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Beholder 5e stats4/30/2023 ![]() ![]() ![]() Well designed monsters are few and far between, and it’s mostly up to the DM to give monsters a spin that differentiates the various goblinoids, where as in previous edition monsters all had unique tactics or powers to make them feel different.Īdd to this that monster now use spells, which means having to pull open another book just to look up what their power does (instead of giving you the info all in one spot like 4e). It seems to be universally accepted that monsters in 5e are “bags of hitpoints” with not much that makes them interesting mechanically. None of the mechanics seem to draw the ire of any particular D&D fan base, which is in and of itself a small miracle. Fifth edition is the first game since Dungeon World that’s I’ve seen draw pre-3e D&D fans into playing non-OSR games. While only a couple of people mentioned that 5e was their favorite D&D edition, many stated that it was the only version of D&D that everyone in their group could agree to play. Many people I talked to about 5e mentioned the art as one of their favorite parts of the game. The iconic portrait of a human character in 5e is a black woman, which might seem small in the large scheme of civil rights, but it’s good to acknowledge the power of vocal activists who finally got through to the executives and marketers that make such decisions. The characters in the core book also show more diversity than they have in the past. Going for a colorful but painterly style lets WotC put out a bright, eye-catching project but allows them to look a bit more older than the more stylized Pathfinder. I liked 3e and 4e and Pathfinder’s art direction, though they all made different art choices. It looks like the art direction has started to steer to a more painterly style, which I am all for. From the full-bleed covers (be still my heart) to the flowing interior layout and the digital paintings inside, I have no problem with the books visually. ![]() The best thing about D&D 5e is the art and page layout of the books. Recently I took some time to play some D&D, talk to friends and poll people at local game stores in order to see how they liked the game, and to see if the design goals of D&D 5e really delivered in the eyes of the fans. The design goal wasn’t able to be just “make a streamlined D&D”, but must be “the D&D that will please everyone.” To that end, D&D 5e is the ultimate compromise edition- an attempt to get all of the wayward children of Gygax back into the same fold. The fourth edition was being rebooted so soon after launching partially because the game itself was polarizing and targeted just one section of the D&D fanbase, alienating the fans of the previous edition to the point where they just stopped buying D&D products. Unlike other designers, who were working on their own games, Mearls was constrained by the fact that he was working on D&D. A year before that, Sage LaTorra and Adam Koebel published Dungeon World– an indie RPG that replicated a lot of D&D-isms while using a sleek, modern RPG core as opposed to a version of D&D’s legacy system. The same year, Monte Cook (designer, 3e) released his slim sci-fantasy game Numenera. A full year before 5e launched, Rob Heinsoo (lead designer of 4e) and Jonathon Tweet (lead designer of 3e) had already collaborated to publish their very own streamlined fantasy game called 13th Age. Mearls wasn’t the first D&D designer to realize that the fast and flexible approach was what fans all over wanted from the game. This fast and flexible approach is in direct contrast to the incredibly deep character customization of the 3rd and 4th editions, the complex simulationism of 3rd edition, and the lengthy grid-based combat of 4th edition. The fifth edition of Dungeons & Dragons was largely influenced by designer Mike Mearls’ desire “to listen to the entirety of D&D players” and produce a “fast, flexible, and easy-to-play” D&D experience. Originally announced as “D&D Next” in 2012, a scant four years after the release of D&D’s divisive 4th edition, the 5th Edition (5e) underwent extensive public playtesting and was met with generally positive reviews when it launched. While the Player’s Handbook released in August last year, today marks the one year anniversary of the complete Dungeons & Dragons’ 5th edition core rulebook launch. By Luke Turpeinen 2 A Flumph is a Beholder Designed by a Committee A Review of D&D 5th Edition
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