Hey,
I was wondering, how many of you have tried playing 5e? Did you have fun playing it? Did some things not work? What about things you thought wouldn't work but turned out to be great? Anything else you want to share on how the game plays?
Tell us about your 5e experience! Some of us still have at least a week to wait before getting our hands on the starter set...
Thank you for sharing!
Gnarl wrote:
I've head really fun time with D&D sessions using 5th edition rules. I find it runs like a charm and its to use, teach and run. So far its shaping up to become my favorite edition!
I agree with Plaguescarred. I haven't had a chance to run basic yet (since I'm out of town) but playtest campaign worked well for me and my group.
DMing in particular has been smooth. Also, I love how fluidly the game runs in transition from exploration to combat to interaction, etc. Less awkwardness it seems to me.
Once i I get home and DM or play basic, I'll chime in more.
The playtest was a blast, Basic not so much. Most spells are now mutually exclusive, unless all you do is throw fireballs and magic missiles. The evocation tradition is great for that though, Sculpt spell at second level. Nothing like your stoneskin disappearing just as soon as you cast hold person and it takes hold, good times. To be fair, one would have likely lost the stoneskin pretty quick anyway after failing the impending that DC 10 or half damage dealt Con save (whichever is higher) due to that fellow with the mage-slayer feat wailing on you.
IgnatiusJ.Reilly wrote:
I'm absolutely loving the new edition. I'm sad to see skill dice go away, but I see the simplicity of it. I feel the simplicity of the original system with the fluff details of all those between. I think one thing I enjoy more than anything is the Advantage/Disadvantage system. I am hoping it will break my players of "I MUST DEAL DAMAGE WITH EVERY ACTION!" That thinking drives me crazy. I would like to throw out my thoughts on some interesting things that I had happen as a player and a DM.
I am Fighter - Give me your Sword!
I had a character concept of a Paladin (Blackguard) who used Command to take enemy weapons, attack them until they go down, then coup de grace each enemy before moving on. This was a Playtest idea I finally finished the day before Basic released. Well, the group voted to go with Basic D&D instead of the Playtest material so I scrapped it but kept its integrity. The character (Lucius Balzaus Platinus) is a Lawful Neutral Fighter with Two-Weapon fighting style. He carries two short swords, two handaxes, and two light hammers. Our first fight was an arena fight. One of every class member against another. The command plan wouldn't work - I'm a fighter. So I trained Intimidation and Persuasion (due to Soldier having Athletics and my already taking Athletics the DM said I could take Persuasion). A childhood friend was coming at me across the battlefield. I approached, made a Charisma (Intimidate/Persuasion) contest against Wisdom (Intimidate - he said that the character's training in intimidation would be useful). "That's a nice sword... GIVE." The DM, intrigued by initial character concept, allowed it. I took the sword from him in that contest. The fight went great all around, players using cover and magic to full effect, even letting my character finish his duel with his childhood friend.
LET ME GO! - I will not be your sacrifice!
A Cleric ("Clara" - a Red Cross reference) in my recent adventure, was the target of the evil acolyte. As the DM, I was very surprised when my players made use of advantage/disadvantage like pros. They even sacrificed their actions to get good effect instead of dealing damage - which was new for them! One even used his action to help the Cleric try and break free from the Grapple. This use of "Help" was brilliant.
In the same fight, I was very disappointed with the Rogue Sneak Attack feature, corrected, then realized how much I love it now. You no longer need to take Disadvantage to get your extra damage if an enemy of the target is adjacent to it. That's nice. I'm very excited to see this extra action feature of the Rogue (Cunning Action) in conjunction with hiding and attacking with advantage.
LIVE YOUR LIFE! - Wait... what Lifestyle gets cookies?
While deciding what lifestyle to live, my wizard spent all of his money adding new spells. Down to 10g he stopped, realizing he had to figure out how he was going to survive for the downtime. The Fighter took the Acolyte background, so he could do temple stuff. The Cleric did, too. The Rogue was trained in Survival and was a wood elf, so she was going to live in the woods by herself. The poor Wizard picked up a profession as a party-trick and hedge wizard for people. I love the Lifestyle addition. The ability to learn new languages based on time and money, as well as a new tool proficiency, is great. I hope they add weapon proficiency feats or something similar for training time.
Thieves' Cant - but I can!
Our Rogue, longsince fascinated with sneaky thugs, is finally trying her hand at being rogueish but trying to reconcile that being a rogue is a fighting mechanic, not a lifestyle. So, she tried to give a "cant" sign to a halfling rogue who just looked at her like she was insane. Then they began talking about a painting being a "bullywack club." And everyone laughed. It's good to see this feature return to the game.
Vehicles
How much can a wagon carry?!
Just started Friday, and I have to say that my players (my fiance and my two teenaged sons) and I are enjoying it immensely. For a review of the game sessions that are filthy with spoilers for The Lost Mine of Phandelver, see The Heroes of the Sword Coast!
My group and I started in on Lost Mine of Phandelver last Saturday night. I ran the game. There's a lot going on in this adventure. I really enjoy it! The way that the pre-gen PCs were given backstory that links directly to the adventure really made the game a lot of fun for some of the role play throughout the story. My players and I really got into character a lot easier. D&D 5th ed has so far proven to be pretty lethal for us. My groups came close to 2 tpks! We still have a lot of the adventure left to cover and we are looking forward to the next time we can play.
This adventure is an excellent way to experience the new 5th edition rules. People can speculate all they want on the rules in the PDF but see for yourself when they are put into action with a good adventure that was tailored for the new rules!
My first exposure to the D&D brand was the old Baldur's Gate (2e-based) and SSI Gold Box (1e-based) computer games. With those games came a certain expectation how D&D should "feel". When I started playing pen and paper D&D with 4e I never really achieved that intangible quality that I associate with my early years with D&D. (Regardless, I did have a blast with 4e's massive tactical set pieces!) When I started playing with the 5e playtest materials a year ago (maybe longer, I can't remember exactly when I started) I finally felt like I was playing D&D.
The early playtest material was rough and in constant flux but with a skillful and determined DM we pushed forward. We haven't had the opportunity to utilize D&D Basic rules yet but judging from our experiences with the latest playtest material we had access to the game is absolutely fantastic.
The game feels like it is designed with a role-playing first, combat second mentality. Our 4e games consisted of some light role-playing, just enough to give us a reason to fight (think 80's action movie plot) and then one or more hour long combat encounters. In contrast, with 5e there has been many weeks where we never engaged in combat because the players were now more focused on what our characters would do instead of what our power cards told us we could do. And we had an absolute blast with these combat-free gaming sessions.
When we couldn't talk, lie, sneak, or charm our way through danger and had to take up arms I have found the combat to be exceptional. It is fast, varied, and most importantly to me, creative. Now, I know the players in 4e weren't required to stifle their creativity and just read from their power cards but that is how the groups I participated in played. Without the cards we now have people trying absolutely crazy things like sacrificing the almighty-must-do-damage-with-every-action to do things like bowling over drow clerics before they can annihilate the party.
The classes feel unique, so in combat what one person does will be different from the other whether that be a wizard lighting the place up with a high-level Fireball or a rogue popping out of the shadows to deliver a nasty sneak attack blow on a frost giant or a stalwart dwarven fighter with more hit points than sense wading into a mess of wererats. With just a minimum of status effects and limitations on buffing spells (using concentration) combat rounds move much quicker with players quickly describing what they want their character to do and rolling a (usually) reasonable amount of dice. I have experienced less "bookkeeping" during combat in 5e compared to 4e.
There are a few nitpicks in the ruleset here and there which have been beaten like a dead horse in these forums but taken as a whole I am thoroughly satisfied with what I've seen in this edition. I look forward to using this ruleset for many years to come!
My 10 year old son created an adventure and we have been playing the last couple of days. My thoughts:
- Creating characters is a little more complex than I think it should be. It would be easy to put together a bulleted, step by step list to help new players.
- Created two mountain dwarves (one fighter, one cleric)
- Adventure started in a bar where the bad guys killed the bartender. Killed the bartender? I didn't get that and am wondering where/how my son came up with that hook...In any event the intial combat was very smooth and quick.
- The town the characters were staying was attacked by a horde of goblins, the two dwarves went out to help the townspeople, except...no townspeople showed up! and the two dwarves had to effect a strategic retreat. Still killed six goblins without taking any major damage and returned safely to our lodgings.
Play has been well paced and easy to follow - Sometimes it is a challenge roleplaying with a 10 year old but that is not the fault of the rules system.
All in all, it appears to be a pretty polished product based on our initial experience.