Hi, I'm a long-lapsed player and DM returning to D&D. 3.5 had just about landed when our group finished and we'd played it a bit, so it's obviously a fair jump with a bunch of changes (but still a lot of familiarity) to 5E for which I've got the shiny new books. I've gone through the PHB and I think I've got things straight, but I wanted to check that I'd got a few things right, esp ones that are bigger departures from 2E and 3E. A lot of these are real basics, so sorry as I'm sure that they're all spelled out in black&white in the book, but for my own peace-of-mind I wanted to make sure I'd got them right.
Race/class combos - anything goes, now, there's no restrictions but obvs some races are naturally more inclined to be more adept at certain classes?
There's no concept of "strict class weapons" any more, e.g. previously mages were restricted to dagger, staff, dart, and a couple more, but now if you are race that gets a weapon proficiency then you can also that. So a wizard gets daggers, darts, slings, quarterstaff, light crossbow, then they could also wield (amongst others) a warhammer if they were a dwarf, or if they were a high elf they could use a bunch of bows and a longsword. Correct? And for clerics the old "bludgeoning weaons only" restriction no longer exists, so our dwarven cleric could use a battleaxe and any cleric can use a spear as it's a basic weapon? And by "wield" I mean attack with and add their proficiency bonus - anyone can use any weapon, but they won't get the addition of their proficiency bonus, so a wizard could wave around a 2 handed sword, but unless they have a high strength then they're not so likely to hit with it, yes?
Assuming anyone can use any weapon, weapon properties don't require proficiency to gain the benefits of them, do they? So if our 1st level wizard had an 18 dex they could use a rapier and use its finess property to gain +4 to hit and damage, they just wouldn't get their +2 proficiency bonus. So actually better than their proficiency weapons for many levels, if they actually get their hands dirty in melee and they have that high dex.
Similarly with armour, if the race (e.g. mountain dwarf) gets an armour proficency you can wear, and cast spells in normally, armour - there isn't the old "armour interferes with the flow of magic" mechanism that meant older edition mages couldn't wander about in chainmail and still cast spells. It's all about the proficiencies, now, yes? So a mountain dwarf wizard that gets light and medium armour proficiencies from their race could wear a chain shirt and still cast Melf's Minute Meteors? And, potentially, if the optional feat substitution rules are used then the character could sacrifice a stat improvement level advancement bonus to get the Heavily Armoured feat, because they already have the medium armour racial proficiency prerequisite, to create the proverbial "tank mage" and could wander about in full plate casting fireballs. In fact any 12th level mage could do this if they sacrificed all 3 stat improvments from 4th, 8th, and 12th level advancements to get Lightly Armoured -> Moderately Armoured -> Heavy Armoured talents?
As a side-question to this, I notice the cleric initial trappings includes "chain mail (if proficient)" - I had a look through all the races and I couldn't see any that get chain mail or heavy armour as a base proficiency, nor any background that gives this. How could a 1st level character get heavy armour proficiency outside of the proficiencies granted by their class? I assume there must be a fairly common way for it to be mentioned in the initial trappings list for clerics, but I can't see anything so I thought I'd check I hadn't missed something important or core.
I think that covers my main queries on the first rules-pass - thanks
Yes, any race/class combos go. As far as some races being better at some classes. The new model (since the supplement Tasha's Cauldron of Everything) is to remove species-specific ability score boosts and say a character can put their +2/1, or 1/1/1 anywhere they like. This is a bit controversial, and some people like to stick with the old species-specific way. However, some new species don't actually even have it as an option.
Weapons are generally martial or simple. There are no specific restrictions for which class can use which kind. In general, all classes are proficient in simple weapons, and only some in martial, and then there are some, I think, that get simple plus one or two specific martial weapons. Otherwise, yes, you seem to have a good handle on how things are working. In the case of that wizard, it is important to remember there are cantrips -- 0-level spells -- which the wizard will have access to. These are spells they can cast all day long without using a spell slot. So while, yes, the wizard would be able to use that rapier, they're going to be far better off using shocking grasp.
Also, the odds of a wizard with an 18 dex are pretty slim. I know the official method calls for rolling for stats (which is my preferred method, actually), and that can make anything possible. But most tables now seem to favor array or point buy, where you'd be unlikely to have an 18 in anything beyond your primary stat, if you even get one in your primary stat.
And, yes, there are no longer restrictions about casting in armor. If you are proficient, you can cast while wearing the armor. Yes, a mage could sacrifice their feats to get all armored up. But it would be a big sacrifice. the game math assumes increasing ability scores in a classes main score. so the wizard will have a lower int that expected, and therefore its spells won't work as well. The math in this edition is much tighter; every +1 matters more than it had in the past. So losing out on those int bumps will be a stiff penalty, particularly when you factor in the score generation most people now use..
Some clerics get heavy armor proficiency from their subclass (divine domain)
There's also new "optional" rules mostly from Tasha's Guide to Everything that allow you to completely customise races and backgrounds so you can play as a Goblin, for instance, that happens to have +2 in Intelligence and a starting feat, etc.
It's good for DMs who want to get away from players choosing the same typical races for the same classes and see some newer and interesting race/class combinations
Correct on the weapon and armor proficiency. Its vastly simplified to mostly weapon categories with a few instances of specific weapons or armor mentioned or races having a starting proficiency in certain weapons or armor. Generally if you're wielding a weapon or wearing armor you're not proficient in it'll prevent use of proficiency bonuses to attacks or give you disadvantage on a number of things or might prevent prevent spellcasters from casting.
Proficiency Bonus. You add your proficiency bonus to your attack roll when you attack using a weapon with which you have proficiency, as well as when you attack with a spell.
Armor Proficiency. Anyone can put on a suit of armor or strap a shield to an arm. Only those proficient in the armor's use know how to wear it effectively, however. Your class gives you proficiency with certain types of armor. If you wear armor that you lack proficiency with, you have disadvantage on any ability check, saving throw, or attack roll that involves Strength or Dexterity, and you can't cast spells.
So L1 wizard with 18 Dex using a rapier they're not proficient in would get 1d20 +4 (Dex) A L1 character with 18 Dex using a rapier they ARE proficient in would get 1d20 +4(Dex) +2 (proficiency)
You can also take a 1st level in a class that grants heavy armor or the heavy armor feat using the optional rules to get heavy armor right out of the gate for a dwarf. Many campaigns also start characters at levels higher than 1st, so in these cases the chain mail might be useful starting equipment on a cleric who has already started at 2nd level or higher and has proficiency in heavy armor from a feat, class/subclass feature or multi-class level.
However, proficiency with weapons matters. It starts off as a 10% better chance to hit with a +2 but goes up with character level. +3 at level 5, +4 at level 9 ... whereas stats will reach a cap of 20 which provides a +5 bonus. Proficiency maxes out at +6.
You are correct, a wizard with an 18 dex using a finesse weapon without proficiency would have a +4 to hit and damage. Another character with proficiency in a finesse weapon and 14 dex would have +4 to hit and +2 damage. However, a 14 dex character would likely have another stat like int/wis/cha as their primary stat and have the 14 dex mostly to get the maximum +2 dex bonus to AC when wearing medium armor.
Certain cleric domains start with the ability to use heavy armor - Life, Nature, War etc which is why chain mail is a heavy armor option for characters from these cleric domains.
Some other characteristics of 5e to be aware of ...
Casters have cantrips and these all scale with character level by tier. For example, a wizard can use their action to cast the firebolt cantrip (cantrips are spells that do not require the use of spell slots and can be cast "at-will" using their action) to make a ranged spell attack, this does d10 initially, 2d10 at level 5, 3d10 at level 11 and 4d10 at level 17. Using firebolt will typically be better for the wizard with 18 dex than using a long bow for one attack by the time they hit level 5.
If you use the optional multiclassing rules - characters can take a level in any class when they level up. They will gain some advantages while delaying progress in their other class. For example a level 1 cleric/level 4 wizard will be able to use medium or heavy armor (depending on the cleric domain) and a shield but as a level 5 character they will not have any level 3 spells while a single classed level 5 cleric or level 5 wizard would have level 3 spells which is a significant increase in character ability. So, multiclassing always has trade offs.
One other aspect to keep in mind is that there is little or nothing in 5e that is even as remotely broken as in earlier versions of the game. In the context of 5e, character abilities like paladin smite, rogue sneak attack, even the moon druid wild shapes (except perhaps at level 2 - though I have personally never found that an issue - characters don't spend that long at level 2) are not overpowered - though coming from other versions of the game it can be a shock looking at how many dice a rogue or paladin can roll for damage on a critical hit.
My main advice to folks picking up 5e for the first time is to spend at least several months playing the game strictly RAW before trying to introduce any house rules. Personally, I haven't found any house rules to be necessary to run a fun, balanced game though I only use the core books for character creation - PHB, Xanathar's Guide to Everything, Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, and Mordenkainen's Monsters of the Multiverse for a wider range of race options. I don't use the Magic the Gathering spin off books like Theros or Strixhaven since some of the content and spells isn't that well balanced with the content in the core books though it works fine when played in those specific settings.
Thank you all ever so much for the responses, it was nice to see that I was pretty much on the right track. I did use extreme examples for some bits, esp the wizard rapier bit, to emphasise points, esp as it would be unlikely that a wizard would have 18 dex - but, hey, players are weird, hahaha. And for that model I was more comparing a L1 wizard with proficiency and a staff, with the lower strength, vs lack of proficiency with the rapier, but being able to use dex
On the cleric armour thing, that useful to know - I hadn't looked to deeply into the different domains, and I must have missed that - I more concentrated on the one the pregen we're running the system out with had.
And wow, I hadn't realised that they'd upgraded cantrips by that much - our current characters are a warrior and a cleric but I mainly looked at the "full fat" cleric spells to help the character choose them. I'll have a good nose at the cantrips.
And yeah, we won't be worrying about multi-classing, and the like, for a bit, yet - I'll have a look at getting some of the supplements, I think, to see what other interesting little additions there are
But yeah, in general I'm liking the changes, esp the streamlining and being able to give the players more flexibility and agency in their character's direction
Hi, I'm a long-lapsed player and DM returning to D&D. 3.5 had just about landed when our group finished and we'd played it a bit, so it's obviously a fair jump with a bunch of changes (but still a lot of familiarity) to 5E for which I've got the shiny new books. I've gone through the PHB and I think I've got things straight, but I wanted to check that I'd got a few things right, esp ones that are bigger departures from 2E and 3E. A lot of these are real basics, so sorry as I'm sure that they're all spelled out in black&white in the book, but for my own peace-of-mind I wanted to make sure I'd got them right.
Race/class combos - anything goes, now, there's no restrictions but obvs some races are naturally more inclined to be more adept at certain classes?
There's no concept of "strict class weapons" any more, e.g. previously mages were restricted to dagger, staff, dart, and a couple more, but now if you are race that gets a weapon proficiency then you can also that. So a wizard gets daggers, darts, slings, quarterstaff, light crossbow, then they could also wield (amongst others) a warhammer if they were a dwarf, or if they were a high elf they could use a bunch of bows and a longsword. Correct? And for clerics the old "bludgeoning weaons only" restriction no longer exists, so our dwarven cleric could use a battleaxe and any cleric can use a spear as it's a basic weapon? And by "wield" I mean attack with and add their proficiency bonus - anyone can use any weapon, but they won't get the addition of their proficiency bonus, so a wizard could wave around a 2 handed sword, but unless they have a high strength then they're not so likely to hit with it, yes?
Assuming anyone can use any weapon, weapon properties don't require proficiency to gain the benefits of them, do they? So if our 1st level wizard had an 18 dex they could use a rapier and use its finess property to gain +4 to hit and damage, they just wouldn't get their +2 proficiency bonus. So actually better than their proficiency weapons for many levels, if they actually get their hands dirty in melee and they have that high dex.
Similarly with armour, if the race (e.g. mountain dwarf) gets an armour proficency you can wear, and cast spells in normally, armour - there isn't the old "armour interferes with the flow of magic" mechanism that meant older edition mages couldn't wander about in chainmail and still cast spells. It's all about the proficiencies, now, yes? So a mountain dwarf wizard that gets light and medium armour proficiencies from their race could wear a chain shirt and still cast Melf's Minute Meteors? And, potentially, if the optional feat substitution rules are used then the character could sacrifice a stat improvement level advancement bonus to get the Heavily Armoured feat, because they already have the medium armour racial proficiency prerequisite, to create the proverbial "tank mage" and could wander about in full plate casting fireballs. In fact any 12th level mage could do this if they sacrificed all 3 stat improvments from 4th, 8th, and 12th level advancements to get Lightly Armoured -> Moderately Armoured -> Heavy Armoured talents?
As a side-question to this, I notice the cleric initial trappings includes "chain mail (if proficient)" - I had a look through all the races and I couldn't see any that get chain mail or heavy armour as a base proficiency, nor any background that gives this. How could a 1st level character get heavy armour proficiency outside of the proficiencies granted by their class? I assume there must be a fairly common way for it to be mentioned in the initial trappings list for clerics, but I can't see anything so I thought I'd check I hadn't missed something important or core.
I think that covers my main queries on the first rules-pass - thanks
Yes, any race/class combos go. As far as some races being better at some classes. The new model (since the supplement Tasha's Cauldron of Everything) is to remove species-specific ability score boosts and say a character can put their +2/1, or 1/1/1 anywhere they like. This is a bit controversial, and some people like to stick with the old species-specific way. However, some new species don't actually even have it as an option.
Weapons are generally martial or simple. There are no specific restrictions for which class can use which kind. In general, all classes are proficient in simple weapons, and only some in martial, and then there are some, I think, that get simple plus one or two specific martial weapons. Otherwise, yes, you seem to have a good handle on how things are working. In the case of that wizard, it is important to remember there are cantrips -- 0-level spells -- which the wizard will have access to. These are spells they can cast all day long without using a spell slot. So while, yes, the wizard would be able to use that rapier, they're going to be far better off using shocking grasp.
Also, the odds of a wizard with an 18 dex are pretty slim. I know the official method calls for rolling for stats (which is my preferred method, actually), and that can make anything possible. But most tables now seem to favor array or point buy, where you'd be unlikely to have an 18 in anything beyond your primary stat, if you even get one in your primary stat.
And, yes, there are no longer restrictions about casting in armor. If you are proficient, you can cast while wearing the armor. Yes, a mage could sacrifice their feats to get all armored up. But it would be a big sacrifice. the game math assumes increasing ability scores in a classes main score. so the wizard will have a lower int that expected, and therefore its spells won't work as well. The math in this edition is much tighter; every +1 matters more than it had in the past. So losing out on those int bumps will be a stiff penalty, particularly when you factor in the score generation most people now use..
Some clerics get heavy armor proficiency from their subclass (divine domain)
There's also new "optional" rules mostly from Tasha's Guide to Everything that allow you to completely customise races and backgrounds so you can play as a Goblin, for instance, that happens to have +2 in Intelligence and a starting feat, etc.
It's good for DMs who want to get away from players choosing the same typical races for the same classes and see some newer and interesting race/class combinations
Correct on the weapon and armor proficiency. Its vastly simplified to mostly weapon categories with a few instances of specific weapons or armor mentioned or races having a starting proficiency in certain weapons or armor. Generally if you're wielding a weapon or wearing armor you're not proficient in it'll prevent use of proficiency bonuses to attacks or give you disadvantage on a number of things or might prevent prevent spellcasters from casting.
Proficiency Bonus. You add your proficiency bonus to your attack roll when you attack using a weapon with which you have proficiency, as well as when you attack with a spell.
Armor Proficiency. Anyone can put on a suit of armor or strap a shield to an arm. Only those proficient in the armor's use know how to wear it effectively, however.
Your class gives you proficiency with certain types of armor. If you wear armor that you lack proficiency with, you have disadvantage on any ability check, saving throw, or attack roll that involves Strength or Dexterity, and you can't cast spells.
So L1 wizard with 18 Dex using a rapier they're not proficient in would get 1d20 +4 (Dex)
A L1 character with 18 Dex using a rapier they ARE proficient in would get 1d20 +4(Dex) +2 (proficiency)
You can also take a 1st level in a class that grants heavy armor or the heavy armor feat using the optional rules to get heavy armor right out of the gate for a dwarf. Many campaigns also start characters at levels higher than 1st, so in these cases the chain mail might be useful starting equipment on a cleric who has already started at 2nd level or higher and has proficiency in heavy armor from a feat, class/subclass feature or multi-class level.
Basically all correct as far as I can tell.
However, proficiency with weapons matters. It starts off as a 10% better chance to hit with a +2 but goes up with character level. +3 at level 5, +4 at level 9 ... whereas stats will reach a cap of 20 which provides a +5 bonus. Proficiency maxes out at +6.
You are correct, a wizard with an 18 dex using a finesse weapon without proficiency would have a +4 to hit and damage. Another character with proficiency in a finesse weapon and 14 dex would have +4 to hit and +2 damage. However, a 14 dex character would likely have another stat like int/wis/cha as their primary stat and have the 14 dex mostly to get the maximum +2 dex bonus to AC when wearing medium armor.
Certain cleric domains start with the ability to use heavy armor - Life, Nature, War etc which is why chain mail is a heavy armor option for characters from these cleric domains.
Some other characteristics of 5e to be aware of ...
Casters have cantrips and these all scale with character level by tier. For example, a wizard can use their action to cast the firebolt cantrip (cantrips are spells that do not require the use of spell slots and can be cast "at-will" using their action) to make a ranged spell attack, this does d10 initially, 2d10 at level 5, 3d10 at level 11 and 4d10 at level 17. Using firebolt will typically be better for the wizard with 18 dex than using a long bow for one attack by the time they hit level 5.
If you use the optional multiclassing rules - characters can take a level in any class when they level up. They will gain some advantages while delaying progress in their other class. For example a level 1 cleric/level 4 wizard will be able to use medium or heavy armor (depending on the cleric domain) and a shield but as a level 5 character they will not have any level 3 spells while a single classed level 5 cleric or level 5 wizard would have level 3 spells which is a significant increase in character ability. So, multiclassing always has trade offs.
One other aspect to keep in mind is that there is little or nothing in 5e that is even as remotely broken as in earlier versions of the game. In the context of 5e, character abilities like paladin smite, rogue sneak attack, even the moon druid wild shapes (except perhaps at level 2 - though I have personally never found that an issue - characters don't spend that long at level 2) are not overpowered - though coming from other versions of the game it can be a shock looking at how many dice a rogue or paladin can roll for damage on a critical hit.
My main advice to folks picking up 5e for the first time is to spend at least several months playing the game strictly RAW before trying to introduce any house rules. Personally, I haven't found any house rules to be necessary to run a fun, balanced game though I only use the core books for character creation - PHB, Xanathar's Guide to Everything, Tasha's Cauldron of Everything, and Mordenkainen's Monsters of the Multiverse for a wider range of race options. I don't use the Magic the Gathering spin off books like Theros or Strixhaven since some of the content and spells isn't that well balanced with the content in the core books though it works fine when played in those specific settings.
Thank you all ever so much for the responses, it was nice to see that I was pretty much on the right track. I did use extreme examples for some bits, esp the wizard rapier bit, to emphasise points, esp as it would be unlikely that a wizard would have 18 dex - but, hey, players are weird, hahaha. And for that model I was more comparing a L1 wizard with proficiency and a staff, with the lower strength, vs lack of proficiency with the rapier, but being able to use dex
On the cleric armour thing, that useful to know - I hadn't looked to deeply into the different domains, and I must have missed that - I more concentrated on the one the pregen we're running the system out with had.
And wow, I hadn't realised that they'd upgraded cantrips by that much - our current characters are a warrior and a cleric but I mainly looked at the "full fat" cleric spells to help the character choose them. I'll have a good nose at the cantrips.
And yeah, we won't be worrying about multi-classing, and the like, for a bit, yet - I'll have a look at getting some of the supplements, I think, to see what other interesting little additions there are
But yeah, in general I'm liking the changes, esp the streamlining and being able to give the players more flexibility and agency in their character's direction