Fixing 5E

 

5E in 2023 is broken. We are in this exploiter phase of the game, where people know what build to take as they go up levels to optimize. Hybrid combined classes are the classes people play the game with, to the point those combo classes should be the base classes in the game's next version. Sor-Lock? Yeah, make that a class and balance it, please.

The base classes could be more exciting, optimized, and good to mix and match powers from.

And the exploits from things like instant "pop-up" healing, good berries, chaining short rests, and other cheats have become such an accepted part of the game nobody questions the pungent odor of cheese in the room anymore. And the exploits are so prevalent that the new version of the game will be seen as a downgrade for power gamers.

A good thing and a bad thing.

AI Art by @nightcafestudio

I know the cheats too, and even in solo play, it is hard to not use these. Yes, I know; who will you anger by banning a cheat for solo play? But I would rather have a fixed set of rules, work within those limitations, and discover the optimal play path for a given party mix. Even for solo play, I want a fixed and balanced set of rules that takes care of cheats and cheese.

So my interest in the 5E alternatives like A5E and ToV is raised. I don't want a game that is balanced around cheese tactics. I get bored of those on Steam, and I get bored of them in real life.

I like sets of rules like 5E Hardmode. This only touches characters or builds a little but tweaks the rules around them. Some spells are outright banned. Pop-up healing is not possible. Short rests can only do so much, and powers that renew on short rests get double uses - but only reset on long rests. What you recover on a long rest depends on a roll.

You don't need to stop playing 5E either; this is like an "Insane Difficulty" setting for your game, like in Skyrim or other Elden Ring-style games. This "mod" to the game makes it more difficult than A5E or ToV, but I am sure once you start playing with books outside of the core three, the system starts to break again. All the parts are optional, so you can tweak the difficulty with the various rules and make things as hard as you would like.

This comes from the group assembled Low Fantasy Gaming, where the ultimate OSR-5E blend of the hard-mode game is king. This is still a fantastic set of rules and deserves to be up there with both A5E and ToV as a 5E alternative, but more low-fantasy focused.

One issue I see with Wizards, and their playtests is that they default to the "most popular" decision every time and spread that out far and wide, like weapon mastery. I feel it complicates the game, and other games tend to do this better like A5E limiting those sorts of "special fighting moves" to martial characters and giving everyone a basic set of these as options (shove, trip, grapple, disarm, etc).

The D&D playtests sometimes feel like a "Homer's Car" design out of the Simpsons. Amazing games can't be designed by popularity contests or committees. It feels like they get a great idea, toss it around like popcorn, and make it happen frequently (inspiration).

And weapon mastery, if given to every attack, will add a lot of complexity to the game.

Too much of a good thing is a bad thing.

The biggest problem for 5E Hardmode is that LFG exists and is 100% more awesome. Another problem is that A5E and ToV also exist, and our choices are very nice now. Would I rather patch 5E or switch to another game? Honestly, my lazy part would switch and not worry about modding and patching. Still, I would rather have 5E Hardmode around than not since the rules here point out the apparent parts of 5E that need fixing.

I like the Warhammer-meets-5E experience of Low Fantasy Gaming.

I love the "dry balance" and "OSR pillars of play" support of Advanced 5E.

I love the rebel feeling of Tales of the Valiant, and Midgard is awesome.

Even modding the SRD 5.1 is fun.

There is much fun to have with so many games other than the new version of D&D, and that is my current problem. Is the beta interesting? Yes, but there is a lot of development and excitement in so many other places, even the Kickstarter 5E OSR-style games.