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Post by SavageCheerleader on Jul 18, 2014 6:05:10 GMT -8
So, I ran the Starter Set last night for a group of six: three halflings, two humans, and one dwarf. The class make up was two Rogues (sneak-knife and scout), cleric, wizard, and fighter. The most fun part was creating the characters, as we went in the order determined by the book: choose race and class first, then roll stats. Next, we randomly determined the background bits after they chose which background they wanted; no one made the obvious meta game choice, which was nice. Everyone liked the surprises that came with the randomness, and many of them provided roleplaying challenges (note, I think this is the purest method of rp, since you are not designing a character, you are being handed a script by Fate...now let's see those creative juices flow).
We played the adventure which is included, and it is actually a well put together hub of activity with many leads and possibilities.
The system plays very cleanly, Inspiration is neat, but most of the group is used to bennies...which was also rough because as written, you can only gain one Insp. and no more.
The bonuses are definitely stacked for the character and derive from who they are, where they come from, and what they want to do rather than coming at them based upon an arbitrary level dump. It seems they are also front-loaded to succeed rather than fail. That seems to be some of the inspiration from Hite and Laws.
Combat was, well, d20. You can church it up all you want, but it still comes down to hit point attrition. We did see one PC knocked out and he came close to actually dying by failing the death save twice. Essentially, there are no penalties in the game, save ability scores affecting saves/skills. Two weapon fighting is not at a penalty, range is not at a negative, etc.
Now, it is laid out to house rule the hell out of it, which I would. It is not bad, they "borrowed" enough features from other systems that you can continue doing so and not feel weird. ADV/DIS is HUGE. That should have been in gaming a long time ago.
Will I run it again? I don't know. Maybe for folks who are curious. I would give it another shot with the house rules I have in mind, to see if I can sexy it up a tad.
Oh, and thank the multiverse feats are optional. Fucking hate those things.
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D.T. Pints
Instigator
JACKERCON 2018: WITH GREAT POWER COMES GREAT RESPONSIBILITY June 22-July 1st
Posts: 2,857
Currently Playing: D&D 5e, Pathfinder, DUNGEONWORLD, Star Wars Edge of the Empire
Currently Running: DUNGEONWORLD, PATHFINDER
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Post by D.T. Pints on Jul 18, 2014 7:12:00 GMT -8
GOOD NEWS! Whaddya think about running it for a younger audience ? Most of the players showing up the the bookstore demo game nights or library demo games are 12-17. Sounds like its pretty easy to grok it. What's your opinion of the starter set as a product ? There are dice included correct ? My wife's bookstore is slow to acquire RPG "accessories" so a total packaged product like Pathfinder Beginner Box is ideal.
Thanks for the review!
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Post by ironnikki on Jul 18, 2014 7:41:25 GMT -8
Powered by the Apocalypse What he said, but to expand: games based on the Apocalypse World engine, i.e: Dungeon World, Monster of the Week, Monsterhearts, etc. Despite perhaps being less clear than just saying "AW-based games," it just feels more exciting to say it that way :-)
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Post by SavageCheerleader on Jul 18, 2014 11:03:06 GMT -8
GOOD NEWS! Whaddya think about running it for a younger audience ? Most of the players showing up the the bookstore demo game nights or library demo games are 12-17. Sounds like its pretty easy to grok it. What's your opinion of the starter set as a product ? There are dice included correct ? My wife's bookstore is slow to acquire RPG "accessories" so a total packaged product like Pathfinder Beginner Box is ideal. Thanks for the review! I think younger folks can easily grab the system, it is very light. If you color code their dice to sheet, so much the better. the Starter Set is a great introductory product to D&D. It comes with pre-gens, and nice campaign setting, and some fun adventures. Dice too, yes. Now, that said, folks do need the free pdf to create their own characters and the Starter Set to have some great monsters. I will ill be doing a more thorough review on my YouTube channel; I will post a link soon. Also, rpgmp3.com now has an actual play up.
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Post by Arcona on Jul 21, 2014 1:40:41 GMT -8
I went through the pdf and liked it.
Its a simple and fast edition. It combines what we loved in D&D and creates a base for oldschool adventures in conjunction with the gameplay of modern RPGs.
Getting a look at the Core Rulebooks and seeing how the creators will 'handle' the choices for customisation (which is a bit lacking in the Basic form), optional rules and potential power creep is the next step.
Overall though I have a positive feeling for it.
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Post by ironnikki on Jul 21, 2014 7:12:00 GMT -8
I played a game over G+ with a buddy who wrote his own adventure for it, so note that this is not the Starter Set. I played a rogue, and we all started at level 1. Here were my feelings:
-Success rolls were intuitive and easy to figure out. It was great not needing to figure out every little modifier to add in.
-Combat felt more dangerous than, say, Pathfinder at level 1. When I was comparing the damage we were doing to the hit points that I had, I quickly realized that it would only take one or two good hits to take me out of commission. This could easily change at higher levels, but I didn't get the chance to experience that.
-Having roleplaying hints displayed as traits, flaws etc. were helpful in reminding me about my character's motivations and such. Because these were pre-generated characters, this was particularly important for me. For example, I snuck into the cellar of a smuggler's den at one point to find a map, and happened across some valuable looking things. However, because I had an ideal that I never take from those in the trade, I chose to leave the shiny things, and just make a crude copy of the map instead of actually taking it with me.
-When I read the advantage mechanics, I thought they were a pretty cool idea and I was excited to give it a try. After actually using them, I absolutely LOVE the simplicity! Gaining advantage is something that will be valuable regardless of level (a +2 bonus quickly loses importance to higher level characters in Pathfinder) and because you can only gain it once, there's no modifier stacking to keep track of. The yes/no inspiration mechanic felt rewarding as well, and I liked being able to give myself advantage when I really needed it.
-Subraces (or whatever they're called) isn't really a new thing, but having those choices helps to differentiate between characters. Backgrounds really help there as well. We had two human fighters, but one had a folk hero background and the other was a noble, which led to very different roleplay between the two. That isn't to say that the two wouldn't have played their characters differently anyway, but it's easy to fall into the trap of describing your character simply by race and class.
Overall, I really enjoyed the game. This is the first version of DnD that I've played that feels like it mostly stayed out of the way and allowed roleplaying to take its natural course. I'm looking forward to the new Player's Handbook more and more!
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daniel
Journeyman Douchebag
Posts: 217
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Post by daniel on Jul 21, 2014 13:23:12 GMT -8
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daniel
Journeyman Douchebag
Posts: 217
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Post by daniel on Jul 21, 2014 15:12:40 GMT -8
Also, Red Dragon and FRICKING advanturers why is that not the cover... WHY! ..*gasps for air* ... ook i am over it now i think
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... FUCKING WHY
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argoyle
Apprentice Douchebag
Posts: 53
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Post by argoyle on Jul 21, 2014 15:28:14 GMT -8
PHB will include- Sorcerer Warlock Bard Paladin Ranger Barbarian Monk Druid as well as the basic 4, along with sub classes for each class, including a wild mage sub class Dragonborn Tiefling Gnome Half-elf Half-orc in addition to human, elf, dwarf and halfling Warforged in DMG (probably at least one other race as well)
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merryprankster
Journeyman Douchebag
Posts: 243
Favorite Species of Monkey: Howler
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Post by merryprankster on Jul 21, 2014 17:45:52 GMT -8
So I made a 5e character last night based on the pdf and I have to say, so far so good. The whole process was fairly streamlined and really seemed to encourage me to create a character rather than look for an optimized build. It all felt really open, which I liked.
I particularly liked the "Background" section. It still leaves the character open to develop during play, but gives a few sentences to help get you started. I also liked that they had tables to roll on for the background stuff in case you were at a loss for ideas. I ended up rolling on these just to see, and I ended up with some great seeds of a personality for my character. Cool stuff.
I should be playing my first session soon, so I can't comment on how the game is in motion, but the rules seem pretty streamlined and seem like they will "get out of the way" nicely.
I definitely got that warm fuzzy feeling of making a proper D&D character that brought back the wonder of being a young nerdling and making D&D characters on the living room floor with the other social misfits.
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Post by rickno7 on Jul 21, 2014 18:16:00 GMT -8
-When I read the advantage mechanics, I thought they were a pretty cool idea and I was excited to give it a try. After actually using them, I absolutely LOVE the simplicity! Gaining advantage is something that will be valuable regardless of level (a +2 bonus quickly loses importance to higher level characters in Pathfinder) You know, I never realized that until now. I looked at Adv/Dis and thought "well that's a cool way to do a re-roll without having a re-roll", and a cool mechanic to have instead of just having +'s or -'s on everything. It never hit me that unlike bonuses, Adv/Dis will never be obsolete. Without adding or subtracting numbers, without changing it at later levels or adding to it as you level, Adv/Dis is just as great/bad at level 1 as it is at level 30. That is a very "elegant" rule, and actually might have given me a bit more respect for the D5D team.
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Post by ironnikki on Jul 22, 2014 6:24:32 GMT -8
I looked at Adv/Dis and thought "well that's a cool way to do a re-roll without having a re-roll", and a cool mechanic to have instead of just having +'s or -'s on everything. It never hit me that unlike bonuses, Adv/Dis will never be obsolete. Without adding or subtracting numbers, without changing it at later levels or adding to it as you level, Adv/Dis is just as great/bad at level 1 as it is at level 30. That is a very "elegant" rule, and actually might have given me a bit more respect for the D5D team. I agree that it is an elegant mechanic. It's extremely basic, which makes it super easy to teach to new players. As SavageCheerleader pointed out previously, it's a little surprising that it hasn't made an appearance earlier given how intuitive it feels.
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argoyle
Apprentice Douchebag
Posts: 53
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Post by argoyle on Jul 25, 2014 18:16:09 GMT -8
Between the reveals they keep releasing, and a certain alpha document out on the super information highway, I've gotten a pretty solid glimpse of the phb, and I'm pleased.
Of the 8 classes not in the basic document- Ranger- lots of bits, but I've never been a big fan of the Ranger anyways, so meh for me; mileage may vary
Paladin- Also lots of bits, but fairly standard. If you're familiar with the paladin, this will be very recognizable. Interesting bit, you don't technically take your oath until 3rd level. So pollute and plunder will impunity during those formative early 2 levels. I would actually sit down with a player and craft a simple code, rather than leaving the code purely up to my own ( the dm's) whims.
Sorcerer- Draconic or Wild Mage "bloodlines". Spell points allow you to cast additional spells, or change various factors of spells you cast.
Monk- Seems very reminiscent of the 1e monk. Your fast, get an unarmored ac bonus, hit the ground really well (your really good at falling). Ki points allow- 2 extra unarmed attacks, a dodge bonus action, or a free disengage jump move. This class and the ranger, are off to a good start, but will definitely benefit from class supplements in the future.
Druid- spell casting, shape changing beast. Like the paladin, no alignment requirement.
Bard- Inspiration, increase to party healing during short rests, probably the most spellcastingest version of the bard yet. However the spells are generally limited to illusions, charms and some utility; very few attack spells. Interesting in the right hands, but like the ranger and monk, will benefit from supplements in the future.
Barbarian- The weakest link. This class really should have been a subclass of the fighter. The Totem Warrior path is somewhat interesting, but overall the barbarian is letdown; at least in the alpha document.
Warlock- see below
Subclasses give a great deal of customization, and seem easy enough to create on your own if one of the provided ones doesn't serve you. Of note are the Eldritch Knight and the Arcane Trickster. They give the fighter and rouge, respectively, the option to become hybrid casters.
Drow included in the phb, confirmed by Mearls. Kender sadly don't appear to be included, but I suspect they might join the Warforged in the DMG.
The Warlock Class- My reactions as I read the class wtf?! what is up with their spell slots? meh, seems kinda funky and weak ooooooooooooooh, awesome.......... maybe too awesome..... I sense teh nerf to the final version
The warlock gets- Cantrips Spell slots, but not in the usual way Invocations
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daniel
Journeyman Douchebag
Posts: 217
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Post by daniel on Jul 26, 2014 13:07:16 GMT -8
Disagree on Barbarian, it looks freaking amazing
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daniel
Journeyman Douchebag
Posts: 217
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Post by daniel on Jul 30, 2014 4:25:09 GMT -8
Nobody posted this yet, i absolutely love the layout. I really have to wounder more and more about the stupid fucking cover art when i see the inside, almost all the art i have seen on the inside pages feels tonally so different
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