I agree Prof, more options, is really LESS options. Listing 100 things is 100 things. Saying I list EVERYTHING, that means everything you can imagine. This the way I do it too. (Mörk Borg and CY_BORG is too much fun guys)
Thanks for the analysis! I always appreciate your insights. I love all kinds of roleplaying games and have since I was a child. I came into rpg's in the mid-to-late 80's, so it seemed like every game was trying to add more rules for every possibility of what a character could do. I was a huge fan of Eastman & Laird, as well as having watched all of the Robotech cartoons on whatever local UHF was airing them, so some one of the first systems that I dived deep into (aside from playing the original Dragonlance campaign box set with my older brothers) was Paladium. However, character creation was always a slog (and still is), and as I got into adulthood and a career I didn't have time to spend hours on figuring out how to fit my ideas into a game system just to play a session that everyone lost interest in because it was bogged down by rules/overly complicated mechanics for the sake of "realism." When my time available for games (and access to friends interested in playing) was waning in my early thirties, D&D3.5 had just came out, and I was excited to see the "big name" game system finally moving towards something more streamlined. I decided to change careers a few years ago and made a vow to myself to make more time to get back into playing ttrpg's. I was both happy and a little disappointed that D&D hadn't changed much from the 3.5 d20 system original game mechanic concepts and had just refined/redesigned classes and features. More granularity. Now, I've always loved to optimize a build for a concept I have. However, if you're going to give me a boatload of options so I can do that, I would prefer you don't have a system bogged down with rules that lock me into certain classes just for one particular feature. Just give me the Crunch Berries! Makes me want to create a 5e clone called "Oops! All Feats...", kinda like what I've heard Pathfinder2e is, more or less (I haven't been able to make the time to really dive into its details yet). I feel as though most game systems now are either going for stripped down/fast-&-loose or trying to account for every possibility that a player might want to achieve with their character. Those that attempt to land somewhere in the middle usually not satisfying either. But, don't get me wrong. I still love playing ALL of them, depending on my mood and the group of friends I'm playing with. I believe that a better design (from a marketability standpoint and being able to play with the wide range of friend groups that I have) would be to create a system that can scale up or down on the granularity and mechanics crunch in a modular/tiered structure from general/narrow to specific/diverse on both options and mechanics. Games could be thrown together quick, or you could build intricate details on the character sheet. Yet, each of those people would understand how to play the game if the sat down at the same table. This would also help create more of a cultural connection across different styles of play that would bring the different player types together rather than cause what I see more often these day (although that's probable a good chunk just due to the effect the internet has on exposure) as people putting up barriers between themselves in their fierce tribalism towards their preferred system. Anyways. Thanks for coming to my ttrpg TEDTalk (lol), and hopefully I'll be able to share in the next year or so something akin to a system like this that me and a friend or two are working on.
I've been playing D&D for 10 years, dedicating about 60 hours a month to it. Despite this, I haven't explored every subclass in the PHB yet-not for lack of trying, but because my basic characters just don't die. Many players chase the thrill of complex, min-maxed characters. But breaking the game is easy. So, you cracked the code. Now what? Did you "win" at story dice? Players often fantasize about the ultimate build, yet they struggle with basic spell mechanics week after week. Add in magic items and frequent level-ups, and it gets worse. The influx of new subclasses and features creates complex builds, with players so afraid of loss they'd rather play a winged Aarokocra in full-plate paladin of the oathless just be safe, all the while the champion fighter keeps forgetting they have "Second Wind." Even experienced players drag the game with 20-minute turns for simple actions we've gone over for years, but halt with something getting clarified only determined the spell can't be used the way they thought it could. They keep making intricate, rules-heavy characters, while I wait my turn to say "I dodge," knowing the fight is so easy the barbarian can solo it, and my spell would only slow the game down with 15 individual spells saves. I love D&D, but the need to be unique on the sheet is lost on me. My favorite class so far is the PHB Beast Master Ranger- just because it's so comically bad in deisgn. a simple guy with a bow that does his best work off screen, and a dog that usually dies in the first round of combat. Despite its limitations, the Beast Master has taught me that D&D is an easy game. Even with the "worst" classes, and toughest DMs, combat survival is rarely a challenge. There's no real point in trying to "beat" the game. Just make good stories. The best way to "win" D&D isn't through more subclasses, feats, abilities (or as PDM put is, granular systems). It's by participating and finding your place in the story, including your death and inevitable deus ex machina resurrection from the DMPC cleric who won't let you die. lol
Nope, not going to fork over the cash for this one. The changes just feel like them trying to remake 3rd edition but with 5th edition twink rules. As Welsh has said of this edition. When everyone is special, no one is.
A lot of this comes across as your critique of modern D&D. There's nothing wrong with that (I no longer play it myself, although that has more to do with WotC than the 5e mechanics), but in a video with this title I think a lot of people would be expecting more of a "so this is the new D&D, how does it measure up to the current one" rather than a "the current one sucks, this one doesn't address the things I think suck about it". (I am of course exaggerating for comic effect here). From what you describe you prefer rules light systems (which is actually something we have in common, although I can occasionally be found running Champions games), but modern D&D is not by any means rules light (arguably hasn't been since the Dungeoneer's Survival Guide in AD&D1e, but certainly not since 3e and while I'm almost 52, I suspect much of your audience got into the game no earlier than 3e).
“Get back under your bridge, troll!” The negative comments are ridiculous. Stop playing the game and stop watching the videos, if dungeons and dragons bother you so much! I, for one, would hate to play the same version of the same game my entire life. I’ve played every addition of dungeons and dragons, ever since 1986. Car companies and smart phone companies release a new version every year. That’s what a corporation does.
i stick with 2nd edition. nothing you have shown here has impressed me. infact the need for electronics makes this unappealing to me. And no. No to the tomb of Horrors. any GM running that properly is gonna have a party walk out alive. your just being a jerk to the players.
@7:09 Games aren't only about combat. Indeed games that are mostly about combat are the exact ones where you _do_ need a lot of variety (IMO) because otherwise it's just "I rolled a 16, does that hit?" - which is fast, but boring. Admittedly D&D games are generally about combat, but again - I'll take interesting over fast any time. YMMV.
ב"ה There are rules for pushing and shoving as attacks (just like there always were), but weapon masteries allow you pushing and shoving in addition to dealing damage from the attack, rather than pushing instead of attacking.
Thanks, Professor. 5e got me into the hobby when it launched, which of course brought me ehere and brings me back for more. This new edition feels like a cash grab, with the exception of some fun ideas to take with us into existing campaigns. Backed and bought Gyzengaax! Excited and thankful for what you do.
I understand your point about tactical infinity and shoving someone with an axe, but I don't think the new rules make that any worse. To your example, anyone can shove as one of their attacks--that's always been a rule--it's just that the weapon mastery allows you to do that AND deal the damage of your axe, and it lets you make an attack roll as opposed athletics. It's not that the masteries say "you can only do this thing if you have this mastery"--it's "if you have this mastery, you can do this thing at no additional action cost and without needing to roll."
rule 5: soo, how does this GM except charisma/social explanations when the CHARACTER has MORE charisma/social skills than the PLAYER.... and yes it COULD happen......
Not surprised that this wouldn't be for me. The pre 2000s (i.e. pre WorC) D&D really was the golden age. I have been having so much more fun playing OSR systems.
Faster combat is to be desired, I was over slow combat the day I played sessions of 3.5 and Star Frontiers and the star Frontiers game handled 2 combats in 30 minutes- that left me mind blown. Tried 4e but that was no better and eventually reverted to B/X and or retro clones of B/X. And when people attempt to evangelize me to be baptized into 5e I ask one question, “Is the combat faster than 3.5?” And when the say no I respond with no thank you I’m good.
At this stage I feel like there is nothing here that I couldn't have just house ruled. I don't think I'll be picking up 5.5E. Ultimately it just screams "Cash Grab" rather than them trying to make a better game.
Actually if you ask a Cheese Cake factory will basically make you whatever you want. Just describe it to the server and the kitchen will make it happen. I'm not advocating for the cheese cake factory but they are super flexible
All my recommendations page nowadays is filled with reactions to the new dnd stuff. Really, could not care less. There is no interest in hasbro and wizards. It’s time to move on.
7:50 That's valid. Sure, it helps many players focus on what most common actions are available, but having too many predefined options can reduce the game to choosing which "paper button" on the character sheet to press instead of looking for a more imaginative but still reasonable option that isn't covered. I'm not interested in anything Hasbro/WotC excretes right now. There are just too many good or even excellent alternatives available that don't involve giving money to Hasbro/WotC. If I really still just want to play "basically still 5e," "Tales of the Valiant" by Kobold Press (which I recently got as a Kickstarter reward) scratches that itch. If I want to try something a little new and innovative, "DC 20" looked promising, so I backed it on Kickstarter too. I'd encourage anyone who wasn't positively impressed by Hasbro/WotC's product releases (or shenanigans) for the past two or three years to give the alternatives a closer look; there is always something better out there you might not have seen otherwise. If Hasbro/WotC had put half as much effort into reliably producing quality material for their game as they did into speed-running the destruction of their brand through incredibly cynical and tone deaf corporate maneuvering, then buying this update would be a no-brainer. At this point however, they've fallen woefully behind their second party creator rivals on in product quality assurance. Hard pass.
What I think is you are right. The best sessions I have ever played are player saying what hey want to try and GM saying "make your roll." Or players saying "I think we can do whatever in whatever the amount of time a turn is. DM gives a number for each player to roll and then you explain how the successes and fails effected the action. We blew up a car once in CPR by mistake but since the guy who's job was to get the lady McGuffin out of the car succeeded, he pulled her out the broken back window just before it went up...
Amidst all of the corporate driven chaos our group decided to no longer support WOTC. We shifted to PF2E as our primary game and I have been doing off day introductions to other independent publishers/creators. We can see the writing on the wall with WOTC, DND Beyond and 6e and we do not like the direction it's taking. Shadowdark; Crown & Skull; ACKS II; EZD6; Deathbringer style games and most things published by Free League for other venues (scifi, etc) are our path ahead.
I'm not sure if the D&D community wants granularity. We said we wanted it when D&D went to 3rd edition. I'm sure that's what we thought. I'm not sure if we actually did. 5e was a return to form, a form found in the 2e D&D, but made modern. Now that it is much more popular, Hasbro wants to monetize the brand. Of course they do. They are a toy company. But I want D&D to be the best game is can be, not a game that is easy to monetize. One day, I'll help make the best D&D. One day, it will be epic. Maybe one day.
they want to drink up healing potion during combat? I hope I'm not the only one who likes these options.. (I don't think my actual friends like these types of options though)... 1. You're wearing a helmet? no, you cannot drink a healing potion. 2. You're not wearing a helmet, roll a dex check. -fail, the potion is lost. -succeed, use your bonus action to drink the potion.
The new PHB looks marginally different with marginal improvements over the 2014 PHB. It warrants a very dry "ok cool" from me. The book I'm looking forward to is the new DMG. That one looks like it's gonna be a whole different beast.
You know, I do enjoy 5E. I have a theory that the developers took a lot of inspiration from FATE Core with the backgrounds and stuck the six attribute stats to the game. The new rules sound gratuitous, unnecessary, and cumbersome. I'll hold off on buying for now.
Here is my issue with let the player say what they are going to do. Some players don't know. Maybe they are young or inexperienced but they don't know what they can do. Having something there can spark ideas. Then, it's the GMs job not to shut down someone who is willing to try something. I also think many on here, including the good Professor, have Curse of Knowledge. We think about these things. What would a knight do? What would a wizard do? Most people don't. They need ideas to start from or to see things. What's nice about today is being able to use the MCU or other films as a way to explain what their character can do. I do agree that the stats should mean something, though. Do you make the players do jumping jacks during combat to test their CON? Do you have sixty pounds in a backpack that they have carry to test their STR? Juggle five balls if they want that 17 DEX? If not, it's understood that what the characters can do and players can do are two different things. It's just easier to swap out the mental stats and let a player talk their way out of something, even though their character probably couldn't have. I doubt I'm the only one who will say in my group of friends, "you're better at this than I am, so you try it." Better yet, think of a military unit. Each one specializes. Sure, they cross train, but you want the tech guy defusing the bomb, and the sniper covering the group. Specific to the video, while I do like more options, I'm not interested in DND anymore. I play Level Up, PF1 & 2, and other games. I have enough 5E books, I don't need the new version. I will get them if my group wants to play it but I won't be the first one to have them.
My wife & I watched your review and think you’re spot on. For any cool mechanic (and there are some), there are 2 granular mechanics and a host of more of the same.
Deathbringer killed Uni, the eunuch? Now I love him even more. The rules and presentation of modern D&D make me vomit with horror, and apathy. Oh, and ANGRY DWARF RULZ!!
What I would like to know is who WotC thinks their consumer base is? Everything I've heard about the new One D&D is that it is being designed around VTT. I've also heard that WotC is working on AI DMs. All this tells me that they are planning on taking the tabletop out of the game to make it easier to monetize.
You put what felt wrong to me from these showcases and I coudnt put my finger on it. These guys telling me "well now you can do this an that where you coundnt before", with a bossy attitude even. And Im like, dnd is about imagination, of course I could do these and more (within a certain limit of course).
