If I could go back and change just one thing I would rebalance Ability Scores so Str and Int were just as useful as the others so as to not be the most likely stats to get dumped.
That is a good point -- a nice compromise would be to make a set of related modules that are more stand-alone but go together (by region or something) and then package them like Yawning Portal. Leaves the modular format but still lets them get the big-book profits.
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WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
Maybe they could just make some short adventures that are digital only or POD? That's a good way to make smaller products that don't have as widespread of appeal. It avoids the expense of printing a bunch of physical products that wind up just sitting on store shelves collecting dust.
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Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
If I could go back and change just one thing I would rebalance Ability Scores so Str and Int were just as useful as the others so as to not be the most likely stats to get dumped.
For INT, I like to take Pathfinder philosophy again, where they sort "Knowledge" into a bunch of different categories. Obviously 5e INT is less versatile, but when a player asks me "Okay so is there anything I know about this monster/this spell I just saw an NPC cast/this particular item that seems magical" I can just say "Good question! Give me an Arcana/History/Investigation."
("Okay so also if you look here in my character's backstory I spent three years studying at [such and such relevant place]" "Great! Can I see that sheet? Ok yep, there it is! Roll with advantage." Obviously have your PC's backstories on a reference doc somewhere to prevent convenient backstory-retconning. )
Also differentiating Perception from Investigation is helpful: the difference being that Perception (in my mind) is more passive/in the moment but Investigation (again my opinion) is when you're taking a hard look at a room or object--all that helps INT be more useful.
STR, yea, can't do much there, except it is useful for my players that like to improvise. I'd say that if a DM is flexible and willing, a martial character can get a good bit of versatility in just with using STR to improvise things.
(Obviously though not every DM shares my outlook and not every player is going to pick this stuff up at the beginning so while my solutions work for me and my table they are pretty much a band-aid and don't really address an inherent philosophy issue with WoTC and their attribute system.)
Like many others have said here, smaller modules rather than full campaigns. If they want to release big books then combine several into one book. I really enjoyed Tales From The Yawning Portal and would to see more like that. Although I enjoy creating my own dungeons and encounters the content of that book was easy to drop into my existing home-brewed adventure. I would love to see more of that added.
Hmm. A curious question. Every time I think of the one change I could make that would have the most impact, another one even more impactful occurs to me.
Honestly? The one change I think I'd truly make was laying down an imperative on the company to do exactly what it promised it would but then failed to do - introduce optional advanced rulesets beyond the core books for those players who want to engage with the game more effectively. Wizards of the Coast is pathologically terrified of chasing off one single new sale with any degree of depth or engagement in their game, but the simmering resentment many players feel over Wizards assuming them to be absolute simpletons unable to comprehend even the most basic gameplay systems is real and growing.
There are many changes I'd absolutely love to make. Martial Combat Overhaul, retrograde implementation of the Three Action System, implementation from the start of classes being built on a framework of choices rather than an Iron Railroad...but none of them would be as impactful as all of them, and if Wizards hadn't decided to flip the bird finger to experienced gamers or even simply newbies capable of rational human thought with their assumption that we're all too stupid to handle anything more complex than Tactical Tic-Tac-Toe, we'd have them.
So that would be my choice. Enforce Wizards' long-abandoned decree that optional rules modules would be released steadily and thusly allow players to select the level of engagement their table likes best.
Like many others have said here, smaller modules rather than full campaigns. If they want to release big books then combine several into one book. I really enjoyed Tales From The Yawning Portal and would to see more like that. Although I enjoy creating my own dungeons and encounters the content of that book was easy to drop into my existing home-brewed adventure. I would love to see more of that added.
After buying the "three should haves", I picked that up. I was already familiar with them from previous editions and they came in small enough chunks.
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"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
Get rid of cantrips. Magic is rare and mystical again.
Nerf Dex by cutting finesse weapons and having ranged weapons not do +dex damage. Seriously, why is this a thing? Dex is good enough just for AC and ranged attack bonus.
Old-style single dungeon modules.
Warlocks cast using Intelligence.
In the DMG, more focus on dungeon building advice, less focus on world building.
Add a “choose your own adventure” to help new players learn, introducing the mechanics one by one. It was in the original D&D and I don’t know why that ever changed.
More varieties of equipment and things like bucklers and tower shields instead of a simple 'shield' item. More weapons. Reskinning a weapon is nice but it'd be nice for some weapons to have drawbacks and others get quirks for using them.
Get rid of cantrips. Magic is rare and mystical again.
I kind of agree about cantrips.
I think you'd need to give (a few) more slots to the casters to compensate -- we don't want to go back to the 1e situation where you had full casters who would take 50 actions in a day, 2 of which were spell casting and 48 of which were swinging daggers.
But, I definitely agree that cantrips take a lot of the interest and even some tactics and thought out of the game. For example, Light cantrip = you never have to track torches, oil, lanterns, etc. Now some players don't like doing that accounting but... to me it takes something away when you can just have all the light you want whenever you want it at no cost.
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WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
The addition of cantrips was one of my favorite changes that came with 5e. If they got chopped, Spellcasters would have to start with 4 1st-level slots and go up from there to compensate. That would likely mean the spells themselves would have to get weaker to compensate for the greater number of castings per day....
I honestly think that it would be better to give non-Warlocks between 1 and 4 “Cantrip Slots” that refreshed on a short rest as a limiting factor, and just let Warlocks stay the way they are. I think that would be better than cutting cantrips entirely.
Oh, and retweaking melee weapons to have a slightly greater range of damage, like capping at 2d8 (instead of 2d6/1d12) would also help 5e.
I just think that "at will casting" is too much... Even Champions had Endurance that you had to manage, so although (unless you took the "Limited Uses" limitation, aka "Charges") most powers could theoretically be cast an unlimited # of times... you could not do so back to back in combat. You'd fire that energy blast 3 or 4 times and then your Endurance would run out and you'd start to have to manage your attacks more reasonably, or stop and take a recovery.
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WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
Melee combat needs to be as good as ranged combat. There should be more of an incentive to be in melee as there is to stay away from your enemies. Maybe you have two different ACs, one against melee attacks and another against ranged, and the melee one is higher, or there are different types of shields, or melee weapons do significantly more damage than ranged weapons.
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Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
I just think that "at will casting" is too much... Even Champions had Endurance that you had to manage, so although (unless you took the "Limited Uses" limitation, aka "Charges") most powers could theoretically be cast an unlimited # of times... you could not do so back to back in combat. You'd fire that energy blast 3 or 4 times and then your Endurance would run out and you'd start to have to manage your attacks more reasonably, or stop and take a recovery.
Right. So, if every “Full Caster” got a number of points that scaled 1-20 and refreshed on short rests the same as Ki Points do now. Cantrips that never change in power level would cost 2 points every time. For the cantrips get that boost at 5th, 11th, and 17th levels, base they would cost 1 point, and each boost level would increase that cost and a player could choose how many points to spend on each Cantrip every time they cast it. Even at early levels since lower level PCs would have so few “Endurance Points.”
If I could go back and change just one thing I would rebalance Ability Scores so Str and Int were just as useful as the others so as to not be the most likely stats to get dumped.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
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That is a good point -- a nice compromise would be to make a set of related modules that are more stand-alone but go together (by region or something) and then package them like Yawning Portal. Leaves the modular format but still lets them get the big-book profits.
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
Maybe they could just make some short adventures that are digital only or POD? That's a good way to make smaller products that don't have as widespread of appeal. It avoids the expense of printing a bunch of physical products that wind up just sitting on store shelves collecting dust.
Find your own truth, choose your enemies carefully, and never deal with a dragon.
"Canon" is what's factual to D&D lore. "Cannon" is what you're going to be shot with if you keep getting the word wrong.
For INT, I like to take Pathfinder philosophy again, where they sort "Knowledge" into a bunch of different categories. Obviously 5e INT is less versatile, but when a player asks me "Okay so is there anything I know about this monster/this spell I just saw an NPC cast/this particular item that seems magical" I can just say "Good question! Give me an Arcana/History/Investigation."
("Okay so also if you look here in my character's backstory I spent three years studying at [such and such relevant place]" "Great! Can I see that sheet? Ok yep, there it is! Roll with advantage." Obviously have your PC's backstories on a reference doc somewhere to prevent convenient backstory-retconning. )
Also differentiating Perception from Investigation is helpful: the difference being that Perception (in my mind) is more passive/in the moment but Investigation (again my opinion) is when you're taking a hard look at a room or object--all that helps INT be more useful.
STR, yea, can't do much there, except it is useful for my players that like to improvise. I'd say that if a DM is flexible and willing, a martial character can get a good bit of versatility in just with using STR to improvise things.
(Obviously though not every DM shares my outlook and not every player is going to pick this stuff up at the beginning so while my solutions work for me and my table they are pretty much a band-aid and don't really address an inherent philosophy issue with WoTC and their attribute system.)
A proper working and improved Homebrew section, so everything can be tweaked / created.
playing since 1986
I agree Dex and Cha are definitely far too good this edition imo. Though Cha only because so many classes need it and it leads to munchkinary.
Pity that the Int warlock didn't stay. I suspect it would have been more balanced than the one we got.
Like many others have said here, smaller modules rather than full campaigns. If they want to release big books then combine several into one book. I really enjoyed Tales From The Yawning Portal and would to see more like that. Although I enjoy creating my own dungeons and encounters the content of that book was easy to drop into my existing home-brewed adventure. I would love to see more of that added.
Explaining Perception and Investigation and their passive varieties properly.
Hmm. A curious question. Every time I think of the one change I could make that would have the most impact, another one even more impactful occurs to me.
Honestly? The one change I think I'd truly make was laying down an imperative on the company to do exactly what it promised it would but then failed to do - introduce optional advanced rulesets beyond the core books for those players who want to engage with the game more effectively. Wizards of the Coast is pathologically terrified of chasing off one single new sale with any degree of depth or engagement in their game, but the simmering resentment many players feel over Wizards assuming them to be absolute simpletons unable to comprehend even the most basic gameplay systems is real and growing.
There are many changes I'd absolutely love to make. Martial Combat Overhaul, retrograde implementation of the Three Action System, implementation from the start of classes being built on a framework of choices rather than an Iron Railroad...but none of them would be as impactful as all of them, and if Wizards hadn't decided to flip the bird finger to experienced gamers or even simply newbies capable of rational human thought with their assumption that we're all too stupid to handle anything more complex than Tactical Tic-Tac-Toe, we'd have them.
So that would be my choice. Enforce Wizards' long-abandoned decree that optional rules modules would be released steadily and thusly allow players to select the level of engagement their table likes best.
Please do not contact or message me.
After buying the "three should haves", I picked that up. I was already familiar with them from previous editions and they came in small enough chunks.
"Sooner or later, your Players are going to smash your railroad into a sandbox."
-Vedexent
"real life is a super high CR."
-OboeLauren
"............anybody got any potatoes? We could drop a potato in each hole an' see which ones get viciously mauled by horrible monsters?"
-Ilyara Thundertale
FYI- This website is not owned by the same company that publishes D&D. We’re discussing the game, not this website.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
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Get rid of cantrips. Magic is rare and mystical again.
Nerf Dex by cutting finesse weapons and having ranged weapons not do +dex damage. Seriously, why is this a thing? Dex is good enough just for AC and ranged attack bonus.
Old-style single dungeon modules.
Warlocks cast using Intelligence.
In the DMG, more focus on dungeon building advice, less focus on world building.
Add a “choose your own adventure” to help new players learn, introducing the mechanics one by one. It was in the original D&D and I don’t know why that ever changed.
Wizard (Gandalf) of the Tolkien Club
More varieties of equipment and things like bucklers and tower shields instead of a simple 'shield' item. More weapons. Reskinning a weapon is nice but it'd be nice for some weapons to have drawbacks and others get quirks for using them.
I kind of agree about cantrips.
I think you'd need to give (a few) more slots to the casters to compensate -- we don't want to go back to the 1e situation where you had full casters who would take 50 actions in a day, 2 of which were spell casting and 48 of which were swinging daggers.
But, I definitely agree that cantrips take a lot of the interest and even some tactics and thought out of the game. For example, Light cantrip = you never have to track torches, oil, lanterns, etc. Now some players don't like doing that accounting but... to me it takes something away when you can just have all the light you want whenever you want it at no cost.
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
The addition of cantrips was one of my favorite changes that came with 5e. If they got chopped, Spellcasters would have to start with 4 1st-level slots and go up from there to compensate. That would likely mean the spells themselves would have to get weaker to compensate for the greater number of castings per day....
I honestly think that it would be better to give non-Warlocks between 1 and 4 “Cantrip Slots” that refreshed on a short rest as a limiting factor, and just let Warlocks stay the way they are. I think that would be better than cutting cantrips entirely.
Oh, and retweaking melee weapons to have a slightly greater range of damage, like capping at 2d8 (instead of 2d6/1d12) would also help 5e.
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
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Hardcovers, DDB & You
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I'd be down with "cantrip slots."
I just think that "at will casting" is too much... Even Champions had Endurance that you had to manage, so although (unless you took the "Limited Uses" limitation, aka "Charges") most powers could theoretically be cast an unlimited # of times... you could not do so back to back in combat. You'd fire that energy blast 3 or 4 times and then your Endurance would run out and you'd start to have to manage your attacks more reasonably, or stop and take a recovery.
WOTC lies. We know that WOTC lies. WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. We know that WOTC knows that we know that WOTC lies. And still they lie.
Because of the above (a paraphrase from Orwell) I no longer post to the forums -- PM me if you need help or anything.
Cantrips as slotted but short rest spells is an interesting idea. Seems like the best of both worlds to me.
Melee combat needs to be as good as ranged combat. There should be more of an incentive to be in melee as there is to stay away from your enemies. Maybe you have two different ACs, one against melee attacks and another against ranged, and the melee one is higher, or there are different types of shields, or melee weapons do significantly more damage than ranged weapons.
Please check out my homebrew, I would appreciate feedback:
Spells, Monsters, Subclasses, Races, Arcknight Class, Occultist Class, World, Enigmatic Esoterica forms
Kind of in line with the suggestion above about minimizing the effectiveness of Dexterity -
You no longer add DEX modifier to ranged weapon damage. Strength mod is added to thrown weapon damage.
All things Lich - DM tips, tricks, and other creative shenanigans
Right. So, if every “Full Caster” got a number of points that scaled 1-20 and refreshed on short rests the same as Ki Points do now. Cantrips that never change in power level would cost 2 points every time. For the cantrips get that boost at 5th, 11th, and 17th levels, base they would cost 1 point, and each boost level would increase that cost and a player could choose how many points to spend on each Cantrip every time they cast it. Even at early levels since lower level PCs would have so few “Endurance Points.”
Creating Epic Boons on DDB
DDB Buyers' Guide
Hardcovers, DDB & You
Content Troubleshooting