I'm running a long-term campaign (almost 2 years now!) and with 5.5e coming out, I'm wondering if it's worth updating it to the new rules or sticking to what we have.
Main concerns will be rebalancing magic items and their abilities (and how they interact with new rules) and making sure the level 13 characters are still more-or-less the same after the change.
Would you overhaul a campaign to suit the new rules, or keep it with the old ones?
I like the rules in general. I would say yes if I were currently DMing a game, but I would not change at the moment. I would first wait for the dev team to weed out all the bugs that seem to be impacting the character sheets.
I personally, would keep to the 5.0 rules for an existing campaign, and new campaigns would transition to 5.5. I'd just prefer to keep things clean rather than convert, and risk unintentional fallout.
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The new rules buffed a lot of things that used to be useless to mediocre and nerfed a few things that were gamebreaking (e.g. -5 attack/+10 damage, Divine Smite spam, Stunning Strike spam, skill-based grapples and shoves, Action Surge spellcasting.) If your players aren't using any of the latter, it's pretty much all upsides. Otherwise, you should ask if they're willing to lose some of their toys to have more options overall.
I still have a few months left on an on going campaign and decided to not upgrade for it. Everyone is comfortable with their character and it is just easier to finish the game out. It has been running for about two years and we should be finished mid to late January.
I would ask your players to take a look at the rules changes and the class/subclass changes. If they're going to find the changes negatively impact their build or character RP, or they find some of the rules confusing, that's going to be very important to take into account. I'm in a campaign where we're also level 13, but none of us are considering switching -- my cleric just got his second successful divine intervention, and the 2014 mechanics work much better from a lore and worldbuilding standpoint the moment wouldn't have had the same impact if we were using the new version.
How much longer is the campaign going? The closer you are to the end, the less motivated I’d be to switch over. And if you can hold off until February, you’ll have the benefit of the DMG and MM.
I'm running a long-term campaign (almost 2 years now!) and with 5.5e coming out, I'm wondering if it's worth updating it to the new rules or sticking to what we have.
Main concerns will be rebalancing magic items and their abilities (and how they interact with new rules) and making sure the level 13 characters are still more-or-less the same after the change.
Would you overhaul a campaign to suit the new rules, or keep it with the old ones?
Given the DMG is not out yet, and the MM is not out until Feb 2025, the answer is no to new rules. Maintain what you have.
I'm planning to move to the new rules and spells, and offer players the option to rebuild their characters, but not until DDB gets enough of the bugs sorted. (I will let anyone who doesn't rebuild take an origin feat, though.)
Think about it this way. What is the upside of switching?
Unless the new rules address some issue you are having or there is some meaningful purpose you or your players have identified that would improve the game by switching, switching rules in the middle of a successful campaign has no upside. Either it ruins your campaign, or it does nothing, those are the only two possible outcomes under those circumstances.
I see these rules update the same way I see any other new edition in the past or even simply "other" new games, you switch and/or try out new stuff when you start a new campaign so that you have a clean run at it. In my experience it's best not to screw with a functioning game, not unless you are already having problems and the new rules are a way to fix it.
Besides I agree with some of the other commenters. Without the Monster Manual and DMG, we don't have a complete game. I personally plan to wait until all three books are out.
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I'm running a long-term campaign (almost 2 years now!) and with 5.5e coming out, I'm wondering if it's worth updating it to the new rules or sticking to what we have.
Main concerns will be rebalancing magic items and their abilities (and how they interact with new rules) and making sure the level 13 characters are still more-or-less the same after the change.
Would you overhaul a campaign to suit the new rules, or keep it with the old ones?
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I like the rules in general. I would say yes if I were currently DMing a game, but I would not change at the moment. I would first wait for the dev team to weed out all the bugs that seem to be impacting the character sheets.
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I personally, would keep to the 5.0 rules for an existing campaign, and new campaigns would transition to 5.5. I'd just prefer to keep things clean rather than convert, and risk unintentional fallout.
Any time an unfathomably powerful entity sweeps in and offers godlike rewards in return for just a few teensy favors, it’s a scam. Unless it’s me. I’d never lie to you, reader dearest.
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The new rules buffed a lot of things that used to be useless to mediocre and nerfed a few things that were gamebreaking (e.g. -5 attack/+10 damage, Divine Smite spam, Stunning Strike spam, skill-based grapples and shoves, Action Surge spellcasting.) If your players aren't using any of the latter, it's pretty much all upsides. Otherwise, you should ask if they're willing to lose some of their toys to have more options overall.
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I still have a few months left on an on going campaign and decided to not upgrade for it. Everyone is comfortable with their character and it is just easier to finish the game out. It has been running for about two years and we should be finished mid to late January.
I would ask your players to take a look at the rules changes and the class/subclass changes. If they're going to find the changes negatively impact their build or character RP, or they find some of the rules confusing, that's going to be very important to take into account. I'm in a campaign where we're also level 13, but none of us are considering switching -- my cleric just got his second successful divine intervention, and the 2014 mechanics work much better from a lore and worldbuilding standpoint the moment wouldn't have had the same impact if we were using the new version.
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How much longer is the campaign going? The closer you are to the end, the less motivated I’d be to switch over.
And if you can hold off until February, you’ll have the benefit of the DMG and MM.
Given the DMG is not out yet, and the MM is not out until Feb 2025, the answer is no to new rules. Maintain what you have.
I'm planning to move to the new rules and spells, and offer players the option to rebuild their characters, but not until DDB gets enough of the bugs sorted. (I will let anyone who doesn't rebuild take an origin feat, though.)
Think about it this way. What is the upside of switching?
Unless the new rules address some issue you are having or there is some meaningful purpose you or your players have identified that would improve the game by switching, switching rules in the middle of a successful campaign has no upside. Either it ruins your campaign, or it does nothing, those are the only two possible outcomes under those circumstances.
I see these rules update the same way I see any other new edition in the past or even simply "other" new games, you switch and/or try out new stuff when you start a new campaign so that you have a clean run at it. In my experience it's best not to screw with a functioning game, not unless you are already having problems and the new rules are a way to fix it.
Besides I agree with some of the other commenters. Without the Monster Manual and DMG, we don't have a complete game. I personally plan to wait until all three books are out.