Gaming Notes: DnD 5.0 Playtest #2

In our second session playtesting Dungeons and Dragons "Next" I was the Dungeon Master! As I prepared, I was really impressed with how the module was laid out. Monsters aren't static anymore - they move naturally and react to what the heroes do. I tried to warn them. I really did.

The goblin army

The party continued into the caverns and quickly dispatched three goblins before they could raise an alarm. Job well done and we were off to a good start!

The rogue scouted down the hallway, hearing the loud, loud noises of many, many goblins (as I described it several times). So, they decided to build a barricade from the table, benches, etc. in the room and post the heads of the 3 goblins on spears in the hallway. They then waited for the goblins to show up which they eventually did. When a few goblins came around the corner (not expecting anything) and saw what they party had done, they let out a war cry and charged. The three goblins were again easily defeated. I described many, many agitated goblin sounds coming from down the corridor. The party waited for them in ambush on top of the barricade they had built (not behind it, on top of it). Seeing 6 dead goblins at the party's feet, the hallway filled with goblins that started launching arrows. The party retreated with the sorcerer wisely setting the barricade on fire with burning hands (this probably saved the entire party).

The party ran outside and up the hill into a small forested area about 100 feet from the cave entrance. The rogue hung back for 20 minutes until he heard that the goblins had doused the fire and were in pursuit again. He then rejoined the party to witness the head goblin and a score of goblins emerge from the cave. The head goblin broke the goblins into small search parties to find the adventurers.

Of course, the party was eventually spotted. They quickly dispatched the first four goblins but not before they sent out a war cry alerting the others. The second group of four goblins arrived and fired arrows, awaiting reinforcements from their leader. The party killed these four but were soon forced to flee again as the goblin leader ascended the hill with 12 goblins in tow.

The party was chased out of the canyon and then most of the goblins returned home realizing that they weren't going to catch them.

After traveling for hours, the party decided to return to the canyon area. They approached on the oppose bank and set up camp 1250 feet away from the canyon, over the ridge. The rogue snuck down and observed various creatures coming and going in night raiding parties so he has a pretty good idea about which caves house which creatures.

Meanwhile, on the cleric's watch he rolled a 20 and clearly heard 3 bugbears approaching hundreds of feet away (unaware that the party was even there). They tried to hide instead of move out of the path of the bugbears but the fighter was spotted and the combat ensued. The cleric cast light so he could see, alerting other monsters to their presence (which probably saved the party, actually). Both the sorcerer and fighter went down with the fighter coming withing 2 hit points of dying. The cleric got the killing blow in when a group of approaching orcs (attracted by the light) scared off the remaining bugbear giving the cleric an "opportunity attack." The rogue returned from his recon mission and he picked up his unconscious teammates (after stabilizing the fighter) with the help of the cleric and traveled over a mile West to set up camp.

After 10 hours (it was mid-day the following day) the party was rested and fully healed. I awarded experience and everyone leveled up.

Gaming Notes: DnD 5.0 Playtest #1

DnD "Next" - no wonder they need so many playtesters...

I'm so pumped! Finally, Wizards of the Coast got everything sorted out with the downloads to the playtesting materials for 5.0 and, since then, has released several updates. My gaming group decided to participate in the playtest and boy have I been impressed so far!

The character creation process is simple and straightforward. I created a warlock. In the party we also had two clerics, a sorcerer, a dwarven fighter, and a elven rogue. The DM decided to run the Caves of Chaos adventure as it was released for 5.0 playtesting. This group had played this adventure in 2nd edition so we were very familiar with it.

We started out at a town, hearing rumors of monsters attacking nearby caravans. People and valuables have gone missing and the town wanted us to check it out, promising 100 gp reward if we could stop the attacks.

So, we set off toward the source of the disturbance. My warlock, having the skill of geographical knowledge, lead the party successfully to the Caves of Chaos in a few days time.

We were starring at a sparsely vegetated canyon or valley with several cave entrances along its slopped surface. Being lazy, we decided to take the nearest one.

Well, we had just stepped in the door when we ran into a band of goblins. We joined the battle but a couple of them scurried away, only to return with reinforcements! Yikes! Our thief went down in the combat but we were victorious, sending the few remaining goblins scurrying away in fear.

We did a little healing and resting and then were rudely interrupted by a ogre coming down the hallway! Uh-oh! This large creature looked like he was gunning for us! It took all of our combined efforts but we eventually laid the monster low.

Overall, I was very impressed with how smooth the combats went. We had somewhere around 20 total combatants engaged in combat at the same time but rounds went very quickly.

So far, I'm REALLY impressed with 5th edition! I can't wait to play more!

D&D 5.0 Rolls a "1"

D&D Five Point Uh-Oh...

After waiting for the requisite 30-60 minutes, I got my e-mail and eagerly clicked the link... only to be redirected to the WOTC troubleshooting page.

Was it all just a cruel joke? Was my faith restored only to be dashed again?

Either way, D&D 5.0 just hit a bump in the road...

I wonder if you can botch a skill check in this edition...

D&D 5.0 Playtest Has Begun!

*gulp* Thanks, but I'll opt for the dungeon instead...

Honestly, I had given up hope. I had signed up for the Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition playtest and I heard nothing for months. "Yet another cruel joke on the fans," I said. "How disappointing."

Well, I was wrong! I just received the e-mail link to download the playtest packet!

I'm hoping to get to playtest it this weekend! I have had a little bit of my faith in D&D restored! Way to go, Wizards!

5.0-My-Goodness

Wizards of the Coast recently announced that they were releasing Dungeons and Dragons 5.0! A year from now. Wow. They want to "gather input from the fans" (like they haven't heard an earful over the last few years already). What I want to know is - how much product do they plan on selling in the next year? You don't see Wizards doing this with Magic: The Gathering. Why? Because they don't want to go an entire year selling no MtG! Get it right the first time and then build on it- You CAN make money that way!

It happens every time a new version of a RPG is announced - the old one becomes almost invisible on a store's shelves. The same thing happens in video games. When the next platform is announced, sales of the current platform dry up completely. The difference, in this case, is that typically the next edition isn't announced a year in advance.

Wizards continues announcing and releasing new products for 4th edition... but I can't imagine that they'll actually sell any of it. I know if I owned a comics/gaming store I sure wouldn't buy any of that dead product for my shelves.

This whole move just smacks of desperation, frankly. I think it's going to backfire on Wizards in a huge way - they just guaranteed flat sales for an entire year. I'd look for D&D to be in new hands within the next fives years. And you know what that means, don't you? A new edition!