Review: D&D Next Monster Manual: Finally Got Mine

Normally I get the Monster Manual or any version of a monster book without too much thought.  A book of monsters, I'm in.  I took my time getting the 5E version.  Probably because I've been attempting to clean out some of my gaming stuff, but seem to be collecting more.  Armed with a coupon at B&N last night I decided to grab a copy.  It's nice to see my local B&N looks to be getting more gaming books. 

One of the first things I do when I get a monster manual is I flip through it to see how it's laid out.  I think the 5E MM has done a great job.  Although I am puzzled why they would dedicate an entire page to a picture of myconids.  There are much cooler critters I would rather see featured with full-page art. 

It is nearly 50 pages longer than its 4E step-brother version.  The 4E version boasts having nearly 500 monsters in between its covers.  Because of this, the stat blocks dominated the page and the art was crammed into the corners where they could find space.  The 5E MM does fewer monsters, more space and a better product.  While the art in both are great, I get to see it and enjoy it more in the 5E version.  The stat blocks for each creature is easy to find and read, they don't take up the majority of the space, allowing for more details.  I like that.

The other habit I have when getting a new critter book is to look for the critters I use a lot.  I use a lot of the trope monsters such as goblins, bugbears, orcs and pretty much all the undead.  I check my standard monsters to see if there is anything new, any change that might spark my interest.  I like to see what someone else may have come up with to add to a certain creature's legacy.

The first example is the goblin.  With their stealth ability, which increases their chance of surprise make them no joke.  In my experience with 5E so far, surprise has become a huge factor on how a battle may go.  A handful of goblins armed with bows and surprise can whittle a party down quickly. 

Second example, fricking zombies and their undead fortitude.  A DM with hot dice can make a small group of zombies nasty.  Again, I've already had experience with this.  This is another example of how taking a normally innocuous encounter and with a simple tweak, these creature needs to be handled with care (and lots of fire!).  And they give a stat block for a beholder zombie.  How can you not like that?

A big thumbs up here at the Manor for the latest iteration of the Monster Manual.  I'm looking forward to building some adventures with the 5E system.  While the stat blocks are not conducive to my micro adventures I might try to slip one. 

Sometimes the Best Weapon You Have is Your Mouth

Last night our group assaulted the castle in Phandelver.  We struck at it last week.  We just killed a few and when the castle became alert we got out.  This time however, was much different.

We attacked from the south instead of the north this time.  A simple adjustment.  We hoped to avoid any ambushes the goblins may have set up.  They are very good ambushers.  We entered the castle and hell broke loose fairly quickly.  I don't remember exactly how it happened, but we had orcs and goblins to the left and right of us, our exit barred because we had orcs and wolves coming up from behind AND there was an owlbear wandering around.  Wait, wait, not done.  And an elf shooting at us.

Two of our party members are on the floors.  We've killed a large number, but we are just outnumbered and our big fighter is getting torn up by the owlbear.  We were able to stabilize one and I force fed a healing potion to another.  But we were still very trapped.

This is where it got interesting.  We are playing 5E and my character is a rogue with an 18 charisma.  He's more of a con-man than pickpocket or dungeoneer.  Since he hit 3rd level I took Arcane Trickster so I got a few spells to cast.  One included Disguise Self.  I changed myself to look like an orc and pursued the elf (who I targeted as the boss) and hoped he would think I was an orc so I could get close enough to him to get a backshot in.  Nope.  I found him outside taking the form of a dead goblin and he was not fooled by my disguise at all.

But here's where my mouth became the most import weapon.  He ran to a group of orcs and goblins thinking they would attack me.  But I used my persuasion ability along with my disguise and all of a sudden orcs were killing goblins and goblins were bleeding on orcs.  The entire group started slaughtering one another.  The elf said something like "I can't believe this shit". 

Persuasion has been a life saver on more than on occasion.  I was able to take out a group of three orcs, two wolves, and I think six goblins and never shot an arrow or bloodied my blade.  So far in our 5E adventure my mouth has been my deadliest weapon. 

Kidnapping Package for 5E

Actually its a package that goes way back and edition friendly.

Last night we were playing 5E and plotting to capture a mage who killed one of our party members and had been doing evil things in general.  Our current party is actually made up of moral and good guys.  It's been a while since I think we have had a good group.  We tend to play morally ambiguous characters.  No pressure to be proper.

Rewind, we were sitting at the tavern discussing a plan to capture the mage.  The night before I decided to buy a couple of things, a couple would be a Criminal background specialty.   My guy, Sidwin the Sharp says "Don't judge me guys, but..." he pulls out a hood with a leather strap to secure it around someone's neck.  A leather gag strap that included a object that fit into the mouth to keep someone from talking/screaming/spitting and it was also equipped with a buckle to secure it to someone's head.  One size fits all.  And lastly a good pair of shackles. 

Total cost: 25gp

5E Elaboration: Why I Like the System

I received a couple requests to explain what I like about 5E from my last post.  So I'll try to explain.  I won't promise it'll make sense, but I'll give it a go because it is a good question.

So to answer +Sean Robson, you are right.  It also feels like a simplified version of 3E.  Which is probably why I like it.  It's not as bloated and it has very simple mechanics to resolve challenges.  I listened to a podcast where the group was playing 3.5 or Pathfinder, not sure, and a player rolled a skill challenge, he was upset that he only got a 31!  When you're disappointed when your result is a 31 while rolling a d20, to me, that system is broke.  In 5E players have a slower power scale.  At least what I've experience.

5E is not a clone of the old version (which is good, we have enough of those), but it is a Frankenstein Monster.  So I guess if you don't like skill checks, you won't like 5E.  I do like the skill checks, it add a concrete number to target and to me adds an element of tension.  And 5E doesn't seem to have the ridiculous power creep that 3.5 had.

To JB & +Alexis Smolensk...it is tough for me to answer because Rob is such a good DM.  Much of the excitement we had was due to the situation, tight dice rolls and challenging combat with different types of combatants.  We've had four sessions and each combat has been very close.  Can assign that to the system or just crappy dice rolls, I don't know.  But it has happened consistently enough that I can say that 5E handles combat well.  And like I said in Sean's answer, I do like the skill system resolution.  It's easy to figure out and doesn't seem to get bloated, but my experience so far has only been with 1st and 2nd level characters.

I can't say if I would feel differently if someone else DMed the session.  I'm just not sure.  But when I read the rules I like what I see.  Only some of the newer edition stuff is what I have the most trouble with.  I've written this before, I am not a fan of the second wind, short rest, long rest healing.  But that's what is offered in the system and if the GM wants to use it, I'll use it.  However, if I ran my own 5E game, I would probably houserule them differently.

The death saving throw is proving to be fun.  Rolling to see if you get three rolls under ten or over ten first has added a lot of tension.

Despite what others have said before, since playing 5E, I will also argue that it is a system built to keep players alive.  We would have been TPKed probably two or three times with old school systems.  But it adds a heroic element to it.  In old school games you mainly start out as an average Joe with a few extra skills.  In 5E you start as a hero in training. 

It's a new system.  It feels like we are exploring the game a little like in the way back.  Learning what we can do.  Learning what the monsters can do to us.  So I guess in these small ways, it is system based for some of the fun.

5E D&D Has Been a Blast

Last night we completed our 4th session of 5E D&D.  +Rob Conley is DMing us through Lost Mine of Phandelver, the adventure that comes in the Starter Set.  Rob has seamlessly integrated the adventure into his own campaign world, The Majestic Wilderlands.

Last night was a blast.  Usually we start at 6:30p and end at 9:30p because we are old and we smell bad if we stay up too late.  But last night he fought through our own funk and gamed until 11:30p.  We had nearly a full crew, +Chris C. players a opera singing fighter called Vougner, +Daniel McEntee plays a elf, ranger with a name I cannot remember.  And our newest addition to the group, +Joshua Macy is an elven mage, by the name of Aria.  I play Sidwin the Sharp, a rogue with an 18 charisma (it has saved our bacon twice).

Last night we got into it with the Red Brands.  Local bully group.  We just returned from kicking the goblins asses we come into town to find out the Red Brands have murdered a local farmer and they captured his wife and children to sell into slavery.  Now Sidwin is not a pillar of moral decency by any means, this doesn't set well with him.

The Plan
Sidwin tells the party that he's going to scout the Sleeping Giant, a ale house in the village where the Red Brands hang out.  He'll sneak up listen in and come back with the information.

Where the Plan Goes to Shit
Sidwin tippy-toes over.  Hears what he needs.  Tries to tippy-toe away, but one of the Red Brands catch him walking away.  Questions.  Sidwin pretends to be a drunk who water a nearby bush and offers the Red Brand a chance to taste it.  He declines.  Then all the Red Brands come out.  Sidwin goes into drunk ruffian mode who is running out of money.  Needs a job.  After some talking, drinking and gambling they seem to accept Sidwin.  Except the dwarven ale wife who make shitty ale.  I want to return to the inn, but they say, no no, you need to stay here.  Shitty ale making dwarf lady hold a crossbow on my ass all night.

Where the Shit Gets Real
My comrades find I have not returned.  They find me sleeping in the ale house with the Red Brands.  We kill them all.  Sidwin got enough information and we have a source that can tell us about a secret tunnel into the manor where the farmer's family is being held.

Where We Alert Every Fricking Person in the World that We are in the Dungeon
Yeah, we fought a lot.  We did well.  We actually got through a few fights without anyone going down.  This time Sidwin went down from a volley of magic missiles from a mage who kept shouting something about his glass staff.  Again my fellow party dudes saved my bacon. 

We left off still in combat!

We've been having a great time playing.  Rob is always an excellent DM.  Having Joshua in our party is great to get new blood mixed in.  The only thing missing was +Ken H, he hates us and won't play with us any more.  He keeps making up excuses about having to work and family, blah, blah, blah.  Have some priorities man!

I was really hoping to have my 5E handbook today, but the UPS man would not leave it on my porch (even though I left him a fricking note to do so) and now I have to wait until tomorrow.  I want to punch him.  Not hard.  Maybe in the upper leg to give him a charlie horse. 

All Over the Place Weekend

I spent most of the weekend bouncing from one project to another.  I gave myself permission to do this since I finally sent the 7th issue of The Manor to my vicious editors. 

I have my map done for my next micro-adventure.  It turned out well I think.  I've titled it Crypt Hill for now.  I'll probably stick with it, but I have a couple of ideas I may play with for this map. 

I worked on a piece for the next Manor.  I may do a theme issue.

I worked on an adventure for the Esoterrorist game I want to run.  I'm using local sites, groups and lore mixed in with made up stuff.  This will give it a more authentic feel.  Plus, being a modern day type adventure I will know what resources the players would have available to them.

That's it for my weekend.  Tonight we play our third session of 5e and I hope we finally get into the cave.  The GM has been ruthless with his rolls. 

Another D&D 5! Session in the Books

So I was nearly killed.

After a nice breakfast, our first hireling hire and a quick shop we made our way to the path we discovered earlier in the week when half the party was nearly killed.

Our fight, detected a pit trap with his face.

I snuck up to the cave mouth to discover how many goblins there might be.  I discovered one.  Well, that's all I could assume there were as he thrust his sword through my spleen and the tip popped out the other side of me.  I decided to rest after that.

When I awoke I took a knee (using a football term for a short rest) and we got away from the cave.  Our new elven ranger also did not fair well.  He was filled with arrows.  This would soon happen again thus earning him the name "Arrow Catcher".

We took a captured goblin that our mage put the sleep, to a cabin.  He was questioned and the goblin spilled his guts.  Figuratively at first.  Literally later.  We met a local lord.  I slathered his undeserving hide with respect and praise.  He was more astounded by the elves.  So I stood by quietly.

To his manor we went.  A structure that looked just slight less inviting than a giant's asshole.  The shelter and food were poor, but we did find a small gem of  a person inside.  He held her bond and in the morning we purchased her bond.  The local lord attempted to cheat up, but our elven mage shamed him for asking for more.

Our band on oft wounded adventurers returned to the goblin cave once again.  This time my luck was better as I was the one who struck a deadly blow without a sound.  However arrow catcher earned his name as he was filled with arrows once again.

We managed to revive him.  He took a knee and recovered some health. 

We wait until next week to enter the cave.

Things I Noticed
Holy shit goblins are tough when they surprise you.  They are +6 to sneak, I think +6 to hit.  With my 14 AC, Goblins have a 60% chance to hit me.  And they hit hard.

Initiative and Surprise are critical.  If the goblins get surprise and win initiative proved to be deadly.  Going first is a huge deal. 

Goblins being tough is a lot of fun.  Having to grind to get into the cave has been a lot of fun.  This by far is what gives the game a old school feel.  I'm really digging it. 

The death mechanic, while I am not sold on it, works for the game.  We had a few tense moments as people were making their rolls.  Pplus we couldn't make out medical checks for nothing.

D&D Next, My First Session

Last night Rob Conley ran a 5e session.  It's the first time we played the system since its 'release'.  We played two or three sessions in various stages of the playtest.

We used Roll20 and Google Hangouts.  They had 5e character sheets for Roll20.  There were very cool, some of the buttons didn't work, but over all it helped.  The only problem I had was the sheet covered the map.  So I had to keep closing/shrinking then reopen it.  It would be great if Roll20 could get to where we could use two screens.

The game itself, was a lot of fun.  I'm really liking the new D&D.  I am making my peace with the short/long rest and second wind mechanics.  While not a fan of it I can work with it.  I'm just having fun with it and working it into my strategies when I play.

I like the skill system.  And I think the advantage and disadvantage are good game mechanics.  Simple and effective. 

Last night we were ambushed by four goblins.  The two mages were immediately taken out of the fight.  The next round our fighter barely made it.  My rogue got a minor wound.  We could have easily been TPKed within two rounds.  By goblins!

One of the things that helped save our hides is using my Persuasion skill.  I convinced the goblins that more were coming and they should run.  That stunned them long enough for our fighter to second wind and then engage.  And I was able to get a couple arrows into goblin flesh.

So the combat was dangerous, fun and there were enough options to make it interesting. 

So two thumbs up for me.  D&D 5e so far is a good thing.

Gaming Staple: Cure Wounds Spells & a Rant About Rest & Recovery

As sleep is to mage, cure light wounds is to cleric.  A cleric in almost every system is the medic.  The guy who can help the party go further into the dungeon without having to leave to recuperate.  Here's the small break down of what Cure Light Wound does in other systems.

• In standard AD&D it will cure 1d8 points of damage.
• In Swords & Wizardry Complete it will cure 1d6 points of damage.
• In Labyrinth Lord it will cure 1d6+1 points of damage or can be used to cure paralysis.  

In D&D Next they don't have a Cure Light Wounds spell rather a Cure Wounds spell that is scalable, therefore can be cast at a higher level when the mage has high spell slots available.  There is no need for extra names/spells such as Cure Serious Wounds, Cure Critical Wounds, or Cure Mildly Annoying Rashes.  They are all covered in a single spell. 

The standard healing of a 1st level Cure Wounds spell is 1d8 + your spellcasting ability modifier.  If the spell is cast with a higher level spell slot than the number of d8s rolled will reflect that.  Example, if Cure Wounds is cast using a 4th level slot, the player would receive 4d8 hit points healed +the spellcasting modifier.

I like the simplicity of it.  No need to remember all those spells.  This is an increase in healing ability over the other systems.    In D&D Next you get your next healing bump at 3rd level when a 2nd level spell slot opens up.  And 5th level to access a 3HD healing spell.

• In standard AD&D your cleric needed to reach 7th level before getting the next level of healing spell.  And 9th level for a 3HD healing spell.
• Swords & Wizardry Complete  is the same, you need to reach 7th level before getting a 2HD healing spell.  And there is no 2HD cure spell for LL.  
• Labyrinth Lord is the same as S&W complete.

As you can see in D&D Next, the cleric has more ability to heal, faster and better.  This is why the whole spending hit dice during a short rest irks me.  And how a long rest recovers all lost hit points.  I am not a fan of this.  In this version you have access to more healing than any other version of the game.  And the need to add additional auto healing options just waters down the danger of the game. 

This is where the philosophy of your home-ruled game comes into play.  This mechanic demonstrates that the builders of the system are afraid to have character die in game (I'll get into the saving throw mechanic of death in another time).  To me, the fun of the game is the struggle of surviving a dangerous place, managing resources and hoping the next room has the treasure you're looking for.  A short rest allow a player to spend their hit dice like a healing spell.  So everyone in the party can recover from their wound by chilling out and grabbing a slice of pizza.  An ogre just slices half of you off.  No worries, I got a bag of Doritios and some Mountain Dew, I'll be fine. 

This is just my philosophy on the rule.  I don't like it.  I think with the clerics new options and increased healing ability this mechanic seems redundant and harmful to the overall sense of danger to the game. 

Oh, and do not get me started on that second wind crap.

Gaming Staple: Sleep Spell Part 2

Last night was game night and I was talking with the uber goobs about the sleep.  I crunch some numbers. 

With 5th edition based on hit points.  It's current write up knocks out 5d8 hit points worth of enemies.  I'll use the goblin as the standard enemy.  I check the goblin stats in the Starter Set and they have 7hp.  So an average roll for the spell would be 22 to 23 hit points affected.  So in 5e a mage can put to sleep an average of 3 goblins. 

In older editions the standard sleep spell could take out 4d4 creature with 1 hit die or less.  Goblins average less than a hit die in older versions.  So the mage would average 10 goblins a Sleep spell. 

So the Sleep spell in 5e has been nerfed a bit.  I don't mind the change.  I always thought Sleep was overpowering to begin with.  I like the 5e version because its not overpowering at low levels and doesn't become completely useless at high levels.

JDJarvis brings up an interesting situation. 
What interests me in that notation is if the HP limits for spell effects are meant to be the targets usual healthy HP score or the current score. If the current score it opens a host of tactics that were otherwise completely absent, hitting a troll a couple times and casting sleep on it is now valid (but does it wake up when it regenerates above the HP limit of the spell?).

I think I would run with current hit points.  The party manages to whittle down a giant to 10 hit points and the mage hit it with a sleep, I say good on them.  Maybe the next giant will get to make meat soup.

How would you guys rule it?

Taking a Look at One of the Staples of D&D

One of the things I do is take a look at staples that are in every edition and played a lot.  In this case, I looked at the Sleep spell.

Most versions of the sleep spell effect Hit Dice of the creature.  There is usually some scale of the number of creatures effected.  This time around, 5th edition has taken the sleep spell and made it based on Hit Points. 

My first reaction was neutral.  I thought, okay, a little change up.  But still a bit of a token one.  But what I liked is the spell progressively gets more powerful with the mage.  In past editions it was the big bomb spell at lower levels and discarded soon after.  So the increase of hit points it effects as the character increases in level will make it a viable spell long term.

Since I'm on lunch break, I don't have any numbers.  I'll check back when I get home and do some calculations to compare version.

So this staple of the game, for me, has been improved.

Numbers later.

My 1st Character for D&D Next

Looks like Sidwin the Sharp is my first character for a new/old system.  I rolled 4d6 and wrote them from top to bottom, no changing them.  I used four precision dice from Dice God, Zocchi.  He smiled upon when I rolled. 

Usually I can tell if I am going to like a system when I create characters.  I enjoyed making Sidwin.  It is easy and yet has simple and effective options.  Gone are the video game mechanics of 4th edition that turned me off.  This system seems to have grabbed the best from the different editions and a few brilliant ideas from OSR systems. 

There will people who will crap all over it because it's WotC and Hasboro, but I'm judging on its playability.  I've had the chance to playtest it in the early stages and in the last stages.  So I'm looking forward to playing the final version. 

I've been reading through the Starter Set books and while I wish there was more in them to begin with I still think there is enough to get things going.  An inexpensive way to see if the game is for you.  And cool blue dice.  Dice are always a good thing.  And with the offering of the free PDF, I printed it out, 3-hole punched it and bound it together with bread ties.  I thought about getting fancy, but went old school, Wonder Bread style.

It fits into the box.  I've been going through it, but haven't sat down and read it from front to back.  I like making up characters and learning it that way.  Then read it.  I still need to wrap my head around the spell casting.  I think I've got it.  Almost. 

Origins: D&D Next Session

The final activity of Origins was our D&D Next session.  When I glanced at the games D&D Next was offering it was interesting to see all the old time adventures they were using to demonstrate the ruleset.  Tomb of Horrors, Keep on the Borderlands and some 3.5 stuff from the Forgotten Realms.  It seems WotC is making a concentrated effort to get back some of the fan base it lost.

One thing I should note is we were not playing the final version of D&D Next.  We were playing the final playtest rules.  The referee made it clear that some of the things have changed.  So this is really just a playtest of the final ruleset.  But I was going in to see or feel which direction they were going in.  While they were using old adventures, that didn't mean they were going old school again.

I could go through the playtest, but Rob already did a good job of covering the details here.  What I can add is it felt like playing a combination of AD&D through 3.5.  Bits of this edition here and bits of another here.  Also the adoption of ascending AC was a good choice in my opinion.  The skill resolutions were easy.  They used a simple scale of 10, 15, 20 and 25 to determine the difficulty of a task.  A side note, I was listening to a podcast where the players were playing 3.5 and through the podcast they would ask for a skill roll.  Often the players would roll in the 30s and be disappointed!  To me, the system is broken and out of balance at that point.  If D&D Next sticks to what it did in the final playtest rules than I think that flaw could be fixed.

The referee was competent , but like Rob said, relied way too much on reading the script from the adventure verbatim.  Maybe he had to do that because it was a playtest setting for the adventure.  The adventure itself was bland, but I think had some interesting nuances for longer play.  This adventure had several optional quests the players could have explored.  For some reason it reminded me a lot of the Pathfinder Adventure Paths.  

I've already ordered the Starter Set on Amazon.  I think it is $13.  I'd like to see what the final version is going to look like.  From what I've seen and experienced it'll be a system I can work with.  Probably won't be my main system, but it'll find space on my shelf. 

So WotC is trying to attract some of the old school/Pathfinder folks back into the fold.  Let's see how they treat 3rd party publishers this time around.  I hope they can figure out they can attract more folks with and open hand than a clenched fist.