Dungeons & Dragons - New & Old

DMs running 5e have two tools at their disposal to reward good roleplaying and improvise during a shifting story.

The first tool is "advantage". When granted advantage, a character can roll twice on a d20 roll and take the better result. 5e DMs can institute this mechanic in a variety of situations or environments such as moving to high ground, conducting a well planned bit of subterfuge, or spending some time to plan a first strike attack. Advantage is a powerful bonus when given, roughly equivalent to a +3 to +5 bonus depending on the target DC. You won't want to give it out all the time, but when you do, it will really matter to the PC's action.

The second tool is "inspiration". Inspiration is a reward for good roleplaying. When a player has their PC act true to its character, even if it's not the optimal choice from a gameplay perspective, the DM can give the character "inspiration" which, when used, gives them advantage on a d20 roll of their choice.

These two tools give DMs a great way to empower PCs and reward players for coming up with creative and unplanned solutions to their problems. These tools build trust with our players and empower PCs to act beyond the mechanics of their character sheet. They reinforce the basic idea that D&D is a game about interactive storytelling focusing on action, exploration, and interaction.

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As mentioned in a discussion of the D&D Starter Set between myself and Enrique Bertran, the lack of a tactical battle map may be the first thing a 4e DM will notice. There are no maps, no tokens, no miniatures, and no visual tactical descriptions of the combat encounters included in the D&D Starter Set. This doesn't mean you can't run tactical battles. Instead, it means we have many options for running combat encounters, both on and off the grid. Here are some example ways we might run combat in 5e.
.Narrative Combat: The DM describes the scene, players describe the actions of their PCs, dice are rolled, and the DM describes the outcome.
.Abstract Sketches: The DM draws loose sketches, not to scale, to show some details of an area. Players describe where they want to go, and the DM adjudicates.
.Abstract Combat on Tactical Maps: The DM uses a battle map but combat distances are abstracted. The grid doesn't really mean anything or might measure distances greater than 5 feet.
.4e-style Gridded Combat: Squares are five feet and much of the battle takes place as it did in 4th edition. Diagonal movement just counts as a square and bursts and blasts are done in the style of 4th edition.
.3.5e and Pathfinder Style Gridded combat: Combat takes place on a grid, Every other diagonal move counts as 10 feet, bursts and blasts are as close to circular as you can make them.

Because 5e D&D is flexible in how it approaches combat, any of these styles can work well and give you option for faster abstract combat or lengthier and more tactical battles.

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Himeo_sl said:

Treasure, and especially gold, matter.

Because of the flat math system and return of crafting, finding a hoard of gold will be cool again instead of "Oh, we leveled, where's all the treasure the DMG told you to give us."

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Arbitrary_sl said:

I have serious concerns about the kinds of campaigns some of you played in.

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Arbitrary_sl said:

That doesn't have anything to do with the system and everything to do with the person running the game.

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Arbitrary_sl said:

I have serious concerns about the kinds of campaigns some of you played in.

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Himeo_sl said:

The kind where the DM flat out said, build a min/max level 10 character. Assume x amount of gold per level. Equip gear when you level (IE, level 1 rewards are used when you hit level 2). Drop the character back to level 1, and let's kill shit.

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