The people behind enworld.org, a decent rumor site plugging both D&D and Pathfinder, mentioned that around this time, WOTC released the new starter kit for what would be their apology for Fourth Edition. Trying to keep an open mind, I plunked down the $50 for the new PHB to see which parts of each edition they kept intact for the beloved game’s Fifth edition.
My short version:
This is what should’ve been published between the second and third editions. It has certainly more of second in its DNA than third. The rules are light but light to the point of problematic. Plus they can’t make everyone suddenly forget all the third’s strong points and its true successor…Pathfinder. Lastly, I don’ t need 170 pages on character creation material to make up a background with hooks for why the heroes came together. Skip on to the conclusion.
The slightly longer version:
WOTC certainly returned to the game’s 3E roots to put it back on track. Fourth was an abomination and had more in common with WoW online than being a good RPG. Fifth tries to return to the roleplaying elements but I think they both dumbed it down and gimped the system too much. Thus, if their goal was to snuff out Pathfinder, they’ll have little success beyond the fanboys who think WOTC can do no wrong.
Dumbed down: What I said before on spending 170 pages on character creation. Even the most novice player can make up their own background story as a starting DM can stitch all the PCs’ histories to start a story arc/campaign. I understand that you have to appeal to new players to keep the ecosystem alive. However, D&D and its brethren have been the exception to board games, video games and comics. Few gain basic proficiency on their own. The game is usually taught by veteran players due to its complexity and as much as I hate to agree with this, there’s a cultish nature to RPGs, especially when new “converts” express their enthusiasm.
Gimped too much: Another person whose opinion I don’t mind said he ditched PF for 5E because he didn’t like the players making small gods as characters. This was his defense for agreeing with the rules set saying no PC attribute scores can exceed 20. Maybe his games had the players making it to higher levels than I’ve ever experienced; eighth to ninth has been my record until everyone’s schedules fell apart. I personally haven’t had any PC get beyond a 20 yet, including the two half-dragons I’ve regretted to allow. NPCs, oh yes. The latter happens through a combination of age and levels. Yet with 5E, monsters get to exceed 20, the PCs get buckwheats.
WOTC also degraded Feats, a major perk in Third. They’re practically worthless and they’re taken in exchange for other things your PC might need in order to survive. It’s either a Feat or a one-point boost to a key stat.
The classes are very limiting, thus, almost every Fighter is the same, every Rogue is the same, so on. Multi-classing is discouraged but if you take a core class, there is an option down the road to take a different track toward what used to be a Prestige class: Arcane Trickster is a Rogue choice, Eldritch Knight for Wizards, etc. Yawn. Might as well be playing Second Edition and its clunky kits.
Lastly, the proficiency system is futile. Why do they repeat the same lame table for every class when it’s identical in every instance. Fighters have the same “proficiency bonus” with their melee attacks as Wizards, Clerics and Rogues. The only advantage the Fighter has in combat is their Strength modifier. These same crappy bonuses apply for Saving Throws and skills too. Combat is now back to being a long, slow grind due to the frequent missing.
What they’ve incorporated from the competition:
Before I get to what they took from other games, I want to point out that not every bad idea from Fourth was abandoned. The Warlock remains a core class to satisfy the players who prefer to play tabletop Gauntlet as they go “pew! pew!” and fight their horrible inner demons or whatever bullshit they cribbed from Spawn. I know I’m showing my horrible prejudice against the class ever since it was introduced by Complete Arcane nearly 10 years ago. It’s just often chosen by the player who feels obligated to turn the game into “Stump the DM” and/or this person only plays one particular race or class in any game; they have borderline tantrums if someone else wants this choice. When PF chose to make zero-level spells ‘at will,’ it mostly defeated the argument Warlock proponents backed. WOTC did crib my spell casting proposal from 2008 called recalls, another counter to the Warlock’s “necessity.” Fifth’s way of doing it isn’t very impressive though. It’s only for Wizards and the amount they’re allowed is equal to half their level. For example, at second level, a wizard can recall one first level spell; at fourth level, two first levels or one second level; etc. Mine is more generous as one player recently demonstrated as she threw lightning bolts left and right at rather wimpy foes, exhausting her wizard’s four or five recalls. It was her choice which was fine with me, I’m only the referee plus the recalls prevented her PC from becoming “useless” after two combat rounds.
What they did incorporate from PF was finally giving higher hit dice to the Wizards, Sorcerers, Rogues and Bards. They made zero-level spells at will too. From GURPS/Hero, WOTC converted spells down to their base elements and then made the higher-level versions of them just enhancements. For example, all Clerics to tend pray for cure light wounds as one of their first-level spells. When they gain the ability to cast second-level spells, they use the second-level slow for cure but it has the same outcome of the old cure moderate wounds spell. It cuts down on the paperwork obviously. I suspect the exchange will be supplements on the horizon.
Too much outsourcing:
Here’s the part I find the most disappointing about D&D’s current state. The WOTC staff appeared to write the core rules while the rather sparse choices for adventures have been written/developed by Green Ronin. When I worked at GDW in the early Nineties, this was a huge concern with Traveller. Is the staffing so thin they can’t flesh out their own game? Maybe it’s a cost thing. Often it’s cheaper to just contract out the creative work and have the employees edit it for style. Either way, it’s not a strong endorsement from WOTC itself nor the parent company Hasbro in my opinion. Not being a major attendee at GenCon is another red flag.
In one year, all WOTC has out there for 5E are the three core rulebooks, three adventures and two sets of miniatures. Meanwhile, Paizo has released more than twice as much material to keep their game going. It is better to have more to choose from than being stuck with the same, limited offerings.
Conclusion:
It’s not all bad. The minis work for both D&D and PF. I’m confident the plots to D&D’s current adventure lines can function in PF and vice versa too. Just a bit of homework which is nothing new when we’ve all taken a turn at converting beloved AD&D modules from the early Eighties to work in 3E, RoleMaster, GURPS, so on. I think the two main systems will manage to co-exist, keeping each other afloat decently as online gaming continues to chip away at all tabletop RPGs.
I plan to stay with Pathfinder though. I find it easier to have a system with a slug of things, then pick and choose what to go with based upon what works. For example, I allow all of the 11 core classes plus Witches and Cavaliers while excluding Summoners, Oracles, Brawlers, etc. The Paizo people appear to actually play Pathfinder based upon the materials I see them write. Every year there’s two complete adventure-path campaigns in addition to a half-dozen modules. Not every source book is a hit with me, but they aren’t drowning the game as WOTC did with 3.5; by at least keeping things rolling with adventures, it helps the rest of us who don’t have the time to write our own.
Now I would recommend Fifth to people who:
- Haven’t played in a long time, say over five years.
- Those who’ve never played and want to figure it out themselves.
- Anyone disenchanted by 3.5/PF.
With the last one…no system is perfect, no system ever will be. There’s too much opinion involved plus games need balance or else it’s a horrible movie starring Ahnold or Stallone.
As for 5E, I don’t need a $50 book (really should be $40 as per inflation) to tell me it’s about role playing, not roll playing.