FR is sort of the default, but the published stuff ranges. More published on Magic:the Gathering settings, or Critical Role's Exandria or Eberron (which was 3e I think?) than on Greyhawk, but it's still out there.
WotC published content is primarily Forgotten Realms with one Eberron book, a couple of Critical Role books, an Acquisitions Inc book, and three Magic:The Gathering settings books - Theros, Ravnica and Strixhaven. WotC has also published a couple of themed adventure books ... Ghosts of Saltmarsh - sea theme, Tales from the Yawning Portal - dungeon theme. These are actually drawn from adventures that were originally set in Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk (espcially Saltmarsh) and elsewhere.
However, world building material is pretty much version independent so a DM can choose to run an adventure or campaign in whichever setting they prefer. WotC has NOT yet brought out official Dark Sun, Spelljammer, Dragonlance, Greyhawk or Sigil, among others, for 5e (as far as I know).
5e is quite different from AD&D mechanically but overall I think it is better, more playable, while retaining a lot of the same feel as AD&D which I found 4e lacked. If you do decide to pick up/play 5e (and I think it is a good idea :) ) .. don't go into it with preconceived ideas of how it should work and play/run it quite a bit before house ruling things. For example, folks new to running 5e often seem to wonder how paladin smites or rogue sneak attacks (especially on a crit) can possibly be balanced but honestly they work out fine most of the time and work fine for properly built encounters (single powerful opponents can be much easier to take out than groups of less powerful ones due to 5e concepts of bounded accuracy and the action economy - neither of which really existed in AD&D (though there were analogues in some cases.
I havent played since AD&D days. So the new rule set is 5th but is there a new world setting or is it the good ol forgotten realms or greyhawk?
Most of the published 5e modules and content is for Forgotten Realms. Some of the old modules have been converted though and most were really playable in any realm with minor storyline revisions. I am currently playing Against the Giants in a game. I know Tomb of Horrors was redone. White Plume Mountain was also redone. Keep on the Borderlands was updated to 5e. Think Secrets of Saltmarsh was also redone.
I always liked Greyhawk the best, but have come to appreciate Forgotten Realms. My first love will always be the world of Greyhawk though! Welcome back, btw! I'm an older guy too! I didn't play DnD from about 1982, until Oct of 2020! So I took a few years off also! It's still a fun game, but it helps to have a good DM and group! That really makes the game imo! Find a group that you fit in well with and it's a blast! :)
I am reading here and there in the PHB and am curious did i miss something or is there no race/class limitation? Im afraid i would not be a popular DM as i really dont like some of the new races dragonborn half devil thing so would likely not use them. still exploring to see what i might like to do
You mean race level limits? Nope. There are none. I think racial level limits went away in 2nd edition DnD. They really made little sense anyway. A human could be a level 25 magic user, but an elf who lives 1500 years could only get to level 11? Yeah, that stuff is long, long gone.
Do you want to be a caster or martial class? Are you interested in being more of a "tank" i.e. a frontline melee warrior who helps block enemies from attacking your casters and ranged damage dealers? Do you wish to rain fireballs down on your enemies? Shoot them from afar with arrows or bolts? Help bring your down party members back to life and keep them fighting? Lots of ways to play.
Realize that not all races get darkvision (what kind of replaced infravision with the ability to see in darkness). Darkvision can be very useful, although many DMs are not really good at keeping track of who has it and who doesn't.
Most of the current published content is in Forgotten Realms.
IF you are a Greyhawk fan (like me), you can pick up some old Greyhawk stuff in PDF form from DMsguild.
It's not too difficult to adapt the setting. If you use some older modules as reference, well, there have been changes, namely Thaco tables and AC.
Also as a DM you can limit the races and class combos in your world.
At level 3 most characters get their specialty, this gets rid of the need for a lot of multiclassing. IE the old thief/illusionist combo is now the rogue: arcane trickster subclass.
Have fun and welcome back!
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
"An' things ha' come to a pretty pass, ye ken, if people are going to leave stuff like that aroound where innocent people could accidentally smash the door doon and lever the bars aside and take the big chain off'f the cupboard and pick the lock and drink it!"
On 5e's Forgotten Realms setting. Yes, most of the official WotC adventures (which are basically campaign books taking the party from level 1 to 11 or 13 or thereabouts, and come in a hardcover format with the same heft as the rules manuals and expansions) are set in the Forgotten Realms. However, if you were an old school Forgotten Realms lore fiend, you may be a little disappointed with the lack of heavy support the setting gets now in comparison to the 2e days. Almost everything is set on the Sword Coast. One book is set in Chult, and I think Thay is visited or at least mentioned in two of the big campaign books; but otherwise it's basically a stretch from Icewind Dale to Baldur's Gate or thereabouts. That's for the official what I call "tent pole" books they put a lot of effort into promoting. There's a sort of community outlet called DMsGuild which does actually provide supplements similar to the Gazetters of the original FR release etc ... Ed Greenwoods routinely involved in the production of these resources which are available as PDF or print on demand (though if there's any character options of monster options you'd want to implement here on D&D Beyond you'll have to make use of the homebrew tools here).
WotC's official take on Canon is that canon is something that is created and maintained by individual tables, so that's one of the reasons you don't have multiple supplements a year coming out to set the details for specific aspects of a given setting. The current way to do settings is produce a book with enough hooks for a DM and players to flesh out on their own.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
I am reading here and there in the PHB and am curious did i miss something or is there no race/class limitation? Im afraid i would not be a popular DM as i really dont like some of the new races dragonborn half devil thing so would likely not use them. still exploring to see what i might like to do
There is not. Any race can now be any class and there are no level caps anymore. Also, any race can multiclass, but it works differently. You no longer progress in both classes simultaneously. Now You could, for example, start as a level 1 paladin, then at level 2, switch and take a level of warlock, then switch back to paladin. Or not switch back, or stay with warlock for three levels the. Switch back. You can mix and match any combination. The only restriction is ability score minimum.
I am reading here and there in the PHB and am curious did i miss something or is there no race/class limitation? Im afraid i would not be a popular DM as i really dont like some of the new races dragonborn half devil thing so would likely not use them. still exploring to see what i might like to do
If you are coming from AD&D - there are a lot of changes.
- d20 system - no negative ACs - ability checks, saving throws and attack rolls all roll a d20 with modifiers for relevant stat and proficiency in the skill/save/weapon
- there are no race/class limitations - there are no restrictions on multiclassing but there is splitting XP between classes. There is one XP table, when you have enough XP for the next level, choose a class to level up in. This is class, not archetype - for example there is one rogue class but probably 6 or 8 different types of rogues - you can level as any class but have to pick only one sub-class in each.
- there are multiple different types of paladins - lawful stupid is no longer a mandated style of game play. Even devotion paladins (the closest to the classic paladin) are encouraged to regard the world realistically.
- stats are similar - player stats are capped at 20 while creature stats could go to 30 in rare situations (usually a diety/very powerful creature)
- no more +5 weapons and armor - these are capped at +3.
- concept of attunement added. A character can attune to only 3 attunable magic items (not every item requires attunement but most of the more powerful items do). This helps reduce the higher level distortion caused by massive numbers of magic items. It also means the characters have to choose :) which can be fun in itself though older edition players might be a bit frustrated at first.
- multi-classing is simply choose the next class you want to level in. There is typically a minimum stat of 13 for a class you multiclass into or out of - some classes like paladin require 13 strength and 13 charisma but more are a single stat. As long as you satisfy this requirement the character can choose to level in that class.
- stat increases are provided as part of leveling called ASIs - they can be swapped for a feat if the character prefers. Feats are a completely separate topic.
I returned to the game four years back myself from AD&D. Many things have changed. But at its heart, D&D is still D&D.
My son had some buddies that played 4th ed. When he went to college he changed to play 5th ed and was the first DM in their TTRPG Club. I believe he had a ball.
It took me some time to understand how things "work" in the new system. If you can find someone to walk you through it, your reintroduction to the game will be smoother.
Wizards of the Coast has published at least five or six "settings" to play D&D and Forgotten Realms is one of the main ones. They don't really talk about Greyhawk anymore.
To a lot of people, 5th ed is all about playing the modules which are published as books now instead of the pamphlets from back in the day. The old hinky artwork has been brushed aside and amazing artwork is the norm now. All the books are much more professionally done. I still have my original AD&D books and I gave my son the core three books (PHB, MM & DMG) along with the "expansion" books (Mordenkeninens, Volos, Xanathars, and one or two others), but I don't own any of the modules or settings books. I now have my own core three books.
There are no level limits for races. All Classes top out at level 20. I agree that some of the new options are not my cup of tea either. Also, you can multi-class if the DM says you may, and there are no limits on that either, except that your total levels must add up to 20 or less. You advance in any class at the same pace. There are no special XP values for magic users or fighters as there was in the past. Partys advance as a group these days, so every member of the party has the same XP. You can play it the old way where each character has their own number of XP, but nobody does that anymore.
The biggest thing is understanding ability score modifiers and proficiency bonuses. This gives you modifiers on your weapons and skills.
The second thing is to understand the action economy during a turn. During a turn, a player may in any order they choose take a Movement, an Action, a Bonus Action, an Incidental "interact with an object" and may be allowed to use a Reaction before their next turn. To take a Bonus action you must meet requirements that allow the B-A to trigger. To take a Reaction you must meet requirements that allow the Reaction to trigger.
Player Characters advance quickly in this game, not slowly as before. In AD&D the game element that defined the sort of character you became was your special magic items. Now the class itself has a set of advancement skills and techniques that increase the potency of the PC in the game, usually combat focused. The game does not rely so heavily on magic items as it did back in our earlier days. Along with "Class Features", are the Subclass that you select between levels 1 and 3, depending on the class you choose. For example a Cleric selects their subclass at level 1, a paladin selects their "oath" at level 2 and most classes select their subclass at level 3.
Let me know if there is anything I might do to assist.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
I havent played since AD&D days. So the new rule set is 5th but is there a new world setting or is it the good ol forgotten realms or greyhawk?
For the current management of WotC, think back to the time when Gygax, Arneson, Mentzner etc were running the company, where it was by gamers and for gamers. Now think of the satanic panic and how the company became censorious when Lorraine took over TSR, welcome to modern day WotC leadership, that is them the blue haired stuck up fuddies they run and own WotC now. So after the bad, the good is that the ruleset is generally good up to Tasha's, Tasha's is when it starts to move away from the gamers. Be careful when implementing its content. For the most part, the modules are passable up to but not including Descent into Avernus, from that module onwards there was a switch from Mearls to Winninger, who favors roleplay heavy, rule of cool, nothing matters and players shouldn't die its all about the story type of content. Its not great.
My suggestion, look at Goodman Games conversions of older content and take some of the earlier 5E content to get the hang of it. I've had very good results with Goodman Games Keep on the Borderlands, Expedition to Barrier Peaks and Temple of Elemental Evil conversions for my players. From there either make your own modules or convert 1E/2E content to 5E. If you get access to 3/3.5E Monster Manuals they are very easy to convert monsters just add more hitpoints and take away AC from 3/3.5E monsters to fit 5E.
I havent played since AD&D days. So the new rule set is 5th but is there a new world setting or is it the good ol forgotten realms or greyhawk?
For the current management of WotC, think back to the time when Gygax, Arneson, Mentzner etc were running the company, where it was by gamers and for gamers. Now think of the satanic panic and how the company became censorious when Lorraine took over TSR, welcome to modern day WotC leadership, that is them the blue haired stuck up fuddies they run and own WotC now. So after the bad, the good is that the ruleset is generally good up to Tasha's, Tasha's is when it starts to move away from the gamers. Be careful when implementing its content. For the most part, the modules are passable up to but not including Descent into Avernus, from that module onwards there was a switch from Mearls to Winninger, who favors roleplay heavy, rule of cool, nothing matters and players shouldn't die its all about the story type of content. Its not great.
My suggestion, look at Goodman Games conversions of older content and take some of the earlier 5E content to get the hang of it. I've had very good results with Goodman Games Keep on the Borderlands, Expedition to Barrier Peaks and Temple of Elemental Evil conversions for my players. From there either make your own modules or convert 1E/2E content to 5E. If you get access to 3/3.5E Monster Manuals they are very easy to convert monsters just add more hitpoints and take away AC from 3/3.5E monsters to fit 5E.
In my experience, Tasha's is completely fine. It just allows you to change up how racial ability scores are assigned, which wasn't as popular with some more old school gamers, but I think it's kind of a stretch to say that it's a move "away from the gamers." I'm still a gamer, and I like it.
I'm another prodigal child returning to the fold. Last played 1E. Lots of changes in 5E, but I think I can still run my old homebrew world, just update that stats and tweak a few things.
I'm another prodigal child returning to the fold. Last played 1E. Lots of changes in 5E, but I think I can still run my old homebrew world, just update that stats and tweak a few things.
I am sure you can make the crossover to 5e just like myself and so many others. Welcome aboard.
I commend the threads in the Rules and Game Mechanics to you. There you will see there are many ways the game has changed.
But at its heart, D&D is still D&D. Enjoy!
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
To post a comment, please login or register a new account.
I havent played since AD&D days. So the new rule set is 5th but is there a new world setting or is it the good ol forgotten realms or greyhawk?
FR is sort of the default, but the published stuff ranges. More published on Magic:the Gathering settings, or Critical Role's Exandria or Eberron (which was 3e I think?) than on Greyhawk, but it's still out there.
Welcome back!
WotC published content is primarily Forgotten Realms with one Eberron book, a couple of Critical Role books, an Acquisitions Inc book, and three Magic:The Gathering settings books - Theros, Ravnica and Strixhaven. WotC has also published a couple of themed adventure books ... Ghosts of Saltmarsh - sea theme, Tales from the Yawning Portal - dungeon theme. These are actually drawn from adventures that were originally set in Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk (espcially Saltmarsh) and elsewhere.
However, world building material is pretty much version independent so a DM can choose to run an adventure or campaign in whichever setting they prefer. WotC has NOT yet brought out official Dark Sun, Spelljammer, Dragonlance, Greyhawk or Sigil, among others, for 5e (as far as I know).
5e is quite different from AD&D mechanically but overall I think it is better, more playable, while retaining a lot of the same feel as AD&D which I found 4e lacked. If you do decide to pick up/play 5e (and I think it is a good idea :) ) .. don't go into it with preconceived ideas of how it should work and play/run it quite a bit before house ruling things. For example, folks new to running 5e often seem to wonder how paladin smites or rogue sneak attacks (especially on a crit) can possibly be balanced but honestly they work out fine most of the time and work fine for properly built encounters (single powerful opponents can be much easier to take out than groups of less powerful ones due to 5e concepts of bounded accuracy and the action economy - neither of which really existed in AD&D (though there were analogues in some cases.
Most of the published 5e modules and content is for Forgotten Realms. Some of the old modules have been converted though and most were really playable in any realm with minor storyline revisions. I am currently playing Against the Giants in a game. I know Tomb of Horrors was redone. White Plume Mountain was also redone. Keep on the Borderlands was updated to 5e. Think Secrets of Saltmarsh was also redone.
I always liked Greyhawk the best, but have come to appreciate Forgotten Realms. My first love will always be the world of Greyhawk though! Welcome back, btw! I'm an older guy too! I didn't play DnD from about 1982, until Oct of 2020! So I took a few years off also! It's still a fun game, but it helps to have a good DM and group! That really makes the game imo! Find a group that you fit in well with and it's a blast! :)
I am reading here and there in the PHB and am curious did i miss something or is there no race/class limitation? Im afraid i would not be a popular DM as i really dont like some of the new races dragonborn half devil thing so would likely not use them. still exploring to see what i might like to do
You mean race level limits? Nope. There are none. I think racial level limits went away in 2nd edition DnD. They really made little sense anyway. A human could be a level 25 magic user, but an elf who lives 1500 years could only get to level 11? Yeah, that stuff is long, long gone.
Do you want to be a caster or martial class? Are you interested in being more of a "tank" i.e. a frontline melee warrior who helps block enemies from attacking your casters and ranged damage dealers? Do you wish to rain fireballs down on your enemies? Shoot them from afar with arrows or bolts? Help bring your down party members back to life and keep them fighting? Lots of ways to play.
Realize that not all races get darkvision (what kind of replaced infravision with the ability to see in darkness). Darkvision can be very useful, although many DMs are not really good at keeping track of who has it and who doesn't.
Welcome back!
To answer a few questions:
Have fun and welcome back!
"An' things ha' come to a pretty pass, ye ken, if people are going to leave stuff like that aroound where innocent people could accidentally smash the door doon and lever the bars aside and take the big chain off'f the cupboard and pick the lock and drink it!"
On 5e's Forgotten Realms setting. Yes, most of the official WotC adventures (which are basically campaign books taking the party from level 1 to 11 or 13 or thereabouts, and come in a hardcover format with the same heft as the rules manuals and expansions) are set in the Forgotten Realms. However, if you were an old school Forgotten Realms lore fiend, you may be a little disappointed with the lack of heavy support the setting gets now in comparison to the 2e days. Almost everything is set on the Sword Coast. One book is set in Chult, and I think Thay is visited or at least mentioned in two of the big campaign books; but otherwise it's basically a stretch from Icewind Dale to Baldur's Gate or thereabouts. That's for the official what I call "tent pole" books they put a lot of effort into promoting. There's a sort of community outlet called DMsGuild which does actually provide supplements similar to the Gazetters of the original FR release etc ... Ed Greenwoods routinely involved in the production of these resources which are available as PDF or print on demand (though if there's any character options of monster options you'd want to implement here on D&D Beyond you'll have to make use of the homebrew tools here).
WotC's official take on Canon is that canon is something that is created and maintained by individual tables, so that's one of the reasons you don't have multiple supplements a year coming out to set the details for specific aspects of a given setting. The current way to do settings is produce a book with enough hooks for a DM and players to flesh out on their own.
Jander Sunstar is the thinking person's Drizzt, fight me.
There is not. Any race can now be any class and there are no level caps anymore.
Also, any race can multiclass, but it works differently. You no longer progress in both classes simultaneously. Now You could, for example, start as a level 1 paladin, then at level 2, switch and take a level of warlock, then switch back to paladin. Or not switch back, or stay with warlock for three levels the. Switch back. You can mix and match any combination. The only restriction is ability score minimum.
If you are coming from AD&D - there are a lot of changes.
- d20 system - no negative ACs - ability checks, saving throws and attack rolls all roll a d20 with modifiers for relevant stat and proficiency in the skill/save/weapon
- there are no race/class limitations - there are no restrictions on multiclassing but there is splitting XP between classes. There is one XP table, when you have enough XP for the next level, choose a class to level up in. This is class, not archetype - for example there is one rogue class but probably 6 or 8 different types of rogues - you can level as any class but have to pick only one sub-class in each.
- there are multiple different types of paladins - lawful stupid is no longer a mandated style of game play. Even devotion paladins (the closest to the classic paladin) are encouraged to regard the world realistically.
- stats are similar - player stats are capped at 20 while creature stats could go to 30 in rare situations (usually a diety/very powerful creature)
- no more +5 weapons and armor - these are capped at +3.
- concept of attunement added. A character can attune to only 3 attunable magic items (not every item requires attunement but most of the more powerful items do). This helps reduce the higher level distortion caused by massive numbers of magic items. It also means the characters have to choose :) which can be fun in itself though older edition players might be a bit frustrated at first.
- multi-classing is simply choose the next class you want to level in. There is typically a minimum stat of 13 for a class you multiclass into or out of - some classes like paladin require 13 strength and 13 charisma but more are a single stat. As long as you satisfy this requirement the character can choose to level in that class.
- stat increases are provided as part of leveling called ASIs - they can be swapped for a feat if the character prefers. Feats are a completely separate topic.
I returned to the game four years back myself from AD&D. Many things have changed. But at its heart, D&D is still D&D.
My son had some buddies that played 4th ed. When he went to college he changed to play 5th ed and was the first DM in their TTRPG Club. I believe he had a ball.
It took me some time to understand how things "work" in the new system. If you can find someone to walk you through it, your reintroduction to the game will be smoother.
Wizards of the Coast has published at least five or six "settings" to play D&D and Forgotten Realms is one of the main ones. They don't really talk about Greyhawk anymore.
To a lot of people, 5th ed is all about playing the modules which are published as books now instead of the pamphlets from back in the day. The old hinky artwork has been brushed aside and amazing artwork is the norm now. All the books are much more professionally done. I still have my original AD&D books and I gave my son the core three books (PHB, MM & DMG) along with the "expansion" books (Mordenkeninens, Volos, Xanathars, and one or two others), but I don't own any of the modules or settings books. I now have my own core three books.
There are no level limits for races. All Classes top out at level 20. I agree that some of the new options are not my cup of tea either. Also, you can multi-class if the DM says you may, and there are no limits on that either, except that your total levels must add up to 20 or less. You advance in any class at the same pace. There are no special XP values for magic users or fighters as there was in the past. Partys advance as a group these days, so every member of the party has the same XP. You can play it the old way where each character has their own number of XP, but nobody does that anymore.
The biggest thing is understanding ability score modifiers and proficiency bonuses. This gives you modifiers on your weapons and skills.
The second thing is to understand the action economy during a turn. During a turn, a player may in any order they choose take a Movement, an Action, a Bonus Action, an Incidental "interact with an object" and may be allowed to use a Reaction before their next turn. To take a Bonus action you must meet requirements that allow the B-A to trigger. To take a Reaction you must meet requirements that allow the Reaction to trigger.
Player Characters advance quickly in this game, not slowly as before. In AD&D the game element that defined the sort of character you became was your special magic items. Now the class itself has a set of advancement skills and techniques that increase the potency of the PC in the game, usually combat focused. The game does not rely so heavily on magic items as it did back in our earlier days. Along with "Class Features", are the Subclass that you select between levels 1 and 3, depending on the class you choose. For example a Cleric selects their subclass at level 1, a paladin selects their "oath" at level 2 and most classes select their subclass at level 3.
Let me know if there is anything I might do to assist.
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt
For the current management of WotC, think back to the time when Gygax, Arneson, Mentzner etc were running the company, where it was by gamers and for gamers. Now think of the satanic panic and how the company became censorious when Lorraine took over TSR, welcome to modern day WotC leadership, that is them the blue haired stuck up fuddies they run and own WotC now. So after the bad, the good is that the ruleset is generally good up to Tasha's, Tasha's is when it starts to move away from the gamers. Be careful when implementing its content. For the most part, the modules are passable up to but not including Descent into Avernus, from that module onwards there was a switch from Mearls to Winninger, who favors roleplay heavy, rule of cool, nothing matters and players shouldn't die its all about the story type of content. Its not great.
My suggestion, look at Goodman Games conversions of older content and take some of the earlier 5E content to get the hang of it. I've had very good results with Goodman Games Keep on the Borderlands, Expedition to Barrier Peaks and Temple of Elemental Evil conversions for my players. From there either make your own modules or convert 1E/2E content to 5E. If you get access to 3/3.5E Monster Manuals they are very easy to convert monsters just add more hitpoints and take away AC from 3/3.5E monsters to fit 5E.
In my experience, Tasha's is completely fine. It just allows you to change up how racial ability scores are assigned, which wasn't as popular with some more old school gamers, but I think it's kind of a stretch to say that it's a move "away from the gamers." I'm still a gamer, and I like it.
I'm another prodigal child returning to the fold. Last played 1E. Lots of changes in 5E, but I think I can still run my old homebrew world, just update that stats and tweak a few things.
I am sure you can make the crossover to 5e just like myself and so many others. Welcome aboard.
I commend the threads in the Rules and Game Mechanics to you. There you will see there are many ways the game has changed.
But at its heart, D&D is still D&D. Enjoy!
Cum catapultae proscriptae erunt tum soli proscript catapultas habebunt