Any thoughts on 5th edition you might want to share? i’d be interested to hear your opinions.
Well, it has much more of a “classic D&D feel” than the previous edition did. The module we played, straight up adapted from AD&D probably reinforced that.
It is still a work in progress and not all the rules are in but what we have seems to work…
Well, let’s see…
I thought it was a very fun evening.
I thought it was an interesting game.
I thought the rules worked pretty well.
I thought it was awesome of Simon to run this for us. I had been quite curious, too.
I was disappointed that nobody else adhered to the dress code.
I thought setting the adventure in the Caves of Chaos was a nice touch.
I think the new edition will be a success.
I thought it felt nothing like D&D.
I suppose the main reason for that last one, other than me being an old geezer from the days of real winters, is the difference in power level. The characters, especially the spell-casters, felt like they were high level rather than just starting out. Spells like burning hands for free all day long? Wow. We’re definitely not in Kansas any more.
That difference is probably just a matter of taste, but for me, it brings with it a number of things that I feel detract from the game.
For one thing, magic feels less magical. When you can cast ray of frost any time you like, it becomes the equivalent of shooting an arrow. You could just give the wizard a bow; it wouldn’t feel any different. In the old editions, you may have had just one piddly first level spell, but when you cast it, it was always special because you knew you weren’t going to get another for the rest of the day. I think I miss that.
Healing presents a problem, too. With such easy healing after battles, the scenario starts to feel like a series of disjointed encounters rather than a continuous adventure.
The strategy involved in the game also seems quite different. I’d assume there’s the same amount of strategy then as now, but it’s applied in different places. That’s not a fault, of course, but it does make this feel like a very different experience to me.
I do think it’s a solid game, and it’s clear that quite a bit of effort went into it. There are several nice details, such as advantage and disadvantage. And I’m probably just a stupid old dog who can’t learn new tricks, but for me, it doesn’t press the same buttons that D&D does.
But who knows, maybe it’ll grow on me.
Anyway, thanks again for a fun evening. And if anybody would like to take a stroll through those caves using the original rules sometime just for comparison’s sake, drop me a line.
Personally, I like the fact that the mages can actually… do magic, I was never a big fan of the blue ball method for balancing spellcasters, where the whole strategy for magic user was to stand back and wait for the right encounter to release their fury.
Half the game was actually spent, well, not playing it, really. Standing back and saving up your magic.
It’s something I liked in Pathfinder and 4th edition, the magic user can actually use magic.
Now, that brings up a host a balance issues, but I do prefer this approach…
And, yes, I am always up for a little bit of AD&D…
[quote=“Simon”]
And, yes, I am always up for a little bit of AD&D…[/quote]
Same here.
And yes the characters were quite powerful. A little too powerful in some regards, I think.
But it was fun and I’m curious about how it will work on higher levels.
I do agree that they were powerful, that might need to be toned down. But I really prefer spellcasters to have a couple of "go-to magical attacks that thry can rely in.
[quote=“Simon”]Personally, I like the fact that the mages can actually… do magic, I was never a big fan of the blue ball method for balancing spellcasters, where the whole strategy for magic user was to stand back and wait for the right encounter to release their fury.
Half the game was actually spent, well, not playing it, really. Standing back and saving up your magic.[/quote]
How magical is that magic, though? Those rays of frost didn’t feel particularly magical to me. They felt like the designers said, “Mages are too wimpy in combat. Let’s let them use bows and swords. No, wait - let’s call them frost rays and burning hands instead.”
The illusions, on the other hand, do feel like magic. And that’s cool, but my goodness, that’s powerful. You could waltz through plenty of scenarios with nothing but those illusions if you put your mind to it.
Striking a balance is tough, of course, but the way spells are implemented here does seem somewhat problematic.
And as to spending half the game not playing it, well, there are a lot of things spell casters can do aside from casting spells. If not giving them constant at-will access to spells helps bring that out, it might not be such a bad thing.
Thanks for your insight. The problem with mages that you mention is some relic from the 4th edition mantra: everyone’s screen presence has to be the same and everyone should be able to take part in combat at all times. I (as you might expect) kind of like that idea because if I’m in a combat heavy game I really don’t want to sit back and have the rest of the group have fun while I wait for the one moment…
But anyways, sounds like a solid thing then. I’m glad you had fun!! The next DnD cannot fail. That would be horrible for our hobby.