D&D Next Starter Edition & Basic Rules
So, my pre-order for D&D Next (or 5th Edition, whichever -- I'll be using DDN and DD5e interchangeably here) dropped into my hands from Amazon yesterday, and I found out about the free download of the Core Rules last night (thanks, Wil Wheaton Project!), so I managed to snag that download as well.
I'll be breaking this up into sections, noting my observations on the new ruleset, and comparing it with D&D 3.5e (since that's what we currently play) and the last iteration of the playtest rules along the way.
I know I'll be able to get Colleen and Marcus to run short sessions with me. Maybe I'll be able to get the main group to play it once in a while, especially after the PHB comes out. (More on that below.)
As always, comments, questions and even criticisms are welcome.
First off, I want to discuss the order of product release that WotC is taking with this.
It's a bit... odd, when one looks at it.
Player's Handbook - 19 August
Monster Manual - 30 September
Dungeon Master's Guide - 19 November
Now, here's the thing...
D&D 3.5e also had a staggered release of the three core books. I think they were a month apart, and the order was PHB/DMG/MM.
D&D 4e released all three core books at once. In fact, I ordered the box set via Amazon.
So why are they staggering these at such an odd interval?
WotC reports that one of the main reasons is so that they're not rushed to get everything out, and then (like with 4e) have to keep publishing errata and rules updates every month. I can see that.
Plus, the filler time has two adventure modules based on their new storyline dealing with dragons in the Forgotten Realms. (Oh yeah, that's the default world setting... unlike 3e/3.5e being set in Greyhawk/Oerth, and 4e in whatever new world they created.) The first one comes out on 19 August (same as the PHB), and the other on 21 October. Me, I'm skipping these, as I'd want to run my own world, thanks. (Either Greyhawk or my homebrew world that I've been developing for HARP, complete with its own pantheon of deities.)
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Now, the Basic Set that's available on WotC's website isn't going to stay clocked in at 110 pages. According to the developers, it'll grow as the books come out. More DM material in August, but it most likely won't have more than the four basic classes (Fighter, Cleric, Rogue and Wizard) and a handful of races (right now, it's Human, Dwarf, Elf, and Halfling). More options will be in the PHB once that's released. Okay, I can live with that since it will be a freebie. Nice of WotC to throw out some bones.
But, it's been pointed out to think of it this way: the online ruleset (Basic) is just that -- basic. It's like the red box set we all remember seeing in bookstores and comic shops back in the 80s. (Or even recently, with the 4e Red Box.) You get just a few classes and races, rules for combat and adventuring, a few monsters and treasures, and there you go. Ready to play without much in the way of options.
The PHB, DMG and MM that will be printed and published for a cost will have more options with regard to races, classes, spells, equipment, proficiencies and skills, and the like. It's the "Advanced" version of the rules.
Seems like it's coming back full circle, doesn't it?
I'll start in on the actual reading tonight, cobble some notes together, and start writing. As I said, I'm going to break this up into sections, and compare with D&D 3.5e as I go.
More later.
I'll be breaking this up into sections, noting my observations on the new ruleset, and comparing it with D&D 3.5e (since that's what we currently play) and the last iteration of the playtest rules along the way.
I know I'll be able to get Colleen and Marcus to run short sessions with me. Maybe I'll be able to get the main group to play it once in a while, especially after the PHB comes out. (More on that below.)
As always, comments, questions and even criticisms are welcome.
First off, I want to discuss the order of product release that WotC is taking with this.
It's a bit... odd, when one looks at it.
Player's Handbook - 19 August
Monster Manual - 30 September
Dungeon Master's Guide - 19 November
Now, here's the thing...
D&D 3.5e also had a staggered release of the three core books. I think they were a month apart, and the order was PHB/DMG/MM.
D&D 4e released all three core books at once. In fact, I ordered the box set via Amazon.
So why are they staggering these at such an odd interval?
WotC reports that one of the main reasons is so that they're not rushed to get everything out, and then (like with 4e) have to keep publishing errata and rules updates every month. I can see that.
Plus, the filler time has two adventure modules based on their new storyline dealing with dragons in the Forgotten Realms. (Oh yeah, that's the default world setting... unlike 3e/3.5e being set in Greyhawk/Oerth, and 4e in whatever new world they created.) The first one comes out on 19 August (same as the PHB), and the other on 21 October. Me, I'm skipping these, as I'd want to run my own world, thanks. (Either Greyhawk or my homebrew world that I've been developing for HARP, complete with its own pantheon of deities.)
-------------------------------------------------------------
Now, the Basic Set that's available on WotC's website isn't going to stay clocked in at 110 pages. According to the developers, it'll grow as the books come out. More DM material in August, but it most likely won't have more than the four basic classes (Fighter, Cleric, Rogue and Wizard) and a handful of races (right now, it's Human, Dwarf, Elf, and Halfling). More options will be in the PHB once that's released. Okay, I can live with that since it will be a freebie. Nice of WotC to throw out some bones.
But, it's been pointed out to think of it this way: the online ruleset (Basic) is just that -- basic. It's like the red box set we all remember seeing in bookstores and comic shops back in the 80s. (Or even recently, with the 4e Red Box.) You get just a few classes and races, rules for combat and adventuring, a few monsters and treasures, and there you go. Ready to play without much in the way of options.
The PHB, DMG and MM that will be printed and published for a cost will have more options with regard to races, classes, spells, equipment, proficiencies and skills, and the like. It's the "Advanced" version of the rules.
Seems like it's coming back full circle, doesn't it?
I'll start in on the actual reading tonight, cobble some notes together, and start writing. As I said, I'm going to break this up into sections, and compare with D&D 3.5e as I go.
More later.