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Recently I found a couple of opportunities to get back into gaming. Both involved the latest version of the granddaddy of all RPGs, Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition.
I picked up the Players Handbook, and I'll admit I was a little skeptical. D&D has been in a decline since the second edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, and things got really bad with the 4th edition.
Which seems to be a cursed number. I can think of several games that had terrible fourth editions.
But I am pleasantly surprised. D&D5e is a very good game. The base mechanic is a simple target number. Roll a d20 and add modifiers to hit a set target number. The modifiers come from either one of the six characteristics, or from having a proficiency from your race or class, or having a skill. Each character class has a proficiency bonus listed for each experience level, which makes things much easier to keep track of.
One mechanic I really like is the Advantage/Disadvantage rule. Various circumstances can give you an advantage or disadvantage. For example, if your opponent in a fight is Stunned, you have an advantage on on your attack. If you are prone, you are disadvantaged when you make an attack. This is simply rolling two d20s when making the attack or skill check, and taking the higher (advantage) or lower (disadvantage) roll. Simple, quick, and another reason to hate your dice.
The classic races, Human, Elf, Dwarf, and Halfling are hear, with more uncommon choices (Half Elfs and Orcs, Gnomes, Dragonborn, and Tieflings) in a separate section. Each race has descriptive text, game stats, and a few sub-races, like High Elves, Wood Elves, and the Drow. More choices are a good thing, and this can be easily expanded.
Character classes are excellent, with the traditional list of types. A new feature is choosing a path at third level that allows more specialization. A fighter, for example, can be a Champion, who focuses on his physical might; a Battle Master, who depends on tactical skill and mastery of his weapons; or an Eldritch Knight, a potent warrior who can also use magic. All classes have these branches which allows the player to make their character more to their liking as they go. Again, this is a feature that can be expanded without breaking the game. I've already seen several sites with expanded Archetypes.
But what really excited me was the section on Backgrounds. These adventurers had lives before the game starts, and this not only adds to the characters' abilities, it is a great tool for coming up with compelling story lines. The backgrounds listed are:
Acolyte - You spent much of your youth in a temple or monastery.
Charlatan - You excel at charming people and getting them to trust you.
Criminal - Your history is one spent breaking the law.
Entertainer - You grew up in a family that entertained others. Players, a circus, something.
Folk Hero - From humble beginnings you've become a local legend.
Guild Artisan - You come from a guild family, and were apprenticed yourself.
Hermit - You spent much of your youth isolated by choice.
Noble - From one of the great families you come, accustomed to deference and obedience.
Outlander - You hail from a remote region, far from things like cities and nobles.
Sage - You've spent most of your life in study.
Sailor - Most of your life has been spent under sail.
Soldier - You served in an army in battle.
Urchin - Born in the gutters, your only family your fellow urban poor.
It's easy to min-max these choices, giving you Fighter the Soldier background, for example. But I prefer to get creative.
Rouge - Soldier. Dragooned into the Army, this guy deserted during battle, and ran for his life. He began stealing to survive, and found he was good at it.
Barbarian - Urchin. Growing up unwanted and unloved in the alleyways of the Great City, this feral child depended on her anger to survive. Soon, even the toughest gangs feared her rage.
Monk - Sailor. Though rarely seen, the House of the Endless Water roams the oceans of the world, a huge monastery that rarely docks. The select few accepted on board are trained in the traditional martial arts, and practice in the rigging!
See what I mean?
Really like this game. Can't wait to play.
I picked up the Players Handbook, and I'll admit I was a little skeptical. D&D has been in a decline since the second edition of Advanced Dungeons & Dragons, and things got really bad with the 4th edition.
Which seems to be a cursed number. I can think of several games that had terrible fourth editions.
But I am pleasantly surprised. D&D5e is a very good game. The base mechanic is a simple target number. Roll a d20 and add modifiers to hit a set target number. The modifiers come from either one of the six characteristics, or from having a proficiency from your race or class, or having a skill. Each character class has a proficiency bonus listed for each experience level, which makes things much easier to keep track of.
One mechanic I really like is the Advantage/Disadvantage rule. Various circumstances can give you an advantage or disadvantage. For example, if your opponent in a fight is Stunned, you have an advantage on on your attack. If you are prone, you are disadvantaged when you make an attack. This is simply rolling two d20s when making the attack or skill check, and taking the higher (advantage) or lower (disadvantage) roll. Simple, quick, and another reason to hate your dice.
The classic races, Human, Elf, Dwarf, and Halfling are hear, with more uncommon choices (Half Elfs and Orcs, Gnomes, Dragonborn, and Tieflings) in a separate section. Each race has descriptive text, game stats, and a few sub-races, like High Elves, Wood Elves, and the Drow. More choices are a good thing, and this can be easily expanded.
Character classes are excellent, with the traditional list of types. A new feature is choosing a path at third level that allows more specialization. A fighter, for example, can be a Champion, who focuses on his physical might; a Battle Master, who depends on tactical skill and mastery of his weapons; or an Eldritch Knight, a potent warrior who can also use magic. All classes have these branches which allows the player to make their character more to their liking as they go. Again, this is a feature that can be expanded without breaking the game. I've already seen several sites with expanded Archetypes.
But what really excited me was the section on Backgrounds. These adventurers had lives before the game starts, and this not only adds to the characters' abilities, it is a great tool for coming up with compelling story lines. The backgrounds listed are:
Acolyte - You spent much of your youth in a temple or monastery.
Charlatan - You excel at charming people and getting them to trust you.
Criminal - Your history is one spent breaking the law.
Entertainer - You grew up in a family that entertained others. Players, a circus, something.
Folk Hero - From humble beginnings you've become a local legend.
Guild Artisan - You come from a guild family, and were apprenticed yourself.
Hermit - You spent much of your youth isolated by choice.
Noble - From one of the great families you come, accustomed to deference and obedience.
Outlander - You hail from a remote region, far from things like cities and nobles.
Sage - You've spent most of your life in study.
Sailor - Most of your life has been spent under sail.
Soldier - You served in an army in battle.
Urchin - Born in the gutters, your only family your fellow urban poor.
It's easy to min-max these choices, giving you Fighter the Soldier background, for example. But I prefer to get creative.
Rouge - Soldier. Dragooned into the Army, this guy deserted during battle, and ran for his life. He began stealing to survive, and found he was good at it.
Barbarian - Urchin. Growing up unwanted and unloved in the alleyways of the Great City, this feral child depended on her anger to survive. Soon, even the toughest gangs feared her rage.
Monk - Sailor. Though rarely seen, the House of the Endless Water roams the oceans of the world, a huge monastery that rarely docks. The select few accepted on board are trained in the traditional martial arts, and practice in the rigging!
See what I mean?
Really like this game. Can't wait to play.
