My BIG Problem With Dungeons & Dragons 5e

I try not to be negative or harp on negative things on this blog, but this has been gnawing at my brain for the past week or more and I figure writing it down would be good for me. The original plan was just to write it down and not post it, but then I came across this article from The Alexandrian, and it got me thinking that my big problem with D&D 5e may not just be a personal quirk, but a larger problem in general. Perhaps then adding my own $0.02 to the discussion will be helpful to someone looking to make fixes. More importantly though, maybe it will be found by a new GM and in explaining some of the places the system hiccups they'll see that it's not just them not getting it, but there are places where 5e prepares you well for the game and places where it does not prepare you at all.

A Neat Little L5R Resource (Lore Information)

Short post today. Mostly I just want to link to and signal boost on this. Anyone looking to get into L5R but unsure about the clans and setting should check it out. It does a decent job of explaining the various clans (the ones he has done already anyhow).

So take a look, and enjoy

D&D Beyond (http://www.dndbeyond.com)

I want to start out by saying this is not a sponsored post. I have not been asked by anyone at Curse, Wizards of the Coast, or anyone else affiliated with dndbeyond to make this. I wish I was that big, but I'm not. I have, however, had several friends ask me for my opinion on dndbeyond and its usefulness to both players and GMs. It's happened enough times I figured I'd make this post. :)

If you are GMing 5e, or multiple 5e games, dndbeyond is probably one of the most useful tools I've seen released. There is a downside to it in cost. If you like paper books (and I do) buying the content twice can be a hassle, but aside from that I have to hand it to Curse. They had the opportunity to just make D&D 5e content online by way of looking through the books, and they went and did a lot more.

Running Combat With Battle Mats for Cheap

Games like D&D 5e and Pathfinder will tell you they're don't require being on a gridded battlemat, but combats tend to run a lot smoother - and take more full advantage of all the various combat mechanics - when they do. Things like the range for attacks, area of effect for spells, and whether or not someone can move without drawing an attack of opportunity or blocking a door all become a lot clearer with a battle mat. Heck, I find combats in D&D 5e actually run faster - and more interestingly - with a battle mat because you don't have to keep reminding people what is going on or what monster is where, nor figure out how far a given monster is from a given PC. It's all their on the mat.

That said, miniatures get expensive. Fortunately, there are some cheap alternatives.

L5R 5e: Emotions, Drama, And Making It Happen

One of the magical things about the time we're living in is that it seems almost all the big RPGs from my youth are now on their 5th edition. What is also interesting is that in that 5th edition many games are embracing the story telling, role play, and drama aspects of their games. This is seen in D&D 5th Ed's embracing of the three pillars of adventure which bring the focus to exploration and social interaction. In games like Legend of the Five Rings, which always had a stronger focus on narrative and drama if in the suggestions for how to run if not mechanics, developers are bringing in gameplay mechanics like composure, where by a simple mechanic in the game a character is forced to either bring their emotions into play, or suffer a significant mechanical penalty.

Today, I want to talk about that.

XP Over Time Instead of Per Session

One of the few things I dislike about my current L5R game is that somewhere along the way I lost control of the passage of time. This isn't a serious problem, but over the course of about 18-24 months of sessions we've passed maybe 2 months in game. This means that in a short period of time in character my PCs have gone from relatively new and inexperienced characters to high level characters that are ready to take their place among the best in the Empire. It's not a problem for the game itself, but it means I have to go for a different feel going forward. it also got me thinking about different ways to do XP and what that could mean. Today I want to talk about that.

[7th Sea] Lessons from GMing My First Session

On Friday I ran my first session of 7th Sea from the GM's side of the table. I felt I was fairly prepared, having been doing little but thinking about GMing 7th Sea since it came out, and participating in various discussions. Still, as anyone who has learned to drive can tell you: there's a big difference in knowing the theory, and the practical application. Today I want to talk about that, and some of the differences I noticed in the system.

[7th Sea] Building a Villain To Build an Adventure

We had a bit of bad news in our gaming group. The GM for our 7th Sea game won't be able to join us around the table for the foreseeable future. Their life is just swimmingly busy. In an effort to keep the group together I volunteered to take over GMing responsibilities. We're not doing the same world or plots, but we are doing the same game and I invited the Players to keep their current PCs if they wanted. It feels a little awkward, and I'm hoping the normal GM will be able to return soon, but until then I at least get to try GMing 7th Sea.

That said, in doing my prep I found something fun about 7th Sea. As a game, 7th Sea is all about Heroes and Villains. Villains are the ones who put plots in motions (their schemes), and villains are the only thing capable of giving a Hero a worthy adversary when it comes right down to it. Therefore, it feels to me, that if you want to run a 7th Sea adventure, you should start with the villain. The experience I've had now has me wondering why I don't do this, or something similar to this, in every game I'm running.

7th Sea: Core Resolution vs. Dramatic Sequence

On Monday we talked about three of the big things involved in GMing 7th Sea. Today I want to talk to the 'how' you handle those things at the table. I don't mean what you say and do, but the mechanics in place that lets you place conflict before the PCs and see how they resolve it. Today we'll be talking about the Core Resolution Mechanic, Dramatic Sequences, and how they differ. Shall we?

7th Sea 2nd Edition: GMing, Brute Squads, & Villains

One of the things I was most excited for at GenCon this year was 7th Sea. They had copies of the book there for sale, people running sessions of the game, and even several of the designers present to talk to. I must've stopped by the John Wick Presents booth at least 3 times a day just to check in who was there, ask questions, and talk about the game. It was a good time. Today, I want to take some of what I've learned and break it down here to help explain some parts of the game that seems to be causing confusion or discussion on threads. So let's get going shall we.

7th Sea - First Impressions

On Friday we had our first session of 7th Sea. It was an interesting session with two new members to the group, and a game that no one in our group had any ground in. Over all the session was a great first session, and everyone brought interesting characters to the table. Today I want to talk about how the session went, and what I learned from it.

7th Sea: A Different Kind of Character Progression

The 7th Sea Second Edition PDF is on sale now at Drive Thru RPG. One of the fun things - for me at least - about the system is how much the system does different from other games I've been exposed to. I'm not saying it's the most unique game out on the market, but it's the only game I've seen that does a lot of the things. One of the things that has had me confused as a prospective GM until recently, and that I now really like, is how character progression happens. Today, I want to talk about that.

Shadows of Esteren - Is It Worth Playing?

On Monday I started talking about Shadows of Esteren. On Wednesday I talked about what I thought was the strongest build. To wrap things up, I want to talk about whether or not Esteren is worth playing.

I'm not going to talk about whether or not you can have fun with it, because that should be a no brainer. If you have a good GM almost any system can be fun - and that almost is only there because I hate absolutes. No, the question for is Esteren worth playing basically boils down to is it worth it to you as an experience. Does it add anything that's worth seeing how it plays out?

Shadows of Esteren - An Extended Discussion Part 2

On Monday I started talking about the Shadows of Esteren system. We talked about what Shadows of Esteren was, and a little bit on how it worked. Today I want to talk about what I feel is the optimal build in the system - or at least the optimal Way to make high - and what that means for both the game and the character. So, let's get into it.

Shadows of Esteren - An Extended Discussion Part 1

On Friday the Shadows of Esteren game I've been playing in for the past year or so came to an end. We had a good time with the game, and several folks asked me to do a review of the game, or at least talk about the system more. With the game over, I figured this week would be a good one to do just that. So, without further ado, let's begin.

Move Then Roll vs. Roll Then Move

One of the aspects of the new 7th Sea RPG I'm looking forward to is the rolling system. It's been under a lot of scrutiny for fans, and seems to be a polarizing element. Some people hate it, seeing it as making failure a thing of the past and overloading the GM with more to do. Other people love it, seeing it as an interesting way to take a game where failure may be optional, but that doesn't mean the hero gets everything he wants. Today, I want to talk about how the dice system works and how that is different from other games.

Challenge Level Made Easy (D&D 5th Ed)

First, I apologize for the lateness of this post. Opening weekend at school was pretty quiet, until yesterday, and that just kind of kicked my ass. I also wasn't sure what I wanted to write about, and havingalready done a full work week of hours (with 3 full days left to go) made that hard to think about. However, there has been one thing I've been gushing about in real life, and I figured I'd get that down here. It's about D&D 5th ed, and it is kind of basic, so you may not learn something, but the perspective it's given me has been pretty cool to see.

Specifically, I'm talking about how D&D 5th ed handles the challenge level for encounters.

Boost and Setback Dice

If you remember back to when Fantasy Flight Games was just talking about their new Star Wars system, one of the things that generated a lot of discussion was their dice system. For those who don't know what I mean, FFG uses custom dice for their Star Wars line of games. The dice all generate some combination of six potential results, with the results being: Success, Advantage, Triumph, Failure, Threat, Despair. However, the more I play the Star Wars system the more an aspect of it grows on me. That aspect is the boost/setback dice, and that's what I want to talk about.

D&D 5th Edition - Thoughts After Some Play

Over Gencon I got to play in a few D&D 5th edition games. Mostly one hour events that WotC was running, but also a 4 hour event. This Friday, as our normal game was cancelled, I ran a one shot to get a feel for the system from the other side of the screen. Today I figured I'd go over the system and give some of my thoughts.

D&D 5th Ed First Impressions

If, like me, you've been living in a hole and more or less avoiding any and all news about D&D's upcoming 5th edition then you might have missed the news that they released the free basic rules on Thursday, July 3rd. Being as Free is not a price point I can really ignore for what is widely considered the grand daddy of all RPGs, I decided to head on over and check things out. What I found was interesting, intriguing even. To the point that I'm sad I doubt I'll be able to get my group to try it due to constraints of time and other games we have going on. Still, I'm breaking down my initial thoughts below for those who are interested.

Oh, and for those who just want the file. Click anywhere on this line and you'll be brought to the official release.