I was reviewing the recent D&D XP chat seminar. I think
making players feel like they are a part of this next editions development
might be a bunch of marketing hocus-pocus. They clearly have their mind made up
about what is in this next edition. Some indications, I feel, that point to the
possibility that this edition is ruffed out already. Why do I have a problem
with this you are wondering? We need something to play test, right? Well when we signed up the letter asking
for this participation made it sound like we would be helping form the ruff version
of 5th edition. With that said I digress and will be thankful that
we get any part of this action. Below are some of the better parts of the Q
& A that support some interesting facts and also support the fact that it’s
close to ruffed-out. There is also one big peace of news from this Q&A
session that play testing for the 5th edition ruff rules starts play
testing SOON! And that’s exciting!
"D&D XP Seminar
(01/26/2012)
Thursday January 26, 2012
9:25
Welcome to the D&D XP Seminar: Charting the Course!
---------------
Question: Is there a
timetable as to when we can start play testing?
10:31
Greg: The open play
test starts up sometime in the spring, and that's about all the information we
have at this point.
---------------
Comment From Dan
Looking back on 3rd edition,
I feel like it did a good job of capturing the unique feel of each class. In
4th edition all classes feel similar, because in the end you're just using x
daily powers. Sure, the effects are different, but since the mechanic is
identical, it didn't really matter what you played, it still felt the same.
10:15
Jeremy: We have talked
about having adventures that cater to very particular tastes - political
intrigue or classic dungeon crawl. You can also have the sandbox adventure that
is an environment with hooks, fleshed out NPCs, evocative locations, And it
really becomes a canvas for players and DMs to paint on. Sometimes, I think
that's the best approach for people who want to choose their own way, but
sometimes it's better to give a more directed approach for people who need
that.
-----------------
Comment From Tanks
Hw will multiclassing
be handled? Will it go back to previous editions or be a feat tax?
10:24
Answers: We want to
make it simple, but iconic class features need to be important as well. There
are also packages we're looking at where characters can gain certain featuers
or qualities that helps them branch out and feel like more of an individual or
a real person.
--------------------
Question: In the
recent editions it looks like a lot of the player options have been narrowed
down to things they can/can't do in the rules. Is this next iteration going to
get away from that.
10:27
Monte: While having
options in the rules is great, we want to open things up so players can get
creative and ask to do things that are specifically covered by the rules. We
want to empower DMs to with information in the DM guide and others resources to
be able to handle those out of the box situations. So basically better gaming
through better DM tools and DMing.
--------------------
Comment From JamesL
I think the older
editions weren't afraid to throw extreme challenges at the players, and let
them figure it out. This version has all solutions be combat or skill challenge
ones, that are all level appropriate with a 90% chance of success.
10:52
Mike: It goes back to
the three pillars and supporting the different kinds of play - we definitely
are working on having DM and player tools and optoins in place so that
characters are engaged. Example - you can have that master climber, but you
want others to feel included and involved in whatever thing when that master
climber gets to show off.
--------------
10:12
Capturing that feel is
one of the more difficult challenges because it's more ephemeral. It's
difficult, but I think we've done a good job. When you get a chance to help in
the playtest, hopefully you can let us know."
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