. There is a thread on ENWorld I have been reading about it. The ability is poorly described - as written all I can envision is a hobgoblin pulling out a deck of MtG cards, flipping one 90 degrees, and huge wound appears in the target. There needs to be some better kind of description for it that doesn't break "being in the game world" as right now it feels like "at the game table.")