D&D (And general fantasy stuff)

[mlooney 3,548]

19 hours ago, Darth Fluffy said:

Did they include a cantrip 'Select Upgrade Options'?

Sorta.  They said that bastions were optional.

[mlooney 3,548]

Wizards has decided to have "basic D&D version of the 2024 rules.  Right now it's just the PHB.  And like the 2014 version, it's the Tolkien four races and the basic Fighter,Wizard,Cleric,Thief classes.

https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dnd/free-rules

[Darth Fluffy 332]

19 hours ago, mlooney said:

Wizards has decided to have "basic D&D version of the 2024 rules.  Right now it's just the PHB.  And like the 2014 version, it's the Tolkien four races and the basic Fighter,Wizard,Cleric,Thief classes.

https://www.dndbeyond.com/sources/dnd/free-rules

The D&D property is tied to its own history. Seems to me, you could come up with a better set of core features. What worked in the mid 70s/early 80s seems tired and unimaginative in 2024. Much of the success was 'it is groundbreaking', not that it was superbly consistent.

I suppose there is a nostalgia factor, geezers such as ourselves looking to recapture the feeling they had when they first played TTRPGs. I don't see this being particularly appealing to new players today.

[mlooney 3,548]

43 minutes ago, Darth Fluffy said:

I don't see this being particularly appealing to new players today.

Human fighter is still the most common species/class combo.  (https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/is-your-dd-character-rare/)

They say that when the 2024 Player's Handbook is released, they will upgrade "free d&d" to include all 10 races and all the classes, granted with out all the options that are in the PHB.

[mlooney 3,548]

I have come to the conclusion that Ginny Di and I don't play the same game, despite reading the same books. 
https://www.youtube.com/@GinnyDi

[mlooney 3,548]

[Darth Fluffy 332]

On 9/4/2024 at 3:36 PM, mlooney said:

I have come to the conclusion that Ginny Di and I don't play the same game, despite reading the same books. 
https://www.youtube.com/@GinnyDi

I've watched some of her stuff. Not bad, but I get what you're saying. Most groups have their own flavor though, no?

[mlooney 3,548]

29 minutes ago, Darth Fluffy said:

I've watched some of her stuff. Not bad, but I get what you're saying. Most groups have their own flavor though, no?

Yeah, most groups do.  For good or ill, my current group tends towards be combat heavy.  Not quite murder hobos but most problems are solved with sword and eldritch blast.

[Darth Fluffy 332]

1 minute ago, mlooney said:

Yeah, most groups do.  For good or ill, my current group tends towards be combat heavy.  Not quite murder hobos but most problems are solved with sword and eldritch blast.

I've played to TTRPGs this summer, both were local home brew, One I liked a lot, one not so much (more of a railroad). Both were loosely D&D-ish.

[mlooney 3,548]

1 hour ago, Darth Fluffy said:

I've played to TTRPGs this summer, both were local home brew, One I liked a lot, one not so much (more of a railroad). Both were loosely D&D-ish.

I try really hard to avoid rail roads.  Unfortunately my players tend to not deal well with open worlds.

[mlooney 3,548]

[Darth Fluffy 332]

You are reviving unpleasant memories. Decades ago, on Usenet, I broached the notion that factions could each have their own valid point of view. The group response was, "Sacrilege! There is only Good-Evil and Order-Chaos." While the DND 'alignments' are a good starting point for considering motivations, they should not be a mental straight jacket. It was a frustrating episode; the forum didn't want to hear it.

[mlooney 3,548]

4 hours ago, Darth Fluffy said:

I broached the notion that factions could each have their own valid point of view.

During the 2nd ed with Players Options books era, (aka 2.5) [which I suspect was the time frame you were posting in] it was canon that lawful good countries could go to war with each other.  Even then some nerds were, well, nerds.

[mlooney 3,548]

I strongly suspect this would cause some players <cough Ginny Di cough> to have a aneurysm
 

[mlooney 3,548]

[mlooney 3,548]

[mlooney 3,548]

Amazing, a Ginny Di video that I totally agree with. You should read the DMG at least once all the way through if you DM.

[mlooney 3,548]

I got the 2024 Player's Handbook today and read it cover to cover.  I general I like it.  It's more rationally laid out and most importantly you can read the page numbers.  I'm gonna be doing close to a point by point comparison to 5.0 over the next week or so.

[mlooney 3,548]