D&D 5th Edition

Wizards of the Coast is developing the next edition of D&D, and hopes to unite gamers from all editions. Are we excited about it? Can WotC pull this off?

second post!!!! i coltaine!!!!!!

as for 5th ed, i guess that as long as they dont makei t any more like a wow on paper game then im fine with it

I'm surprised that they're already developing the next D&D system, considering that 4th edition is probably still racking in the money with all the different expansion books.

Personally, one thing that I really do miss from 3rd edition is the multi-classing. Of course it could lead to some broken combinations, but it was definitely something fun to play with. Maybe they'll make something better in the 5th edition.

I'm sure multiclassing will return in 5e; they intend to make 5e very modular, with lots of options that can be either "turned on or off" depending on DM/player tastes. I can't wait to see what they come up with.

It's only in development right? It's not coming out anytime soon?

Also, I hope they bring back the crit and fumble tables

I don't know much about their plans for 5th edition, but it seems like they're going to give back that tremendous amount of options and variety, and if I understood correctly, any 'dumbing-down' of things will be optional.

Maybe the crazy 3.0 wizards and clerics are coming back. Alot more spells to play around with, but possibly more difficult to keep track of with spell books and such.

Can they do it? Of course they can. IMHO there will always be Dungeons and Dragons. It just has to change to keep up with the changing community of MMORPGs, video games in general, and a generation of younger players that constantly seek something new. Every edition has had a shorter and shorter life time. Second edition went, what... 20 years without a redux? 3rd ed. had two different versions, and 4th had a life time of five years. Why a 5th edition so quickly? Simple: Evolve or die.

One of the things I miss about AD&D was how open the system was. The DM had the hardest job in making almost everything from scratch, unless it was a published adventure. However, a few tables, some dice, and a good DM was really all you needed. In 4th ed. the DMs job was made much easier which is why I enjoy playing it now. Hopefully 5th will find a good balance.

Lanatus wrote:

Can they do it? Of course they can. IMHO there will always be Dungeons and Dragons. It just has to change to keep up with the changing community of MMORPGs, video games in general, and a generation of younger players that constantly seek something new. Every edition has had a shorter and shorter life time. Second edition went, what... 20 years without a redux? 3rd ed. had two different versions, and 4th had a life time of five years. Why a 5th edition so quickly? Simple: Evolve or die.

One of the things I miss about AD&D was how open the system was. The DM had the hardest job in making almost everything from scratch, unless it was a published adventure. However, a few tables, some dice, and a good DM was really all you needed. In 4th ed. the DMs job was made much easier which is why I enjoy playing it now. Hopefully 5th will find a good balance.

Words of wisdom.

Ophrys wrote:

I'm surprised that they're already developing the next D&D system, considering that 4th edition is probably still racking in the money with all the different expansion books.

I feel they are producing 5e for the simple reason that 4e created so much controversy in the community of tabletop gamers.

Now I have tried playing Next and it was the most boring thing I ever done while playing D&D. They have created a system were instead of 3-4 bigger monsters you can have 18 monsters in one room with 1 HP. And to be a DM and tracking their movement and initiative and so on was tedious and the players felt like it was just... hack'n'slash. Because f you hit you take one down. And then you try to hit again. And the 1HP monsters are so weak they almost don't do any damage...

I like the system on paper, I really do, but they need to reconsider the fighting sequences of it.

Leffelini wrote:

Now I have tried playing Next and it was the most boring thing I ever done while playing D&D. They have created a system were instead of 3-4 bigger monsters you can have 18 monsters in one room with 1 HP. And to be a DM and tracking their movement and initiative and so on was tedious and the players felt like it was just... hack'n'slash. Because f you hit you take one down. And then you try to hit again. And the 1HP monsters are so weak they almost don't do any damage...

I like the system on paper, I really do, but they need to reconsider the fighting sequences of it.

I haven't seen that specifically in the Next Playtest. But I do agree with you Leffelini, there are aspects to the fighting sequences that could improve (even in the playtest). In 4th Edition Combat had to be slowed way down due to the mechanics and in depth rules, something that would take entire sessions; but the players HAVE to work together to achieve victory. In 3rd Edition it seemed like a lot of combat revolved around the character being optimized to a certain type of combat which could lead to a player or even a monster being nerfed. In 2nd Edition it really was too hack-and-slash ("I attack the troll, okay 5 points of damage, what happens next?").