Vondal Runeforged - 5e Wizard

Last night I finally sat down to create my first 5e character. And like I promised, it's a mountain dwarf wizard. I was pleasantly surprised at how quick and easy it was, even when I opted for some of the slower choices. It did however show me where I'll be making my first house rule for 5e.

What I did:
Standard ability score array
Rolled starting money and individually picked equipment
Chose background, traits, ideals, boons, and flaws.
Picked spells

All told, I think it took maybe 15 minutes, and that was due in large part to double checking everything, and needing to look up the different spells. So here he is:

Vondal Runeforged, Mountain Dwarf Wizard
Level 1
Soldier (standard bearer) background

Str 14 +2
Dex 14 +2
Con 15 +2
Int 15 +2
Wis 8 -1
Cha 10

AC 15 (chain shirt)
HD 1d6
HP 8

Trait: Full of stories
Ideals: Independence
Bonds: Never leaves a friend behind
Flaws: Little respect for those unproven

Features/Traits
Darkvision 60'
Poison Resistance
Combat Training (axes and hammers)
Armor Training (light and medium)
Stonecunning
Spellcasting
Arcane recovery

Languages: Dwarven, Common

Proficiencies
Arcana
Athletics
Intimidation
Investigation

Brewing
Gaming (dice)
Vehicles (land)

Battle Ax +4 1d8+2 slashing (1d10+2 2-handed)
Light Hammer +4 1d4 bludgeoning 20/60

Equipment:
Dungeoneers Pack
Runed Rod
Caltrops
Glass Eye
Spell Book
Pouch made from an orcish banner


Spells
Cantrips
Prestidigitation
Ray of Frost
Fire Bolt

1st Level Spells
Burning Hands
Comprehend Languages
Detect Magic
identify
Sleep
Thunder Wave

Like I said, I'm pretty impressed. While Vondal will not necessarily be the most impressive spellcaster around, the shock of thunder wave blasting a ring of orcs away from what looked like a dwarf warrior... Well, it brings an evil gleam to this DM's heart. I would check with my DM to see if he'd let me use the rod as a club... Although it seems the wizard isn't proficient in club. That's weird.

Ok, first house rule, wizards get clubs.

So what did your first character look like?

5e Incoming!

The release of the D&D Basic Rules PDF (FREE) is right around the corner (Thursday!), and I can’t wait to get my hands on it! I don’t yet know what I’ll do with it besides read it, but I’m looking forward to the reading. I think there's going to be a fair number of things that we'll see creep into various OSR games, particularly the advantage/disadvantage mechanic. I can think of a number of tweaks that could make that even more versatile. For example if you somehow incorporated the DCC Heroic Deeds mechanic...

This is where I started...

It’s interesting the various level of passion I’ve seen displayed toward 5e. Some people really care a whole lot, whether it’s for it or against it. I better understand the passion of the people that are looking forward to it. It’s something new, something potentially exciting, an infusion of some new ideas, maybe new people into our hobby.

I have a hard time understanding how that’s a bad thing, even if you have no interest in playing it yourself. How does this in any way stop you from enjoying a version of D&D that isn't officially supported anyway?They aren't taking away the OGL, the SRD is still up and running. Pathfinder certainly isn't going away! So what's with the hate?

On the other hand, I’ve gotten to play/DM more D&D of different types lately, including DCC, Castles & Crusades, and B/X, and I’m beginning to understand the strong preferences people have for their favorite systems, yet how minor those preferences/differences can be.

Who's going to start here, I wonder...

Even more than my own curiosity about the new edition, I’m looking forward to 5e bringing balance to the force I mean tapping down the edition wars that have flared up again that is... uhhh...

I'm looking forward to playing some more D&D, whatever the edition. Let's roll some d20's.

The big RPG news of the week!

With news of the new D&D release schedule dropping yesterday you might have missed the fact that Purple Duck Games released FT 1: Creeping Beauties of the Woods, the follow up to FT0: Prince Charming, Reanimator for the DCC RPG.

I really liked FT 0 (and it’s free, you should go get it) so I can’t wait to dig into FT 1! Daniel Bishop twists classic fairy tales back into the dark and disturbing stories they once were, and brings them to the table in a fantastic way. Seriously, go get Prince Charming, Reanimator, and then try to stop yourself from getting Creeping Beauties of the Woods.

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As for that other news... I’m especially interested in the new intro box, especially since it’s supposed to cover levels 1-5. My one big hope is that it covers character creation. Given that it’s $16 on Amazon, it’s probably worth checking out if you’re at all interested.

As for the $50/book buy in for the PHB/MM/DMG? I get it. Printing full color books with lots of art is expensive. Am I interested?

Honestly, I don’t know yet. I certainly don’t need another RPG to play. And I think this really comes down to: is this edition of D&D one that I’m going to play? Like I said on my post about Castles and Crusades, I’m not looking for another edition of D&D to play…

The bigger issue I think is whether there is going to be an OGL for it. The 3.x OGL is really what brought so many companies into the d20 realm, and also allowed the OSR to flourish like it has. I think, with a similar program this new edition could find way more acceptance than 4e, and also take back the RPG crown from Pathfinder.

D&D Next: Warlock & Sorcerer

I know I said that I was going to talk about Kings of War today, but I'm not done writing that post, and I am done writing this one, so here it is.

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Mystic Scholar left a comment in my last post about D&D Next, and I wanted to follow it up here. First, his comment:

I agree with your overall view, but I've always felt that Magic Missile did too little damage. I've always felt that it should be a 1d6+1 damage.

As your level increases, you get more usage of the spell, certainly, but I also think that, as you reach certain levels your character should get more damage, to reflect his/her growing power.

For instance: 2d6+1 at 5th level. 3d6+2 at 10th level, 4d6+2 at 15th level and 5d6+3 at 20th level.

Behold the power of the Archmage!

But that's just me. ;)

I’m actually ok with magic missile only doing 1d4+1 points of damage, but only because it’s an auto hit. Every round you’ll nail someone for 2-5 points of damage, guaranteed! I expect that it’ll scale with level, but the playtest only covers low levels. If it doesn't scale, then that's a different story. However, should you want it to do more damage, then you have to make the wizard roll to hit, otherwise it's a win button for wizards at first level.

While we’re on the subject of magic I want to bring up the 2 extra classes that WotC released for D&D Next - Warlock and Sorcerer.

The sorcerer has a neat mechanic that as he expends his willpower shaping spells, the magic temporarily reshapes the sorcerer, giving him a variety of draconic aspects. I can easily see how you could adjust that to other backgrounds besides the draconic. Elemental would be easy, fey as well. Demons and angels too... I can see a random chart in the future for this sort of thing... What I'd really like to see is a mechanic that allows the sorcerer to use magic even after tapping out of willpower for some negative effects. HP loss, ability score loss, penalties to hit and saving throws, or permanent mutations?

The Warlock also manages to be mechanically different from the other spell casters with their pact boons, restriction on spells to ritual casting, and invocations. One thing that really stood out for me was a minor invocation that they get called Eldritch Blast. Being minor it means that you can use it every round. It’s much like magic missile or ray of frost. Pick a single target within 50 feet. On a hit cause 3d6 force damage.

3d6?!?! For an every round first level ability?!? WTF?!?

At level 3 it goes to 4d6...

Forget wizards, I’m playing a warlock next game...

I haven't checked to see if that was a typo, or if WotC has issued an errata on it, or if they figure it's just a playtest and that they'll clean it up for the next round.

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Lastly, there is a new poll about D&D Next on the right! Have you checked out D&D Next yet?

D&D Next Spells (playtest 2)

I’ve been reading through the second D&D Next playtest packet, focusing on the character generation stuff and I have to say, I’m impressed! I’m happy to see the return of dice rolling as a default method to create a character, with a nice balance in that both race and class impact how a character’s ability scores end up.

I’m still finding some wonky things. Not as bad as the first playtest draft, but still kind of out there. For example, why would you ever take Ghoul’s Touch when you can take Hold Person? Both are 2nd level spells, and do basically the same thing. Hold Person works at range, the Ghoul’s Touch works by... well, by touch. Hold Person works on stronger creatures, and doesn’t have any fiddly bits about making their move 0 vs full paralyzation.

I’ve written about Magic Missile before. In this updated playtest it still auto hits for 1d4+1 damage and is a minor spell (aka you can use it every round). Ray of Frost received a boost over the previous playtest. Before it merely halted movement, now causes 1d6+3 damage and reduces speed to 10 feet for one round on a successful hit. Unless I’m fighting kobolds or other really low hit point monsters, I’m going to use Ray of Frost. Yeah, I have to roll, but presuming that I hit 50% of the time, over the course of 20 rounds I’ll do 5 points of damage more with magic missile. If I hit 11 times in 20 rounds I do 2 points more with Ray of Frost, and the monsters I hit get slowed for a round with each hit.

I really need to get my hands dirty with the system though, and either play in a game or run one. I played in a PbP G+ game with the first playtest... Maybe I could do something similar for this one. Anyone interested in a PbP G+ D&D Next game?

D&D Next Playtest v0.02

I’ve downloaded the next D+D Next playtest packet, and started skimming it. I don’t have any strong initial impressions yet, but I’ll be posting them when I do. I find it interesting that the playtest is expected to run for 2 years... and during that time 4e will be left to wither and die, and aside from books, it looks like the only product will be some reprints and the new miniature game.

I’m glad in one way, because I’m in the middle of DMing a 4e campaign. On that front, my players are considering switching to new characters for the Prestige levels so they can try out some different options. I actually think this is a good idea for everyone. It’ll keep me on my toes, and force them to consider new options and tactics, especially if I force them to play all new classes and races. It should make the party very interesting looking...

One thing that bums me out though, is that WotC is using the Forgotten Realms as their flagship setting... Can’t we be done with Drizzt, Elminster, and the rest? At least with 4e they advanced the timeline and killed off lots of people with the spellplague. It would have been nice if they went back to Mystera or Grayhawk. I guess I’d probably milk the cash cow if I had one too.

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Sorry for the slow week. While inspired by vacation, I haven't had much desire to sit in front of a computer... More soon!

Magic Spells in DnD Next

I’ve always loved wizards. Whether they’re called magic users, mages, sorcerers, warlocks, or even stranger titles, it’s probably the class I want to play. Now I’ve never been one to play the “blaster” type mage. I usually prefer the more subtle arts. This is why I usually avoided taking Magic Missile. I always felt like I could get more bang for my buck from other spells. Sure, the guaranteed hit was nice, but... eh. I was never impressed by the d4+1 damage. Sure, you get more as you go up in level, but even with 3 or 4 you’re still only doing 10 to 14 damage (on average) to a single target. I'f I'm going to blast you it's more likely that I'll drop a lightning bolt or a meteor shower on someone’s head, rather than the humble magic missile.

In 4e, they made magic missile an at-will power, which I thought was a good choice, especially because they made the wizard roll to hit. I felt that it was a good compromise. Wizards *should* be able to pop out (every round) low levels of magical zaps, but they *should* miss sometimes. Ok, yes, in Essentials they added a version that was an auto-hit, but it was also way less damage.

DnD Next kept Magic Missile as a cantrip (at-will) but they also kept the auto-hit feature. Granted it’s only 1d4+1 damage, but it’s automatic. Every round, at range, up to 100 feet away. Also, as in previous editions, it scales with level.

Another cantrip, Ray of Frost, causes no damage, but merely reduces a monster’s speed to 0, needs to to hit roll. Now, depending on the DM's ruling, this could be very effective against creatures in flight, especially if it isn't magical flight - stirges for instance.

Shocking Grasp, another cantrip also needs to to hit roll.

A few other thoughts while we’re on the topic:

Detect Magic as a cantrip... While I like the idea of it being something you can do whenever, just snapping your fingers to have magical vision? Eh. I can see it, but I rather like the idea of it being more of a ritual spell. Make it take a whole minute.

Mage Hand can go up to 50' away from the caster, but only 5' above the ground. I guess we can't use it to tie a rope across a chasm or up a short cliff.

Is my chainmail bikini getting in a twist because of a minor aspect of a early beta-test edition?

A bit, sure. But then as a fan of wizards, I want to see them handled well, because I want to play them, and have fun doing so...

For those who've given it a shot, how did you feel about the magic system?

D&D Next playtest material review

I have finally finished reading the DnD Next* playtest materials! It took me way too long to get through it all considering how relatively short it all was, but I did it. Add to that the fact that it took me a couple of days to write this, and that everyone and their brother has pretty much already written this post... feel free to skip this, and instead go read my posts about Dogs in the Dungeon.

My overall initial impression is that they took 3.x added in some of the best bits of 2e and 4e and mashed them all together with a liberal dash of house rules. I really get the feeling that had this rules set been put out last year as a “fantasy heartbreaker” that it would have garnered a fair amount of positive attention from the old school gaming crowd.

Now, onto specifics:
The Caves of Chaos
It’s been awhile since I last read B2 The Caves of Chaos. I think I actually read the silver anniversary edition Return to the Caves of Chaos more recently, but it seems very similar to what I remember of the original. I don’t remember the various plot hooks, or the discussion about the possible relations between the tribes, except for the goblins bribing the ogre for help. The fact that the adventure plot is left up to the DM, that the tribal relations are left up to the DM, that the entire tone of the adventure is left up to the DM is very old school. While the Caves of Chaos may be old, and showing it’s age a bit, I think it was a good choice to open the playtest with. I’m hoping that next they use a 4e module, just to show how that might work with DnD Next.

Bestiary
On one hand this is a pretty basic collection of very typical monsters. On the other hand, I really love the Lore sections for the monsters. Each one was different, with an interesting factoid, and it seemed like just the sort of info that adventurers would collect. I especially found the cultists fluff to be really evocative. Three things that really stood out for me was the lack of morale, and the fact that basic rats were individual creatures rather than a swarm... Lastly, zombies. I miss the instant kill with a crit.

How to Play
Checks and Contests, pretty familiar.
Ability score checks for saving throws? Interesting.
Exploration, standard sorts of stuff.
Combat - I love that “Improvise” is a specific action open to all. Did it need to be spelled out? Maybe not, but then again, maybe in the age of MMORPGs, it is?
Advantage and Disadvantage... I can see these getting a lot of mileage.
Death and dying and healing... I think the threat needs to be ratcheted up a little bit. I say this as a non-killer DM.
12 conditions seems like a pretty workable number, especially when one is intoxicated!
Equipment - I feel like the armor table is problematic. There are a couple of armors on there that just seem like they aren’t going to get a lot of use. I can’t see anyone getting ring mail over studded leather.
Weapons, I like the breakdown in types, and I think that the resistance and vulnerability to types, used sparingly, could be a lot of fun.
Acid, Oil, and Holy Water rather got nerfed didn’t they?
Poison! Cool!
Magic - I’m glad the wizard and cleric get access to cantrips and orisons! Not sure how it’ll work in play as written, but with wizards especially I like to see them able to fling basic combat spells at will.
Rituals - I’m also glad to see rituals being available to spell casters in those situations where having a spell available in a memorized slot would be (most of the time) not worth it. Combined with the material component costs, I think this will work out quite well.

DM Guidelines
I like how much attention is given to when to use dice and when not to, especially with checks. Specifically the ability score threshold idea.

Sorry if some of that was vague. If you have the playtest materials, you know what I'm talking about I think, and if you don't, you should go get them! They're free, and your voice might just have an impact on DnD Next!

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*I really wish they’d just give it a better name. DnD Next sounds like New Coke. How about D&D Ultimate Edition? Or even just 5e?

Balticon

Memorial Day weekend has, for about the last decade, been a big deal in my life because it's the weekend that Balticon, the science fiction & fantasy literature convention is held in Hunt Valley (just north of Baltimore). It's a great con with multiple tracks of programing, great guests, and friends that I only get to see once a year.

This year was no different, except that in addition to the usual literature, art, and science programing that I usually attend, I also spent a little bit of time attending new media panels. One thing I didn't get to do was make it to the game room. The programing was so good that I didn't have enough free time!!

Now why do you care?

For one thing, there will be an upcoming contest! For another I may host an interview or two in addition to the reviews of the books I picked up at or because of the con. Beyond that, I have some new maps that I drew up, and a few other surprises in the pipeline.

On top of all that, I have downloaded the DnD Next playtest rules, and I'm starting to read through them. I'll have some thoughts on them soon... but so far, it seems promising...