+Vincent Florio and DM Nick do a decent job of reviewing the "Basic" 5e D&D rules from an OSR perspective in the latest Roll for Initiative Podcast. It's funny. My 5e Player's Handbook arrived today and I have even less desire to read it (and absolutely no free time or energy to do so these days.)
It appears to be much of what I expected, where the damage and hit points "go to eleven" and there are way to many safety features to prevent / avoid character death and true risk. Sure, a good DM could easily overcome that, but than why run the 5e rules?
When work calms down I'll give my Player's Handbook a decent read through, but for now my bathroom reading will be reserved for Designers & Dragons.
"but for now my bathroom reading will be reserved for Designers & Dragons" ... Knowing what you read in the bathroom upsets me...realizing it is the exact same thing that I read in my own bathroom disturbs me even more.... :)
ReplyDeleteIt may not be as deadly as 0E/S&W but I am having a hard time keeping everyone alive in my ongoing 5E campaigns. The "pace" of hit point attrition may be different but the lethality is definitely there.
ReplyDeleteWhy are you trying to keep them alive?
DeleteYep, I agree with Nicholas. this is the most fun I've had running a game in years.
ReplyDeleteI'm not going to bother with it. Even if it were 90% Old School (which is pretty generous, considering some of what I'm hearing), I already have plenty of games which are 100% Old School. So where's the incentive to even look at it?
ReplyDeleteI just picked up my 5e PH yesterday. I skipped around a bit (as I had already read the free Basic rules) and came across the Battle Master Fighter.
ReplyDeleteOne of the only reasons I could tolerate 4e was the Warlord class and the unique abilities it brought to the game (a tactical miniatures wargame, the oldest of old school D&D). Several of them ended up as Battle Master maneuvers, so now I know what I will be playing when I can find someone running 5e.
"I'm not going to bother with it. Even if it were 90% Old School (which is pretty generous, considering some of what I'm hearing), I already have plenty of games which are 100% Old School. So where's the incentive to even look at it?"
ReplyDelete+
"appears to be much of what I expected, where the damage and hit points "go to eleven" and there are way to many safety features to prevent / avoid character death and true risk. Sure, a good DM could easily overcome that, but than why run the 5e rules?"
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I could not give a squirt of piss for yet another new edition of D&D. There are at least seven now.