(tl;dr version below)
I'm not here to get all weird and whiney about DnD 5E being different than 4, 3, or 3.5 (all editions I've played). But there are a few things that semi-concern me. I have not played yet, much less playtested my potential changes, so maybe you folks can either put my mind at ease, or perhaps agree with me! I mostly ask because as soon as our current 4E campaign is over I want to switch right over to this (as it takes a few great things from 4th, but is mostly a non-broken 3.5)
My first big thing was Cantrips. They allow spellcasters to constantly put out damage (which is good, so they don't feel useless after using their 2nd magic missile) but rolling d10's at range seems a bit much, or rolling d8's plus an ability. And the damage increases pretty steadily. Is this balanced by the fact you have to make an attack AND the fact they won't get bonus damage from an ability? Is the damage increase at level to compensate for the fact that magic weapons and/or extra attacks would enhance a melee character's damage? Would it be too much for me to lessen the damage die by 1 step?
Second is adding Dex to damage with Finesse weapons. This just makes Dex-based characters totally bonkers to me. I like how everyone gets Finesse as a free feat, basically, but adding to damage, too, means Initiative, AC, Attack, AND Damage are all rolled into 1 stat. Is that a bit much? I was thinking of having Dex add to all of that BUT they still use strength on melee attacks. Is that fair?
Finally, after reading over the races for the first time, does it seem that Half-elves are way better than Humans? Even if your character doesn't want/need Charisma, it just seems strictly better to pick half-elf, add +1 to 2 scores you want, potentially make Charisma your dump stat (which gets +2), AND you get 2 skills (on top of Darkvision). This seems to be the case when comparing Humans to many other races. Versatile, yes, but no real bonuses. Would it be too unbalanced to keep humans as-is, but also give them 1 Skill (with houserule humans still adding a feat and an extra skill)? Giving them a straight up feat seems too strong, since feats are über now.
tl;dr-Cantrips are great, but damaging ones may be too much. Lower by 1 dice step?
Dexterity is nuts if applied to damage with finesse weapons, use strength instead?
Half-elves and humans, how can I bridge the gap or inspire people to pick humans when Half-elves (and many other races) seem strictly better?
Timborama wrote:
1) It's balanced. Cantrips underperform melee characters by themselves and are only used as a last resort OR when the wizard wants to save their good spells for something major.
2) They are clearly trying to make it so that you don't have to split your attributes too much to build an effective character. 5e is an amalgamation of the best of all previous editions - this is the part they took from 4e.
3) My answe is the same as Kentus'
Playing devil's advocate:
Try 5e as it is, for at least a few sessions. You may be pleasantly surprised. It plays differently.
The damage that cantrips do is different because the game is differently balanced. Combat is over much more quickly. More drama, less grind. You want your cantrip to do something significant while there are enemies still standing.
Finesse weapons, where you might use Dex as your modifier, are all blades. They are piercing and slashing types. The damage you do with a blade depends as much on how skilfully you control the cut, as it does on the force behind it. So why shouldn't Dex be the damage modifier?
Let the players figure out if they want to be half-elves or humans. There are advantages and disadvantages both ways. You don't need to railroad them by stacking the odds.
There is more role-playing in 5e; it's of equal importance to combat. So deception and persuasion checks turn up more often, and treating Cha as a dump stat is ... suboptimal.
Have fun anyway 
BoldItalic wrote:
shivafang wrote:
Thanks for the replies, guys. I just wanted everyone's opinions before playing (much less playtesting!). Fully convinced on points 1 & 2, and will just let them go. Still may offer an additional Skill training to humans (maybe, maybe not if they pick the "feat" variant).
shivafang wrote:
shivafang wrote:
Timborama wrote: