Boccob's Blessed Blog

This past Saturday I ran my first 5e game. I’ve read the three core books and love the new system, but I really wanted to see how it worked at the table. There were a few confused moments, but no more than could be expected with a new edition. Here are a few thoughts from our session:

• While a bit murky at moments (death saves, no spell descriptions, etc.), the game still feels like D&D. This is a bit of a given, but some people fear that a new edition won’t feel like the game they’ve loved for years.
• Spells do a great deal more damage. With the general power curve of the game reduced in 5e, I’m not sure why spells do so much more damage now.
• The way spells prepared works is a bit different for 3.0/3.5 players, and vastly different for 4e players. The wizard and cleric (those were the only casters at the table, so this may apply to other classes as well) prepare a list of spells for the day (Their ability modifier + level) and then spontaneously cast from that list. For example, the wizard got four spells to prepare, but can only cast two spells. So the new system gives you a bit more versatility at the table.
• Sneak attack seemed particularly easy to use (no more flanking required) and quite deadly. Rogues seem to have gotten a serious overhaul in 5e.
• Advantage/Disadvantage really makes things quicker and easier than modifiers.
• Dexterity seems like a slightly over-powered attribute as it now applies to saves, ac, many skills, to hit, and damage. Additionally, with the loss of strength and half for two-handed weapons, dex fighters do seem to have a bit of an upper hand, though str fighters will still out damage dex fighters (slightly) and will have a (slightly) higher AC. The str fighters will still shine when things need lifted, when door need forced, gear needs carried, and when baddies need disarmed, bull-rushed, or grappled.
• Combat seemed much quicker. A party of three characters cleared six encounters in two hours. We started hacking and slashing at 9:30 and wrapped up our session at 11:30. Granted there wasn’t a great deal of NPC or roleplay-heavy encounters (I really just wanted to test combat), but it still seemed very quick.
• The monsters hit hard. The CR 2 black dragon laid out 66 damage (22 acid damage to three characters) when he caught three characters in his breath weapon. I guess now that HP’s don’t go into the negatives anymore, DM’s can knock players around with a lesser fear of a TPK.

All in all it seems like a solid system. It feels like a trimmed down third edition, though players from any edition will be able to see hints of all the previous editions.

This entry was posted on February 9, 2015 at 9:33 am and is filed under D&D 5e, D&D Fifth Edition, Dungeons and Dragons with tags 5e Game Notes, 5e review. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.