5e announced!

[alhoon]

Thanks Jester. And I see your point and the problem; It's not the Playtest material, it's the I6 material.

[Zilfer]

That bridge is now more deadly a 5% chance on a d20 of getting a 1.... wasn't it 1% in the original module? Also yes! the green ooze!

Nope. 5% in the original module.

Then the people are lucky i rolled 1% on D100's for the module....

[alhoon]

New playtest package!
I'll update as I read it.

EDIT1: This one goes to lvl 20. So, essentially we're able to playtest the whole game.
A -LOT- of changes are advertised in the "Read this first". Feature changes and all, so it seems I have to read the whole thing again to see. Oh, well... It's a job after all.
Some of the changes I peeked at, require ... playtesting since they're different from what we've been used to. They may work, they may not. They may be fun, they may be not. They may be balanced, they may be not.

EDIT2:
- Scholarly wizards seem to be my type of wizards. They're more for those that wanted the wizard closer to what it was in 3e.
- Magic seems kinda closer to ... well, what I prefer. You prepare a spell and can cast it as normal or at higher level for extra kicks (I've used that before) or as a ritual and you don't expend a slot.
- Now we ... roll skill dice and add the result to d20 for skills our chars are trained with. For example a 1st lvl character trained in stealth rolls 1d20+1d4 to sneak past an orc sentry. However WotC was not as kind as to include in a parenthesis or something an average bonus for us that don't want to roll extra dice. It's "+1d4" not "+1d4 (2)".

EDIT3:
Meh, my sister's 7th lvl fighter can usually drop an ogre with one blow. We're talking like 30-35 damage usually. A 7th lvl wizard is nowhere close to that.

EDIT4:
Polymorph, as all save-or-die things presents a problem for me. I want it to remain as it is, but I believe the maximum should drop to 10HD or 90hp or something and then for polymorph to become augmentable. I.e. 5th lvl slot polymorph to affect 12HD or 100 hp etc.

[alhoon]

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Article.aspx ... l/20130107

The goals of D&D next.

In a nutshell:

- To be recognisable even to people that haven't touched D&D for years. "the design implication is that D&D Next should deliver the primary strengths that each edition brings to the table"
- To be "complete" with an easy to learn core to attract new players and then when and IF you want more, you move to more complex subsystems (modularity).
"To create a continuum of options and complexity, we need to make a game that has a simple, robust core that is easy to expand in a variety of directions. "

So... I would dare say that modularity while still important (variety of directions through subsystems) isn't the most important aspect anymore.

[Mortavius]

I dunno...I'm still not convinced that *any* edition of D&D has not been modular. To me, optional books have always been optional, and sometimes we used them, and sometimes we didn't. There were books that our gaming group adopted whole-heatedly, and others that we never touched (even though I bought them). That kind of defines "modular" for me, right there.

I like that they're emphasizing it though. Hopefully it doesn't turn around and bite them; i.e. players not even bothering considering buying more books because they don't need them.

[alhoon]

Important changes to D&D next. Apprentice tier coming. Levels 1-3 will give you less power compared to what is now lvl 1. Personally I'm in favor. I.e. you get your mage's tradition at 3rd lvl, and your thief's scheme.

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Article.aspx ... l/20130401

[Mortavius]

Another write-up today on the WotC site about Kuo-Toa, Sahaugin, and Bullywugs. Pretty much a regurgitation of 2E/3E, so if you're looking for something new, you'll be disappointed. They do have a few interesting history tidbits in there, but nothing life-changing.

[alhoon]

Well, it's NOT supposed to be new, it's supposed to be traditional.

[Mortavius]

Well, it's NOT supposed to be new, it's supposed to be traditional.

That's one way to look at it. I suppose if I viewed it like that I wouldn't be disappointed, but I tend to view anything new as, well, new.

[alhoon]

Important polls today folks.
http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Article.aspx ... d/20130409

What we consider low/high/medium level, what enviroment for a monster should represent (more streamlined approach suggested), what the monster types should be and how treasure/monster should be handled.

[alhoon]

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Article.aspx ... s/20130524

Kinda funny. WotC will sell a few copies of a D&D Next campaign with up-to-date playtest rules. Copies will be available at Gencon. Whether they sell 100 or 1000 copies, it's still the same:
WotC sells 5e products before 5e comes to the table

Not a bad move, nor I blame them. They are a business and it's good what they do. After all, with the playtests they'll going to more or less give the for free the "a step before final" rules. Yes, we will miss the arts and the description. We will miss the final touches. We will not have a complete list of feats or magic items. They will still be adequatable.
And those playtesters that don't like what they see, won't buy the books and then say "meh... I actually prefer 3rd edition" since they would know very well what they're getting into.

[Jester of the FoS]

http://www.wizards.com/dnd/Article.aspx ... s/20130524

Kinda funny. WotC will sell a few copies of a D&D Next campaign with up-to-date playtest rules. Copies will be available at Gencon. Whether they sell 100 or 1000 copies, it's still the same:
WotC sells 5e products before 5e comes to the table

Not a bad move, nor I blame them. They are a business and it's good what they do. After all, with the playtests they'll going to more or less give the for free the "a step before final" rules. Yes, we will miss the arts and the description. We will miss the final touches. We will not have a complete list of feats or magic items. They will still be adequatable.
And those playtesters that don't like what they see, won't buy the books and then say "meh... I actually prefer 3rd edition" since they would know very well what they're getting into.

Released for sale, GenCon 2008:


Released for sale, GenCon 2012:

[alhoon]

So it's common to sell betas in Gencon? I still find it funny.
"Here, take this book with 30$. A substancial part of it would be null and void in 6 months"

[Jester of the FoS]

So it's common to sell betas in Gencon? I still find it funny.
"Here, take this book with 30$. A substancial part of it would be null and void in 6 months"

They're spending three years working themselves into debt so I can understand wanting to get some money. Plus, it sounds like they're treating this as a collectible. And there are people who don't download the package or might only see physical books.

[alhoon]

I understand the move too. If I was able to go to a GenCon and it was priced at 10-15$ instead of 30$, I would buy it too, cause I like the playtests, the initiative WotC took to involve tens of thousands of fun from the early stages etc.