Tales of the Valiant: Alpha

The Tales of the Valiant Alpha dropped today, and you get a complete set of rules with the base four classes, play up to level five, and about 50 monsters. If you are not a part of the Kickstarter, you can get it on the Kobold Press store for $9.99.

I recommend getting in on this if they open the Kickstarter up to late pledges. This game will be huge and the #1 alternative to One D&D, if not the preferred one for many.

PDFs and stand-alone physical books are a huge reason.

So far, I like what I see here, and it feels like a tightly put-together rebuild of 5E. This is more in-depth than an A5E, but it cuts more toward the B/X style of the game. Subclasses happen at 3rd level, which is nice since it forces you to commit and build, and discourages the one-level dips that plagued 5E.

Inspiration is gone and replaced by luck, which is a better mechanic. You spend these after a roll, so if you are short by two on that hit, you must make and have the luck; spending luck is a no-brainer. You can also spend 3 as a reroll, which is excellent since if you missed by more than your luck would make up for, you could try another shot. You start the game with zero, and they do not reset or change on resting or the beginnings of adventures (unless you would get a 6th, then they reset to 1d4). This feels more pulp-inspired and gives the game a Savage Worlds-style feeling.

Does ToV have to be vastly different than 5E? No, it doesn't. It has to be a solid version of 5E without the baggage of Wizards and the mess they are cleaning up and making again in the One D&D beta tests. Making too many things a class feature when it should be a spell slot is a huge turn-off. It makes One D&D feel like they are turning classes into World of Warcraft classes with standardized "button push" abilities given at set levels - and removing most customization.

You are getting a specified power even if you don't want it in One D&D. This is a substantial regressive change, and Kobold Press mainly sticks to the 5E design concepts - but fixing them - is a huge relief.

I like that "dry balance" feeling in A5E - where nothing seems out-of-whack, and a dungeon adventure feels more like old-school play. This feels like SRD play, and getting back to that is beautiful, given the state of broken build over the last few years of D&D.

This is all they really need to do. Improve a few areas, balance things, and stick to the masterful design of the original 5E. Make the game a better tabletop experience, not an MMO for VTTs. Wizards feel like they are making the 4E mistakes all over again and for the same pie-in-the-sky static VTT reasons (that will be instantly made obsolete by AI-assisted play).

This is the Pathfinder 1e playbook, and it will serve Tales of the Valiant well. I was uncertain about ToV and wondered about direction, but seeing this - almost a solid rebuild of the game along 5E's solid foundation, focusing on presentation and ease of learning, makes me happy and hopeful. This feels like Old School Essentials in the B/X sphere, the new "community standard" that cleans things up, fixes problems, and gives you the best core rules on the market.

A base hit by Kobold on this will be a home run.

Anything more than that will be icing on the cake.