I have run a 5E Greyhawk campaign for about two years now. The party has completed the Saltmarsh series, Ravenloft, and Inverness. They are likely to do Barrier Peaks next.
I have begun to post a campaign journal at DF if any are interested in reading.
I never played 3, 3.5, or 4, so it is a big jump for me.
I think 5E is very good at what it tries to do - i like the clean, unified, streamlined rules - good for new players and good for a new-to-system DM, and fitting for a rules system that has had a generation of editors. I love that "roll high is good" applies to everything - to hit, save, ability checks. I love that AC goes UP so simple calculations can eliminate pages of charts.
I am mixed about the "character balancing". I understand that smaller party sizes and shorter attention spans mean that every character has to be useful all the time - but wizard cantrips every round feels video-gamey (fire bolt for significant damage, unlimited mage hand). This is somewhat counterbalanced by limiting magic items through the use of attunement. I do not allow the complete heal after a long rest or natural spell recovery from multiple short rests as I want resource management to be a part of the game, not just tactical combat. Even so, the experience feels very "sped up" - again, more like a video game than a novel.
I would have preferred a more direct and quantified connection between encumbrance and movement rate, especially overland movement. I had at first largely ignored encumbrance but now that we play on Roll20 I love letting the machine track it.
The DM having complete discretion over surprise is taking some getting used to, as is setting the DC for actions. I like the discretion, but it takes some experience to do well.
The characters do feel a bit overpowered, especially after 5th level (and I don't even allow feats) but part of that is because am am allowing a large party (6-8) and am adapting old-school modules with more magical treasure than the system is built for. _________________ My campaigns are multilayered tapestries upon which I texture themes and subject matter which, quite frankly, would simply be too strong for your hobbyist gamer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Mp7Ikko8SI
Been playing 5E for awhile now, and the over powered bit is sort of a ruse. AC's do not go high and nearly everything in the a game has at least +2 or better to hit, so the PC's will take damage more often in 5E than in any other game edition (and there is not really much of a hit point increase to suck that up). To somewhat counter that, the PC's need to be able to whoop arse or they will just get owned; especially lower armor class characters.
It does take some getting used to, but I guess you could say this is more a system for the casual RPG gamer/modern gamer who has many less complicated options to choose from.
The long rest = full heal thing is a bit eye rolling, and cleric still gets shorted a bit, but overall the system is not bad for a fairly drastic re-write. It works very well for the group I currently play with, which has more casual gamers.
Some suggestions for healing...
You may wish to use CON bonus per level per long rest for healing and half CON bonus per level for short rest. For Critical Hit damage, the base CON bonus per full rest to remove Crit damage on a point per 1 point basis, at a minimum of 1 point per full rest, with no healing of regular damage until the Crit damage is first healed either through time or magic. And so Crits are debilitating, but any damage can be magically healed as usual (Crit damage must be healed first before regular damage can be healed). You could also rule that necrotic or other certain types of damage count as Crit damage for purposes of healing too. Or you can ditch all of that and go pure old school. There are many options.
But take note that low level characters will not have very good AC's (even high level PCs don't have great AC's really), and that even lowly chum opponents will usually be +2 or better to hit, so beware the TPK, for the "kobold wave" is quite deadly in 5E. _________________ - Moderator/Admin (in some areas)/Member -
Last edited by Cebrion on Tue Feb 27, 2018 4:48 am; edited 1 time in total
But take note that low level characters will not have very good AC's (even high level PCs don;t have great AC's really), and that even lowly chum opponents will usually be +2 or better to hit, so beware the TPK, for the "kobold wave" is quite deadly in 5E.
In theory, I agree. In practice, as a DM I tend to have low rolls - whether I am using dice or a simulator. If there are enough missile troops, I can threaten PC's, but typically even a wave of little guys is underwhelming. The party recently faced an Erinyes, and I thought her three attacks per round with +X (8? 10?) to hit would seriously challenge them. As it turned out, I rolled so many ones, twos, and threes that she only landed a few hits before it was over.
Thanks for your suggestions about healing - I will think about those.
I do find the PC's have significantly higher HP, though. In 1E I always had PC's roll when they leveled including for first level, but now I am letting them take the auto-increase. Since that is better than average and never low, and since CON can be bumped when they level, and since first level starts with max HP, I do find that after a few levels it adds up to beefier characters, especially in the classes that got HD boosts: wizard (now d6) and ranger (now d10). _________________ My campaigns are multilayered tapestries upon which I texture themes and subject matter which, quite frankly, would simply be too strong for your hobbyist gamer. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Mp7Ikko8SI
You cannot post new topics in this forum You cannot reply to topics in this forum You cannot edit your posts in this forum You cannot delete your posts in this forum You cannot vote in polls in this forum
Canonfire! is a production of the Thursday Group in assocation with GREYtalk and Canonfire! Enterprises
