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Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition First Impressions
11 years ago
First, let me get a few confessions out of the way. I have never played a pen and paper RPG. I have a few of them and I've seen streams and recordings of quite a few sessions but I've never had a chance to take part in an actual game. Secondly, my initial exposure to D&D and roleplaying in general came about when 4th Edition released the Essentials line. So even in terms of D&D my knowledge is fairly limited and even after lots of reading a lot of things about the game and mechanics still go over my head. That being said I still have enough understanding of the game to be able to give my impressions of the latest edition being rolled out by Wizards of the Coast.
In addition to a new starter set (which is sadly pretty bare bones from what I've seen) WotC has released two free PDF files for the new edition. One is an overview of the game; covering character creation, the basic rules and mechanics and a list of spells and rituals, and the other is a Game Master guide. For a simple introduction the character creation section is quite impressive but at the same time very limited, encouraging readers to pick up the new Players Handbook for more options. It gives you the profiles of the 4 classic fantasy races; Dwarves, Elves, Halflings and Humans, and the 4 classic D&D classes; Fighter, Rogue, Wizard and Cleric. However the big change here is that you're actually creating a character, rather than just a set of skills and abilities. In addition to Race and Class you're given several options for your characters background and history and even a few tables to roll for personality traits and flaws. 5th Edition seems to be going back to it's more traditional roleplaying roots rather than the focus on combat that 4th Edition had. My personal favorite is the Trinkets, a small item your character receives that can range from a diary in a foreign language to a mummified hand. These present all sorts of inspiration for stories and adventure hooks that the players or DM can use. While the PDF only gives each class a few options, Fighters can only be Champions and Rogues can only be Theives for example, these new additions give you a wealth of freedom in creating just about any kind of adventurer you want. And you're given enough information to raise your characters all the way to Level 20.
Combat appears to be much the same as most RPGs, Initiative rolls, cover etc. However, the system has moved away from the almost video game like stats of 4e and back to the more classic version of 3.5e/Pathfinder. Characters have much less hit points than in 4e as well. The example Fighter they give us gets only 13 points at 1st level, less than the average 1st level Wizard in 4e. This will make combat much more decisive and tense since only a few hits can cause crippling damage to your character. Spells have their own rules once more, rather than just being abilities Mages or Clerics can use. The extensive spell list then give you details each spell's requirements and/or componets to cast then as well as the time needed to cast them. Just like in the past, Wizards will start off very weak and only able to cast a few powerful spells. However, as they progress they'll gain access to truely devastating power.
The Game Master guide contains a very nice Beastiary with a wide array of monsters and creatures to fill out encounters along with a guide for creating NPCs, bandits and the like. In addition it also contains the standard rules for building and running encounters, tables for awarding XP and a section on magic items. There's nothing on creating adventures, building dungeons or any sort of starting adventure for the players. This is to be expected as these PDFs are only a small sample, meant as an introduction to D&D for new players and a taste of the new edition for veterans. No doubt a lot more is coming as the files are still being updated with new content.
To sum up 5th Edition looks like a step back towards D&D's classic roots, something I've always wanted to give a proper look. For new players who are interested in D&D give these two files a looks. For a pair of free files Wizards of the Coast gave us more than enough content to play around with and for newcomers to get their feet wet.
http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/fea.....dnd/basicrules
In addition to a new starter set (which is sadly pretty bare bones from what I've seen) WotC has released two free PDF files for the new edition. One is an overview of the game; covering character creation, the basic rules and mechanics and a list of spells and rituals, and the other is a Game Master guide. For a simple introduction the character creation section is quite impressive but at the same time very limited, encouraging readers to pick up the new Players Handbook for more options. It gives you the profiles of the 4 classic fantasy races; Dwarves, Elves, Halflings and Humans, and the 4 classic D&D classes; Fighter, Rogue, Wizard and Cleric. However the big change here is that you're actually creating a character, rather than just a set of skills and abilities. In addition to Race and Class you're given several options for your characters background and history and even a few tables to roll for personality traits and flaws. 5th Edition seems to be going back to it's more traditional roleplaying roots rather than the focus on combat that 4th Edition had. My personal favorite is the Trinkets, a small item your character receives that can range from a diary in a foreign language to a mummified hand. These present all sorts of inspiration for stories and adventure hooks that the players or DM can use. While the PDF only gives each class a few options, Fighters can only be Champions and Rogues can only be Theives for example, these new additions give you a wealth of freedom in creating just about any kind of adventurer you want. And you're given enough information to raise your characters all the way to Level 20.
Combat appears to be much the same as most RPGs, Initiative rolls, cover etc. However, the system has moved away from the almost video game like stats of 4e and back to the more classic version of 3.5e/Pathfinder. Characters have much less hit points than in 4e as well. The example Fighter they give us gets only 13 points at 1st level, less than the average 1st level Wizard in 4e. This will make combat much more decisive and tense since only a few hits can cause crippling damage to your character. Spells have their own rules once more, rather than just being abilities Mages or Clerics can use. The extensive spell list then give you details each spell's requirements and/or componets to cast then as well as the time needed to cast them. Just like in the past, Wizards will start off very weak and only able to cast a few powerful spells. However, as they progress they'll gain access to truely devastating power.
The Game Master guide contains a very nice Beastiary with a wide array of monsters and creatures to fill out encounters along with a guide for creating NPCs, bandits and the like. In addition it also contains the standard rules for building and running encounters, tables for awarding XP and a section on magic items. There's nothing on creating adventures, building dungeons or any sort of starting adventure for the players. This is to be expected as these PDFs are only a small sample, meant as an introduction to D&D for new players and a taste of the new edition for veterans. No doubt a lot more is coming as the files are still being updated with new content.
To sum up 5th Edition looks like a step back towards D&D's classic roots, something I've always wanted to give a proper look. For new players who are interested in D&D give these two files a looks. For a pair of free files Wizards of the Coast gave us more than enough content to play around with and for newcomers to get their feet wet.
http://dnd.wizards.com/articles/fea.....dnd/basicrules
