Random thoughs on the dndnext playtest packet #2

Backgrounds
Generally looks good. A bit worried about the amount of skills. Can't make up my mind whether there are just too many, or if that is a good thing.


DM guidelines
I have read it over many times, and every time, I gasp and shudder. Decide on a DC after a player has rolled. So basically, cheat if they fail? Well, as a DM who rolls almost every roll out in the open, I think that is a very poor idea. Of course, such advice would never affect my campaigns, so I might as well not care. But still, IMO, the very best campaigns spring from players learning and knowing there are consequences, instead of being guided and railroaded through a DM's wet dream of a fantasy story. On the other hand, the advice about ignoring the dice is very important and can't be repeated enough. Even after 22+ years as a DM, I still fuck up at times and forget to skip the check, even when a player has said and done all the right things. If I recall correctly, it actually cost me a campaign once, because the failed check led to a TPK.


Also, page 3, under options for checks, it says that there are four different options. Hazards, requirements, skills and ... Is it just me or is the fourth option missing?


Equipment
The balance between light, medium and heavy armor has definitely improved since the last playtest, but I am not sure they are exactly where they need to be just yet. Fighters wearing plate and shield top at AC19, while a rogue with Mithral chain will be at AC18. One point of difference isn't much. And if the rogue is a dual-wielder, he equals the AC of the fighter. IMO, that is not how things should be. I think the key is to make the shield better. Shield has tradionally been the weakest choice for most classes, and I think it is high time that WotC fixes that.


How to play
Advantage and disadvantage is still a lovely mechanic, but I am still confused as to when exactly I should use it, and when I should use regular bonuses and penalties. Every time I hear an example from the designers, I get even more confused.


I also like the dying mechanics and the fact that it takes longer to bleed out the higher level you are. It was always weird that no matter how high level and how many hit points you had, you still died just as quick as soon as you went down.

Regarding the stacking of spell effects, I find it unclear. Do penalties from the same spell stack? The stacking part of the text only mentions bonuses.


Changes
Changing the short rest so that others can use herbal kits on your unconscious character was likewise a smart move. Not to mention that it makes total sense in a real world context.


Races
I must admit, I really like the racial fluff, they seemed to have nailed the standard elf, dwarf and halfling. Certainly better than what we have seen from the last couple of editions. I am however not a fan of the absolutes they have baked into the mechanics of the dwarves and the elves, namely the poison and charm immunities.


Speaking of elves, I like that they are back as a race that gets really old. Why I understood and even appreciated the change that happened in 4e, I must admit that I prefer my elves to be old - or at least be able to become really old. I also like that the all-awareness trance they had in 4e (and 2e using complete book of elves iirc) is gone. I like the dynamics surrounding guard duty, and the opportunities the guard duty gives, both for me, but also for my players. Because lets face it, having an elf that can guard while resting kinda removes the need for others to stand guard.


The worst part about the races has got to be the humans. While I do appreciate that the designers want to make human at least as viable race as the others, I do not think this is the way to go. Give them bonuses to saves, skills or anything else, but leave the stat increases for the demi-humans, just like back in the day.


Specialties
Specialties are going to be brilliant, I have no doubt. Already we have so many combinations to create unique and interesting characters in a simple and quick way, but they have got to be careful of the balance. As it is now, the healer specialty is a must-have in any group. It is hard to imagine any group not picking that up, unless they are super-hardcore roleplayers that participate in a campaign where the characters never engage in combat.


Spells
Aid: Too weak. Roll a 1 and you burn a 3rd level spell to prevent (at best) 3 hit points in total. Compare that to Prayer, which will drastically (especially if you consider the current to-hits from monsters) reduce monsters abilities to hit you and your allies. Unless you know you and yours will only take spell damage, there is no reason to ever use Aid, even if you roll average to well.

Augury: Love the chance of failure due to multiple castings. It was a good idea to lower the cost of the spell, so that it would see more use, but with the ritual mechanics, it could easily be abused at higher levels, if they hadn't introduced the failure.

Charm Person: So, if you have less than max 25 hit points, you are charmed, no save, no nothing? Seems very powerful.

Command: Just like Charm Person, but at least this is just for a round, not for an hour. Make more "sense".


Dispel Magic: Big fan of the auto-dispelling of lower level spells.


Hold Person: You can end the paralysis with a save, but the movement 0 part always lasts a minute and affects all creatures?


Inflict Wounds: Gotta love that inflict is somewhat more potent than Cure Wounds. Traditionally, it was always kinda a waste to use the inflict line of spells, but now there seems to be some merit to choosing them.


Classes
Cleric: Seems to me that Channel Divinity worked better when it was based on wisdom, instead of a fixed (but increasing) number of times per day. Once per day (for the first 3 levels) does feel like very little help, if it was meant to help the cleric avoid memorizing all but healing spells. Speaking of memorization, I like the pseudo spontaneous casting that the dndnext cleric has got going. Memorize, but use your spell slots for any kind of combination of the memorized spells.


Fighter: Expertise dice. Impressive idea, but needs some finetuning. For example, refreshing them at the start of your turn means that if you do damage, you can't block for others as a reaction, and if you keep dice to help, you lose damage as you might not need to block for others. Makes damage the logical choice, and the only likely choice. Same thing with other abilities, such as Cleave. If the fighter hits the enemy, and he keeps an expertise die in reserve in case he has the possibility to cleave another enemy, he might very well lose said dice. Most likely, he will use them all when he hits, because why take a chance and gimp yourself needlessly

Rogue: Do Thieves Cant cover any sort of communication? Or just cloak and dagger stuff like in old editions?


Wizards: Seems to me that getting intelligence modifier in spells every time you level is a lot. I mean, we will quickly see a lot of INT 20 wizards who get 5 spells every time. Also, if a wizard wants to learn an unusual spell, what is the DC? Beats me.

I do like that the wizard is now able to stagger his memorization, or at least that is how I read the rules. So for example, if you have 4 first level spells, you might memorize 3 of them, and keep a slot open for eventualities. Shouldn't be too hard to find 1 minute at some point. Even better is the fact that if you are missing your spellbook, you can still memorize the spells you had in your brain the previous day. This means I can steal my wizard's spellbook(s) and still leave him feeling somewhat useful while he struggles to get it back.


Sorcerer: Absolutely love the fluff, but is it on purpose that neither magic attack nor save DCs get higher at any point? Seems a bit weird that the dude who lives and breathes magic doesn't really get better at landing his spells on his enemies. As for the dragon bloodline, it is pretty hardcore. Might want to limit the kind of armors that kind of sorcerer can use. There is just something wrong with tossing Fireballs in plate armor. Speaking of Fireballs, should Sorcerers have their own spell list? The idea certainly has some merits, but I can see why you would want it as a subtype-wizard.

Overall, WotC are moving dndnext in the right direction, and considering there is still a lot of time left for playtesting, dndnext will end up being one heck of a game, of that I am sure.

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