D&D Next playtest review

I’ve already reported on my first playtest session for Dungeons & Dragons “Next” (Fifth Edition). Stepping back from the Player Characters and the events within that tabletop role-playing game, here are some thoughts about the rules.

The Keep on the Borderlands and the Caves of Chaos

First, let’s take a look at the participants. Jason E.R., Bruce K., and Rich C.G., the newest members of the face-to-face, Boston-area groups, sat out the D&D Next playtest, but we had some returning and new gamers to round out our face-to-face adventuring party.

-Beruk A.: Our font of pop culture references, Beruk is one of the first gamers I met in the Boston area, and all of his characters have strong personalities and terrible luck. Since Josh had already claimed the pregenerated Half-Elf Wizard, Beruk played a human Mage.

-Brian W.: Like me, Brian is a 40-something grognard who has fond memories of games from the early 1980s. He likes lighter rules sets such as Savage Worlds more than recent editions of D&D. Brian is a proponent of Dungeon Crawl Classics, which is part of the retro–clone movement and the so-called Old School Renaissance. He has been hosting our face-to-face gatherings since I moved from Needham to Waltham, Mass.

-Sara F.: Sara is the youngest person in my current groups (under 30) and an experienced role-player, with a preference for non-human characters — we “reskinned” her Halfling as an intelligent raccoon — and simpler systems such as Fantastic Adventures in Tabletop Entertainment (FATE 3e).

-Josh C.: Sara’s boyfriend is a Game Master who came of age during the 1990s, when White Wolf’s Storyteller: the World of Darkness was dominant. Josh has played and run AD&D2, D&D3.x, and Pathfinder, among other systems. His “Spelljammer: the Show Must Go On” miniseries, using FATE 3e Legends of Anglerre, is just winding down on Sunday nights.

-Thomas K.Y.: Primarily a player of video games and massively multiplayer online (MMO) games such as City of Heroes, Thomas did play D&D3.0 and D20 Mutants & Masterminds 2nd Ed. with us a few years ago.

-Kai-Yin H.: A novice to tabletop role-playing games, Thomas’ girlfriend is a good sport and has attended several genre movies with us. Of the pregenerated characters, I gave Kai-Yin the Dwarf Fighter because it was the simplest.

How did D&D Next play? As Dungeon Master, I was glad to be able to use flavor and statistics from the oD&D (BECMI), AD&D2, and D&D3.x versions of the classic Keep on the Borderlands module. I had no difficulty combining Non-Player Characters, maps and scene descriptions, or monsters from the different editions of the “Caves of Chaos.”

We used mostly pregenerated characters, with the notable exceptions of Sara’s raccoon Rogue and Beruk’s human Wizard. I didn’t make any mechanical adjustments to their statistics — we just described and role-played them differently. Since we had two Wizards and two Clerics, more example spells would have been helpful for distinguishing and developing them.

I would have liked more guidance in the playtest PDFs of how to create or customize P.C.s in the event of a larger group or to avoid duplication. If I continue this playtest with my Sunday night telecom fantasy group, we’ll have more tweaking to do.

I thought that D&D Next‘s backgrounds (similar to “aspects” in FATE) and themes (similar to combat roles in D&D4e) added a decent layer to character’s origins and abilities without too much complication. It looks like feats from D&D3.x/D20 will come in here. I wanted to see Bard, Ranger and Paladin options, whether as backgrounds/themes or as full occupational classes.

I liked using D&D5e/Next‘s ability score checks and simplified skill list, but Thomas and Josh said it would have been nice to know the math behind some of the playtest‘s precalculated bonuses.

The Player Character record sheets could have been clearer for novices like Kai-Yin, and Wizards of the Coast (WotC) could have provided more guidance for alignment/motivation. Josh noted that Pathfinder‘s alignment descriptions are particularly clear. Equipment and weapon descriptions could have been more specific or interesting for modern players unfamiliar with fantasy tropes, such as different types of armor and weapons.

Combat ran reasonably smoothly and faster in D&D Next than for any edition past AD&D1. Smaller stat blocks for opponents were definitely a plus. Hit points and damage seemed initially high — 100+ for an Owlbear — but if the advancement curve is flatter, that might be OK. Thomas mentioned that simple D20-derived rules for firing into melee/friendly fire and certain conditions would have been helpful.

We liked D&D Next‘s advantage/disadvantage method of rolling 2d20, but we didn’t care for its healing, which was almost as easy as in D&D4e. Thomas also pointed out that more of the rules should have been in natural language with more explanatory sidebars.

Admittedly, this was the first session in a while or ever for some gamers, but money, movement, and some spell descriptions caused confusion even though they were on the character sheets or in the rules packets. I agree with Josh that a one-page “cheat sheet” of rules summaries would have been helpful, and should in fact be all that’s required (with page references) for a fully playable game.

Overall, as other reviews have noted, this playtest of D&D Next feels a lot like stripped-down D&D3.x/D20, with bits from D&D4e. It ran smoothly, allowing for some player creativity and D.M. discretion, but as a mostly combat-oriented module, we haven’t gotten very far with character development or problem solving yet.

I know I’m a little late to the party with these observations, but readers and fellow role-players may find them helpful as we compare notes on the D&D Next playtest.

We’ll see whether WotC can live up to its promises for more online support, easy session prep, rules modularity, and the ability to appeal both to nostalgia and the desire for novelty among gamers of all ages. D&D5e/Next still has a ways to go before it can be more than a Hasbro brand, compete with Pathfinder and other games, and dominate our now-shrinking hobby as its predecessors did.

D&D Next playtest, Session 1

Fellow role-players, here’s part one of a report on my playtest session for Dungeons & Dragons “Next” (Fifth Edition). As I’ve mentioned previously, my regular Pathfinder: “the Vanished Lands” telecom fantasy and FATE 3e “Vortex” space opera campaigns are on hiatus while we try other games for the summer.

It was nice to be back in the Game Master’s chair to run this retro/preview scenario. Brian W. hosted the group in Newton on Monday, 11 June 2012. My next post will discuss our observations about D&D5e/Next.

>>Player Characters for the “Caves of Chaos,” playtest scenario for “Dungeons & Dragons Next” (5e), June 2012:

-“Salami” [Brian W.]-male Mountain Dwarf Cleric of Moradin, god of smiths (background: Knight, theme: Guardian); Alignment: Lawful Neutral; at Experience Level 1

-“Gerald” [Beruk A.]-male Human Wizard (Sage, Magic User) and student with a mongoose familiar; Chaotic Good, Lvl. 1

-“Uldor” [Thomas K.Y.]-male Human Cleric of Pelor, sun deity (Priest, Healer); Neutral Good, Lvl. 1

-“Gug” [Kai-Yin H.]-male Hill Dwarf Fighter (Soldier, Slayer), mercenary; Chaotic Neutral, Lvl. 1

-“Kada Theron” [Sara F.]-female Raccoon-folk Rogue (as Lightfoot Halfling; Commoner, Lurker); Chaotic Good, Lvl. 1

-“Pergamoy” [Josh C.]-male High Elf Wizard (Sage, Magic User) with time to spare; Chaotic Good, Lvl. 1

The Caves of Chaos — Player map of the Caves of Chaos

Six would-be adventurers seeking fortune and glory found their way from disparate origins to a keep on the borderlands. Kendall Castle sits along a road between the human-dominated plains and a dark forest and high mountains.

A gruff Dwarf nicknamed “Salami” heads straight for the inn, where he orders an ale from barkeep Will. Wandering student Gerald browses in the market, while wily thief Kada Theron sticks to the shadows and looks for easy prey.

Blond priest Uldor pays his respects at the local chapel, and taciturn mercenary Gug notices the keep‘s stonework on his way to the tavern. Patient Pergamoy sees posters advertising “coin” in return for monster-fighting and exploration services.

Will complains to Salami that the distant king hasn’t sent reinforcements to the castle, which has resorted to hiring freelancers after some farm lads went missing. Barmaid Calista brings more food and drink for Gug and Gerald, and Pergamoy negotiates for a free night’s room and board, plus some provisions.

Uldor finds Abercrombie asleep in the dusty chapel. The older Cleric tells the newcomer that he is glad for any help and will offer blessings on any expedition. Stealthy Kada eventually follows Uldor to the inn after deciding that he’s not worth pickpocketing.

Will tells the six travelers that he is also a member of the militia and that with no men to spare, all of the castle’s regular inhabitants must keep an eye on the roads after nearby farms were attacked. Livestock was taken, and no survivors have been left to describe the humanoid raiders. Anyone who defeats the bandits can keep whatever booty they find, he says.

Dwarves Salami and Gug readily agree, especially once Will says that the attackers are likely coming from a nearby cave complex. Uldar feels obliged to protect the human peasants, since he is from a nearby village, and Kada is curious about rumors of monsters in the woods.

Wizards Gerald and Pergamoy need money to continue their arcane research, so the adventuring party agrees after some discussion to set out early the next morning. Will provides a sketchy map of the area. Uldar returns to the chapel for a quick blessing.

Kada leads the way along the rutted road, with Gug close behind. Gerald and Pergamoy are less comfortable roughing it, but Uldor and Salami note that they should be able to afford pack animals — if they survive. A few hours later, the group finds a ravine deep in the woods.

Furry Kada follows a stream to a cave mouth, one of several in the gully’s limestone walls. Gerald casts Light on his ferret’s collar so that he and Uldor can keep up with the demihumans. The spelunkers are horrified when they realize that the crunching sound underfoot isn’t from pebbles or acorns but rather bones!

A large Owlbear lumbers toward them. Uldor invokes Pelor to cast Searing Light, drawing first blood. Pergamoy recites an incantation for Ray of Frost, stopping the unnatural beast in its tracks. However, the Owlbear uses its long arms to swing at Gug, biting the Dwarf.

Salami moves up and swings his warhammer, while Kada’s first sling stones miss. Gerald also casts Ray of Frost, but Uldar’s Radiant Lance and Pergamoy’s next Rays of Frost spells miss the Owlbear, which tries to rake at Salami.

The Dwarf Cleric shouts Moradin’s name in a battle cry and again strikes the Owlbear with his warhammer. Gug coordinates with Salami, timing his great axe’s blows. Kada slings more stones at the monster and then acrobatically slides between its legs to help wounded Uldar, who leans heavily on his staff.

Gerald casts Grease on the Owlbear, which doesn’t trip but is also unable to grab anyone in a bear hug. The wise Mage steps back as Pergamoy fires Magic Missiles. Gug is caught by the Owlbear’s claws, but Uldar blasts it with another Searing Light, felling the foul beast.

The explorers quickly search the cave, claiming electrum pieces and the Owlbear’s claws and beak as trophies (mainly for the Wizards). Salami notices that a pool in one corner leads to another cavern, so he ties a rope around himself, gives the other end to his companions, and wades in.

Salami surfaces in a stench-ridden cave, and he feels something slither past his legs. He hustles to a twig-covered shore and realizes that he has found a nest with another Owlbear! The ooze in the water has eaten the Dwarf’s rope, but Salami manages to hustle back to the rest of the party before it or the second Owlbear can catch him.

The party retreats from the caves and sets up camp for the night just outside the ravine. Pergamoy wonders why Will didn’t offer tents or bedrolls as Kada builds a campfire for Salami to dry out. Gug notices movement in the brush and warns her friends.

Six small Kobolds attack. Uldor calls upon Pelor as he casts Radiant Lance, while robed Pergamoy incinerates two of the doglike reptiles — or reptile-like canids — with Burning Hands. Salami, who hates all Goblinoids, smites another Kobold.

The three remaining creatures try to flee, but Kada drops one with a well-aimed sling stone. Gerald’s Ray of Frost takes care of another Kobold, but Gug misses wildly with his crossbow. Salami interrogates the last Kobold, who mentions that there is an Orc chieftan in the Caves of Chaos.

Gug dispatches the Kobold (demihumans and humanoids tend not to expect or grant quarter). Pergamoy asks whether the Owlbear nest is somehow connected to the humanoid tribes, but Uldor thinks that it is unlikely. Gerald recommends caution before returning to the caves, and Kada asks Salami to help keep watch while the injured attend to their wounds….

I hope that everyone who participated in this playtest enjoyed it, and I look forward to discussing and posting more feedback regarding the D&D Next rules. Depending on scheduling, we may continue with this scenario and these characters, either face to face or online. Don’t forget Free RPG Day, and take it easy, -Gene

R.I.P., Ray Bradbury

Ray Bradbury, one of my favorite science fiction and fantasy authors, has died. Along with Isaac Asimov, Arthur C. Clarke, and Robert A. Heinlein, he enlightened and entertained me in my youth.

SF author Ray Bradbury — Late author Ray Bradbury

More poetic than many of his Golden Age peers, Bradbury‘s many stories featured a mix of speculation, wonder, and hope for humanity. Here are some of my favorites of Bradbury‘s tales:

The Illustrated Man is an intoxicating collection of surreal tales, both clever and introspective. I Sing the Body Electric (and I now have the Rush song in my head) is a robot story the equal of most of Asimov’s.

Bradbury‘s Something Wicked This Way Comes was the first time I became aware of the potential for horror in Americana, with its sinister carnival. Even memories of the Disney adaptation, starring Jonathan Pryce, send shivers up my spine. Stephen King and HBO’s Carnivale would later develop that theme.

In The Martian Chronicles, Bradbury depicts a planet that’s not as exotic as Edgar Rice Burroughs’ Barsoom or as desolate as the world we know today. Instead, it’s a dusty frontier, with whispered memories of its original inhabitants and lonely explorers and homesteaders.

Fahrenheit 451 is a political “What if?” on par with 1984 or Brave New World as a cautionary tale and source of controversy. In the “real world,” paper books are threatened by electronic media, which are just as prone, of not more so, to censorship and invasions of privacy. Bradbury will be missed, but his works live on.

Who’s the fairest of them all?

On Saturday, 2 June 2012, I met Thomas K.Y. & Kai-Yin H. for lunch at Mulan, a decent Taiwanese restaurant in downtown Waltham, Massachusetts. We also screened Snow White and the Huntsman at the Landmark Embassy Cinema. The fantasy film was enjoyable, despite some flaws.

Snow White, wicked queen, and the huntsman — Snow White and the Huntsman

I’ve been following only some of the recent wave of movies and television shows based on fairy tales, so I can’t compare Snow White and the Huntsman to Red Riding Hood, Once Upon a Time, or Mirror, Mirror. I do like NBC’s Grimm, but that’s more of a modern supernatural police procedural.

Snow White and the Huntsman only loosely follows the story recounted by the Brothers Grimm and Walt Disney. There’s still a princess, a wicked stepmother, a magic mirror, and seven dwarves, but this Snow White reminded me more of the wave of high-minded but inconsistent fantasy flicks from the 1980s, such as Dragonslayer or Labyrinth.

Twilight‘s Kristen Stewart acquits herself well as the eponymous princess, who is more like Joan of Arc than Disney’s cheerful heroine. Charlize Theron (soon also to be seen in Prometheus) happily chews the scenery as Queen Ravenna and needs to be “uglied up” with computer-generated effects for her younger rival to be the fairest in the land.

Thor‘s Chris Hemsworth is appropriately gruff as the drunken widower hired by Ravenna to find Snow White. Sam Clafin (from Pillars of the Earth and Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides) is a swashbuckling nobleman and potential live interest similar to Robin Hood, and Sam Spruell is Ravenna’s cruel brother Finn.

Snow White and the Huntsman‘s dwarves have less of a role than you might expect, even with clever casting — including the heads of veteran British character actors Bob Hoskins, Ian McShane, Ray Winstone, Nick Frost, and Brian Gleeson put onto little people’s bodies. The effect was seamless, but it only serves to whet the appetite for Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey in December.

Speaking of Jackson’s example, the production values of Snow White and the Huntsman are very good, with nicely unified sets, costumes, and armor. James Newton Howard’s orchestral soundtrack is a bit heavy-handed during the set-piece battles. I think the direction could have been better, since the movie starts slowly and the ending feels rushed. There are also few memorable lines in the script, which felt like a middling Dungeons & Dragons game (and I’ve participated in many of these).

In addition to the dwarves and Ravenna’s sorcery, the brief scene where Snow White and her companions enter a faerie glade is a hint of how this movie could have used visual effects for a more fantastic setting (see The Dark Crystal or Legend for examples). Instead, the movie focuses on more mundane matters like raising an army and the princess realizing her birthright, closer in style to Ladyhawke but without the simple but strong plot magical device of that movie.

Overall, I’d give Snow White and the Huntsman, which has finally dethroned The Avengers at the box office, a 7 out of 10, a B, or two and a half out of five stars. It’s rated PG-13 for violence.

The superheroes of spring 2012

I’ve fallen behind in blogging again, but here’s the first in what I hope will be a series of posts to catch up on what I’ve been up to as spring slides into summer. Now that the genre television season has wound down, let’s look back at some shows that I liked.

As I’ve mentioned before, there has been a lot of good animation to enjoy this past year. Avatar: the Legend of Korra is my favorite of the recent batch of cartoons. Nickelodeon’s sequel to its successful Avatar: the Last Airbender continues that show’s Asian-style artwork, inspiring world-building, and escalating intrigues. (Note: some of the enclosed links have “spoilers.”)

Korra wallpaper — Nickelodeon's new Avatar TV series

As fellow blogger Thomas K.Y. has noted, Korra‘s adolescent characters are a bit harder to sympathize with than Avatar‘s wandering children. However, the setting and story more than make up for that to me. Republic City resembles a dieselpunk/fantasy China of the early 20th century, and the conflict between people who can “bend” or control the elements (air, earth, wind, and fire) and those who can’t has led to some tense moments.

I’ve also been impressed with the first episode of Disney’s Tron: Uprising, which may join the Cartoon Network’s Star Wars: Clone Wars in using computer animation to flesh out a cinematic sequel that initially underwhelmed critics. In contrast, Kung-Fu Panda: Legends of Awesomeness, Transformers: Prime, and G.I. Joe: Renegades are entertaining, but they’re not as memorable as additions to their respective franchises.

Cartoon’s Green Lantern: the Animated Series started out slowly with simplistic designs based on Bruce Timm’s, but it has steadily incorporated elements of recent comic book storylines, including the proliferation of cosmic factions based on different colors and emotions. How to Train Your Dragon: the Series will joining a competitive field.

In more traditional animation, the Cartoon Networks’ Thundercats revival has also mixed retro nostalgia with more modern animation and world-building to good effect. It’s friendlier to younger audiences than Korra or Tron, but I’ve enjoyed the reboot so far. I hope that the next Teenaged Mutant Ninja Turtles can do the same.

I wasn’t sure about the five-year jump within the Cartoon Network’s Young Justice, but seeing the pre-“52” reboot “Batman family” and returning favorites such as Beast Boy and Wonder Girl has won me over. On a related note, I enjoyed the direct-to-video Justice League: Doom, which had favorite voice actors and lots of fights between superheroes and supervillains, if not a plot accessible to non-fans. Superman vs. the Elite comes out next week, to be followed by the long-awaited Batman: the Dark Knight Returns. I also look forward to next year’s Beware the Batman.

Disney XD’s Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes has also incorporated bits and pieces of classic and recent plots, from Loki’s treachery (also seen in the live-action Avengers movie, which is still doing well with critics, fans, and the box office) to the infiltration by the shapeshifting Skrulls (“Secret Invasion”). The animation and writing aren’t quite as tight as for Young Justice.

Avengers‘ companion, Ultimate Spider-Man, has several snarky nods to the movie continuity, but I still miss the four-color Spectacular Spider-Man and am not thrilled by the silly humor or de-aging of characters such as the Heroes for Hire.

Cartoon Network’s “DC Nation” animation block of programming on Saturday mornings — Green Lantern and Young Justice (followed by Korra on Nickelodeon) — includes very funny shorts with “Super Best Friends Forever” and Aardman stop motion, as well as glimpses of past favorites such as the Teen Titans Go!

Disney Channel’s “Marvel Universe” block on Sundays (Avengers and Spidey) does give some nice glimpses into the art and characters of its shows, plus how real-world athletes can approach comic book moves. I don’t particularly like the “Marvel Mash-ups,” which dub modern jokes over weakly animated scenes from the 1960s through early 1980s. I may be in the minority of people who prefer the gags of The Looney Tunes Show or Metalocalypse on weeknights to most of Fox’s Sunday night programs.

Coming soon: Police procedurals, supernatural series, and movie reviews!