"D&D 5th Edition and some NPC Ratmen" Topic

Here's a mini-review of the new D&D boxed set and some NPCs to start things off.

link

Kevin in Edmonton

Nice quick write up and some Skaven eye candy. The skaven are very well done.

Xin

I'm in the same boat, not really played D&D since First edition although I still have the original box set on the shelf from when I played in the 70s.

But it is my kids who are in high school that are encouraging me to kick off the dust of some old school minis and purchase the Player Handbook next month.

I agree Great looking Ratmen.

thanks
Duane

Nice skaven! My starter set books are not spiral bound. How'd you manage that?

I imagine he went to a Kinko's or Canadian equivalent!

I had the same basic reaction, not having really played since 1st ed. AD&D. They seem to have jettisoned all the rules bloat and (so far) achieved a slimmed down yet consistent ruleset. What's old is new again!

Logocide,

Spudeus is right…I just went to a print shop and had the rules/adventure spiral bound, and the character sheets laminated.

Kevin.

I'll be interested to see how it goes. I like a lot of things about the revised system, but I also dislike some things as well (revising the Magicuser rules from the old days is good. Overpowered unlimited use cantrips, not so much). I'd probably house rule the killer cantrips into 1st Level spells and limit the others into a more classic "four cantrips = one 1st level spell" approach (so if you use a cantrip, that spell slot can only be used for three more cantrips. But I might allow higher level slots to multiply that amount, though not the effect. One can imagine a high level wizard puttering about his lab, "burning away" a 6th level slot with 24 cantrips to do his mundane tasks (lighting burners, collecting components, pulling needed tomes off his shelves, calling his tea to his fingertips, etc…). Sure, the unlimited use does the same thing, but in a low-level mage, it's just a little too powerful.

If you stick with "as written," let us know how it works out!

Interesting points, Parzival.
I wonder if the damage cantrips rule change is intended to keep MU players in the battle. I remember way back…1st level wizards had very little impact on battles after the first round or two.

Yep. And I think a solution was needed for that situation. Back in the day, I created a house rule that spells could possibly be remembered and recast, with the chance to remember reduced by level of spell and each successive casting. Worked pretty well, and kept mages "in the fight" a little longer at low levels, without overpowering upper levels.
The cantrips just strike me as a bit much, and a little problematic for the setting-- i think if magic were that powerful and that easy, the nature of society and combat would be far different from the quasi-medieval structure assumed in standard D&D.

I was toying with the idea of cantrips falling under the new 'disadvantage' rule – i.e. the target would get two saving throws and pick the highest. We may get more clarification when the actual hardbacks are released.