Comments on: D&D 5E: Combat Speed

By: John Lewis

John Lewis — Mon, 02 Mar 2015 11:35:41 +0000

Zack:
After looking at the DMG and the rest of the 5E material (thus far) I think that WotC has intentionally left some “looseness” in their rules, especially alternate rules. A big complaint gamers had with 4E was that the system was to rigid and that DM’s were less able to make tweeks and adjustments. The new rules are designed with these things in mind and some of the alternate rules require it (like the one you mention).

I feel like alternate rules are ones that “might” work for you but you have to look at how they’ll impact your specific group. The rule issue you mention for example, might not have any impact on a group lacking a barbarian. I look at the optional rules like “after-market parts”, they will probably work, more or less, but you’re going to have to make some adjustments and fine-tune them to your game.
John Lewis recently posted…This Week In Roleplaying – February 27th, 2015

By: Zack Schwartz

Zack Schwartz — Mon, 02 Mar 2015 02:34:46 +0000

I want to like the alternate Initiative rules from the DMG, but my sticking point is how would you handle a Barbarian PC? Does the entire party benefit from the 7th level barbarian class feature that gives Advantage on initiative, which seems slightly over-powered, or does the barbarian loose that distinctive class features, which seems punitive for the player?

My biggest disappointment with the 5E DMG is that many of the options they present don’t provide guidance on how to handle conflicts like this one, between a class feature they baked into the base rules and the optional rule they suggest.
Zack Schwartz recently posted…Manifold Regards – Adapting Apocalypse World “Love Letters” for Numenera (or any system, really…)

By: John Lewis

John Lewis — Wed, 24 Dec 2014 14:27:19 +0000

The optional initiative rule I mentioned also really speeds things up, more than you might think. When I tell the players it’s their turn they all spring into action. This past game night the players were taking around 5 minutes or so for their turn; that’s 5 minutes for all of them to go, not 5 minutes per player!
John Lewis recently posted…This Week In Roleplaying – December 19th, 2014

By: Samuel Van Der Wall

Samuel Van Der Wall — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 15:41:20 +0000

Even though things flow quicker, I don’t feel like I am constrained any more than I was in previous editions. Like you mentioned, not having to try and get in ALL of my super-moves into the combat (a la 4e) and then immediately rest after combat is nice. Choosing your action is usually quick, the math is quick, and you move on. I also like that the game is deadlier at the early levels. That also gets things moving quicker too.
Samuel Van Der Wall recently posted…This Week In Roleplaying – December 19th, 2014