My exploration of 5E and the OSR alternatives has been fascinating. Along the way, I found solid OGL alternatives to the 5E game, such as Level Up Advanced 5E, and I have also found attractive OSR-style alternatives, such as Low Fantasy Gaming. Low Fantasy Gaming is a fascinating game since they attempt to inject into the game the one thing that 5E tries so hard to remove:
Freedom.
Yes, you have freedom of action - but that is not the freedom to modify the rules, characters, builds, and experience. You get the feeling if you "mod the rules," you will break everything, and this is very true in games like Pathfinder 2. D&D 5 seems the same, and with One D&D making rules for many more actions, I get the feeling these "clarifications" will end up handcuffing players and dungeon masters into handling every situation the same way.
And you will get more "freedom" in designing characters, in that those min-max ability score bonuses can be put where you want, but what is the point of even having them when they feel required? I feel more freedom in character design in One D&D will lead to less since min-max-ing will become the norm, and there will be no choice except the best ones.
An over-reliance on ability score modifiers for classes hurts the game. If they are "required" to play a class, factor them out and focus on classes only. Or eliminate their bonus effects and put all characters in that class on the same level. If a fighter is "required" to have an 18 STR by the min-max character creation system, give all fighters STR 18. If they start with a 16, give them a 16 and increase that as they level. Just don't give me a "choice" when it is a false one.
And I feel the few freedoms players have are being taken away. As the game stands, multiclass exploits are the most fun part of the game for many. How do I create an effective build? How do I twist the rules? Part of me feels that Level Up 5E isn't as popular as it should be, is because the exploits were patched out. What fun is playing a "fixed" 5E?
Is there any fun in a fixed 5E?
I know, story and adventures - but some PC games that are patched and balanced see rapid player declines because "what was fun isn't anymore." Do not discount the power and sway of the serious optimizers, and as influencers, they can make or break your game. I can have fun with stories and characters - and most people do - but for stories and characters, I have far better games to play that handle those things better (and easier) than 5E.
The rules of 5E are not fun by themselves. They do not stay out of the way, and most games feel like taking advantage of them through builds. Like 4E, the rules of 5E "are" the game.
Even in the One D&D playtest documents, you see the designers “rolling back” fundamental freedoms – such as moving roleplaying interactions from the Dungeon Masters Guide to the Player’s Handbook and writing a rule for them. This is likely a reaction to the success of Pathfinder 2, a game that has so many rules for everything that it would not surprise me if there weren’t a breathing action somewhere in there as a free action.
Rules, rules, rules.
The more rules we have, the better!
Right?
Not Exactly
5E Started as a fantastic, OSR-style, throwback game – especially in comparison to D&D 4E. As time went on and the game got popular, they shoveled on the rules. The game does not feel as “free” as it once did. Some of the playtest rules seem like they roll back the role of the dungeon master back to that horrid “DM as DVD player” role they had in 4E – shut up, your power is severely limited, put the figures on the map, run the combats, and say the lines we give you in the “read this to players” boxes. One D&D feels like it is “less fun to DM” than 5E, which is a huge problem. It may be easier, but it will not be as fun.
I get the feeling Wizards knows their most significant problem is attracting dungeon masters and keeping them. I do not feel One D&D addresses that problem, and in some ways, it makes it worse. Taking away crits from dungeon masters felt wrong and played into that "DM is a DVD player" feeling. I also feel if Wizards could find a way to do away with the DM role, they would.
Like dungeon masters, the hardcore optimizers are also players who drive excitement and retention. That group is not getting too much beyond the min-max-y ability score modifiers but is also having a lot of exploits taken away. Exploits they rely on and enjoy.
Revisions to a game are bizarre things. Logically - fix the exploits! But there are times when a revised game does not set the world on fire, and what made the game fun gets fixed.
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