D&D 5e

Well, D&D 5e is out. The basic rules as well as a starter box. Necromancer Games is already jumping in and trying to get three books out before the core books and other publishers do the same. Monsters, spells, and adventures. Apparently the legality is being kept hush hush and we have no certainty what WOTC will do as far as licensing yet.

The new version of the Eldritch RPG is in process. A reprint of the 1e Metamorphosis Alpha game is incoming. Castles & Crusades has undergone a major reprint and should be out by the Winter.

Eldritch fills it's own niche and is a discussion unto itself. MA is a classic. C&C however is essentially what D&D 5e is trying to emulate. They exist as the same style of gameplay with slightly different tweaks. C&C has it's hardcore fans (many of whom were brought there by E. Gary Gygax) but D&D is the mainstream title. How will it play out? Will they both thrive? Adventures and sourcebooks should be easy to convert back and forth. The C&C faithful are unlikely to leave TLG. WOTC is probably cagey being such a small part of Hasbro.

Can D&D 5e actually bring together new players, old-school players, and those in between?

So far it seems like starting characters are equivalent to about 3rd level characters in 1e. This seems good for life expectancy of characters and a more pulpy and less grindy feel. It seems bad when you think of your henchman being almost as powerful as you! There is a new mechanic called advantage/disadvantage which will be interesting to try. Feats and skills have bogged the system down before but those who like that style are already in Pathfinder. 4e was pretty short lived and while it perfectly emulated World of Warcraft, it never tried to bring in that market. Personally I think 4e should become THE licensed WoW RPG.

What will 5e bring to the market. What will it bring to you and me?

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Kersus's picture

Chain Mail - The start.
OD&D - Figuring this out. Simple and modular.
BD&D - Holmes/Mentzer/Moldvay - Tightening OD&D and starting an alternate world.
1e - The game. OD&D with all the optional rules you can shake a stick at.
2e - Putting gamers in their place and soaking them for money.
3e - The modern take altered by the existence of the Internet. 2e on steroids.
4e - What they thought we wanted because of the popularity of World of Warcraft.
5e - Trying to combine all editions before it.

3e had two major splits:
Pathfinder - Continuation of the modern d20 RPG with all the bells and whistles.
Castles & Crusades - 3e rules trying for a 1e feel (As if Necromancer Games and TLG were on the same page?)

HackMaster 4e was a combination of 1e and 2e with bells the bells and whistles of parody.

Kersus's picture

I broke down and picked up the 5e Starter Set. I may blog about it later. I'd love to play a session in it at some point. Perhaps the D&D Encounters in a nearby city.

My initial thought is, the set was worth the price just for the adventure. Beyond that the rules seem overly complicated but have a couple ideas worth mining. I can't see wanting to run this.