Dungeons and Dragons 5E Reviews

Adoraith

We have discussed 5E here and there in other forums but I would like to hear what others think of the new system. I have said this before but I found the new system to be a huge upgrade over the silliness that was 4E. However, I wasn't blown away or overly excited about it either. I didn't find anything particularly special, innovative, or new about 5E but I also can't say that its bad either. I will be sticking with my 3.5 as I have everything ever released for the system and don’t really feel the need to spend hundreds of dollars on a new edition. Anyway, I have always thought that a good system is one that doesn’t get in the way of the story. I have no issues with 3.5 in that regard.

That said I am very excited about one thing that Wizards is doing. Miniatures are returning! I am a "miniature":https://adoraith-echoes-of-epirus.obsidianportal.com/wikis/miniature-madness addict! However, at a $17 dollar price point for very few random miniatures I doubt i will buy boosters. Plus, they kinda punted the set when they included a large number of "invisible" figs which were nothing more than the same sculpts as other pieces in the set except done in clear plastic. The highlight of the new set is clearly the dragons. Mounted in flying poses the sculpts make them highly desirable for me!!

!https://i.embed.ly/1/image?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwizkidsgames.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fdnd%2Fgallery%2Ficons-two%2Fsmall%2FRed%2520Dragon-240.png&key=308d5820033d4db289cff4ee83d5af78! !https://i.embed.ly/1/image?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwizkidsgames.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fdnd%2Fgallery%2Ficons-two%2Fsmall%2FBlue%2520Dragon-240.png&key=308d5820033d4db289cff4ee83d5af78! !https://i.embed.ly/1/image?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwizkidsgames.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fdnd%2Fgallery%2Ficons-two%2Fsmall%2FGreen%2520Dragon-240.png&key=308d5820033d4db289cff4ee83d5af78! !https://i.embed.ly/1/image?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwizkidsgames.com%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2Fdnd%2Fgallery%2Ficons-two%2Fsmall%2FShadow%2520Dragon-240.png&key=308d5820033d4db289cff4ee83d5af78!

h1. Will 5E be a new Bond or a big Bomb?

!https://db4sgowjqfwig.cloudfront.net/campaigns/93080/assets/370671/D_DHistory.jpg?1410836123!

"Adoraith":https://adoraith-echoes-of-epirus.obsidianportal.com/

Maesenko

Y'know, you post Austin Powers as 4th edition, but most of my 3.5 games turn out like that. Also, I had forgotten we could post pictures on these forums! Hooray!

On to the topic at hand!

I quite agree with everything you said about the minis. I want them, especially the dragons, but the price point is certainly keeping me away.
AS far as the games goes, almost all the adjustments made for 5e that I have particularly noticed are essentially tweaks to things I had adjusted as house rules for 3.5 games, especially the way I tend to run magic. Honestly, though, I wish there were more feats available and I still miss traditional saves. There are some things that I wish had MORE crunchy mechanical goodness, and WHY OH YE GODS WHY did magic have to get more powerful?! I'm not talking about the higher-spell-slot thing, I actually really enjoy that, but the base spells are so much more powerful than their previous incarnations. I suppose the trade off is that spells cannot be cast as often, with the exceptions of cantrips/orisons, but even many of those (which I get the feeling were meant to be relative strength to a weapon for a melee class) are still arguably more powerful than anything a non-caster can do at will.

I'd continue with my rant, but I'd like to open it up for others.

_~Mae_
Player in "Outremer":https://outremer.obsidianportal.com/, CotM Sept. 2014

Adoraith

I think its important to realize that the more content that is released for a system the more likely the min maxers will find ways to unbalance the game. This certainly happened to 3.5 but GMs have it in their power to make rulings to put balance back in. I have banned certain feats, prestige classes, and whole sourcebooks from my game which has, I believe, kept the game in check. As far as 4th edition goes, we tried it. We wanted to like it. We tried to force ourselves to like it. I even played 4th edition with 2 other groups as a player before they gave it up. Ultimately, we just couldn't stand the system. 4E just didn't "feel" like D&D. Of course this thread isn't about 4E. I want to hear what other people think of 5E!! Surely there are more of you out there!

twiggyleaf

Thanks Adoraith for brightening up the Forums!

Yes, @Maesenko, pictures have been sadly missed on these forums for some time so let's hope we see more of them. What is the code for posting a pic on the forum?

Anyway, I have heard some good things about 5e but I am too heavily invested in Pathfinder to want to change right now. Also, my mind is less and less capable of taking on new gaming systems and remembering them. Thank God for good APPS and SRDs!

We use MINIS alot in our games but we are not MINI PURISTS and I actually prefer the prepainted plastic minis these days. I agree that a nice hand painted metal mini wins every time, but I just don't have the time to devote, and you need to treat them with tender care, which can be a problem when there is a lot of moving around, never mind table clumsiness. At least nobody gets too upset if a plastic mini is lost or squashed!

twiggyleaf
CURRENT CAMPAIGN: "Mysteria":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/mysteria - set in Wolfgang Baur’s MIDGARD.
Previous CotM Aug 2012: "Shimring":http://www.obsidianportal.com/campaigns/shimring

Adoraith

The code to post a pic is: ! then [Link] then !

I think there is version fatigue. I realize that Wizards is a business and needs to refresh the game to keep cash flow coming in but I do believe that they need to plan better to ensure that they have enough content to release for a decade per version which is what I believe to be a reasonable time between versions. If you look at the history of versions you can see that since wizards took over in 1997 they have gone kinda version happy.

1st Edition 1978
2nd Edition 1989
3.0 2000
3.5 2003
4.0 2008
5.0 2014

Now one could argue that the 10 year plan i mentioned may be responsible for TSR's cash flow woes. We could debate that until were blue in the face but what I would like to focus on is keeping a fan base. 4.0 pushed so many people to Pathfinder that I find it hard to believe that they will win enough people back with 5E that Wizards will return D&D to its former glory. Again, just my opinion. There was so much content for 3.5 that asking people to jump to 4.0 after just 5 years was a tough pill to swallow. Replacing a game library is expensive and should not be asked of your customers lightly. That said, its obvious that 4E was a mistake which forced Wizards to reboot to 5E. We can't blame them for that.

This brings me to my biggest complaint of 5E. The price point on the materials is way too high. 50 or 60 bucks for a book and 16 or 17 dollars for just 4 random miniatures is just nuts.

"Adoraith":https://adoraith-echoes-of-epirus.obsidianportal.com/

Adoraith

h1. D&D Then & Now

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NikMak

so i have not played D&D, except for the occasional CON game, for well over a 15 years... maybe even closer to 20! There were so many other systems out there that did everything I wanted so much better.

However what I am hearing about 5e sounds good, so much so that I am considering joining a 5e game if space opens up. I know that doesn't add much to the topic, but it is telling in its own way - I cant recall the last time I wanted to play D&D this much! :)

cgregory

There are certainly some good and bad things from what I've read of 5e, but I think you are right about the issue replacing a gaming library. At this point in time, my Pathfinder library has gotten quite large and I can still use many of the 3.5 resources for Pathfinder. That is not going to be the case with 5e.

One of my player's in my current campaign has offered to run a game of 5e once my current campaign ends (or when I wish to take a break), so on the plus side 5e might actually allow me to play rather than almost always be the DM. I'll be sure to post my experience with it when he runs the game.

cgregory
Current Campaign: "Devils and Dilettantes":https://devils-and-dilettantes.obsidianportal.com/