A wagonload of questions

[Guran]

Ola folks! Recently I found myself DMing the D&D encounters in our LGS which was not only my first game in 5th edition but also the first D&D game ever played in the store and the player group consisted of 3 people who had never played any rpgs before and one person from my 4th edition gaming group. As I come fresh out of 4th edition, this new edition seems a little odd and raises some questions. These questions may seem simple and or biased towards 4th edition to you guys, but I'd rather make sure that I am certain about the rules as I only want to give the new players a stable and fun environment to play in.

First of all is there gonna be an online character builder since I am really gonna need that. So yes, when will it be there? (Yes, you may call me a spoiled brat.)

* Last wednesday I kinda felt like the characters were made out of toilet paper. They hardly had any hp. Is it really just a small number + con modifier? Or am I overlooking things.

* The way magic works now seems rather complicated. If I understand it correctly a wizard only gets a few spell slots and if he uses them he'll be useless until the next rest?

* I understand that playing on a grid is not the standard way to go with this edition. Actually making me wonder how encounters play out without a grid.

Thats it for now, but There will definatly be a lot more questions along the way.

[Yorrin]

First of all is there gonna be an online character builder since I am really gonna need that. So yes, when will it be there? (Yes, you may call me a spoiled brat.)
There's going to be Dungeonscape (http://www.dnddungeonscape.com/). It's about to go into beta, so it might be a while.


Last wednesday I kinda felt like the characters were made out of toilet paper. They hardly had any hp. Is it really just a small number + con modifier? Or am I overlooking things.
That's an intentional design choice, that lower level characters be fragile. One of the many ways to encourage non-combat solutions to problems, as well as making you actually feel a real progression as you level.


The way magic works now seems rather complicated. If I understand it correctly a wizard only gets a few spell slots and if he uses them he'll be useless until the next rest?
Welcome to (highly modified) vancian magic. This system, more or less, is one of the main things players of older editions cried out for that was lacking in 4e. Fortunately cantrips (level 0 spells) are now at-will, and are pretty solid spells, so you're never "useless" as a caster unless you pick terrible cantrips and are uncreative in your use of them.


I understand that playing on a grid is not the standard way to go with this edition. Actually making me wonder how encounters play out without a grid.
Theatre of the Mind, as it is called, has been my preferred DMing style for some time. This is primarily because it makes players think more from a first-person perspective than a birds-eye third-person perspective, which tends to inform their actions. The DM will have a feel for exact distances, and I'm fairly open about telling my players distances in terms of "you can get there in a move action" or "he's just out of range of your spell" or what have you.

[HorridElemental]

There is a great meet in the middle between Theater of the Mind and using a grid. Get your minis and props as wanted and just use a table and a small measuring stick (ruler works). Do all the non-combat stuff minus minis and do the combat stuff with minis and whatever props you have. Don't use a grid and just place stuff on the table as you see fit.

Players can move anywhere their ruler/measuring stick allows them to (adjust based on race and class). Spells and Ranged weapons use the same system but due to long range you may need to get a longer stick for them.

1" = 5'

And bonus, you don't have to deal with diagonal movement math!

[Thrudd]

There is a great meet in the middle between Theater of the Mind and using a grid. Get your minis and props as wanted and just use a table and a small measuring stick (ruler works). Do all the non-combat stuff minus minis and do the combat stuff with minis and whatever props you have. Don't use a grid and just place stuff on the table as you see fit.

Players can move anywhere their ruler/measuring stick allows them to (adjust based on race and class). Spells and Ranged weapons use the same system but due to long range you may need to get a longer stick for them.

1" = 5'

And bonus, you don't have to deal with diagonal movement math!

Yes, this is my preferred method, with a measuring tape. Don't allow measuring before taking actions, just declare what you want to do and then do it. This means that players might sometimes find themselves charging an enemy and not making it all the way, or missing their bow shot or spell because they are just out of range. This makes it a bit more immersive. Positioning and tactics are still important, but you are doing it from more of a first person perspective. If you were really there, you would not immediately know exactly how far away they were or the exact area encompassed by a space. You can only estimate, and over time, with experience, your estimates will get better.

[HorridElemental]

Yes, this is my preferred method, with a measuring tape. Don't allow measuring before taking actions, just declare what you want to do and then do it. This means that players might sometimes find themselves charging an enemy and not making it all the way, or missing their bow shot or spell because they are just out of range. This makes it a bit more immersive. Positioning and tactics are still important, but you are doing it from more of a first person perspective. If you were really there, you would not immediately know exactly how far away they were or the exact area encompassed by a space. You can only estimate, and over time, with experience, your estimates will get better.

Sorry but the players are rare commodities within the game (says class descriptions) they shouldn't have to do trial and error when it comes to their abilities, they should be able to know what they can and can't do.

As a hunter I know what I can hit by judging the distance, just by looking for a split second, so I'm sure the same should apply to heroes in an elfgame.

Otherwise you are just punishing players for the so called sake of immersion and I see way to many problems.

Like...

I cast finger of death in a 7th level slot.

Oh sorry, but you was 5ft short, your magic didn't make it... It went X feet and then just fizzled.

[Thrudd]

Sorry but the players are rare commodities within the game (says class descriptions) they shouldn't have to do trial and error when it comes to their abilities, they should be able to know what they can and can't do.

As a hunter I know what I can hit by judging the distance, just by looking for a split second, so I'm sure the same should apply to heroes in an elfgame.

Otherwise you are just punishing players for the so called sake of immersion and I see way to many problems.

Like...

I cast finger of death in a 7th level slot.

Oh sorry, but you was 5ft short, your magic didn't make it... It went X feet and then just fizzled.

By the time you're 14th level, you should be able to gauge the distances pretty well. If something looks like it is at the very edge of your range and you aren't sure, be safe and move up another five or ten feet. These are things people learn when they play for a little while. Shooting at something that is too far away is a mistake that should only happen when players are new and still learning. As the players get better, so do their characters. If the player doesn't stop making those mistakes, his character is probably going to be in trouble, and that's the way it should be.

[HorridElemental]

By the time you're 14th level, you should be able to gauge the distances pretty well. If something looks like it is at the very edge of your range and you aren't sure, be safe and move up another five or ten feet. These are things people learn when they play for a little while. Shooting at something that is too far away is a mistake that should only happen when players are new and still learning. As the players get better, so do their characters. If the player doesn't stop making those mistakes, his character is probably going to be in trouble, and that's the way it should be.

In game a level 1 PC isn't a wet behind the ears greenhorn but a fully fledged (insert class) and shooting at something to far away doesn't happen unless you know it is what you are doing.

To bring up my deer killing ways, when a deer is to far away or out of what I think I can hit, I know this. Even when I was 8 and went hunting I knew this almost instantly. This is where, within the game, the PC gains disadvantage on the roll.

However it should never be a surprise to someone trained that they missed just because they were 5 or 20' to far away. That is just silly to all hell to think that a trained individual wouldn't know their own capabilities.

You need to use the measuring sticks before choosing an action because the players aren't really seeing what their characters are and it is a straight up punishment from a FM based on faulty logic.

Go throw a ball for a while in an open field then tell me you don't know how far you can throw that ball. Now multiple that experience by a thousand. Experienced people can judge distances of their abilities insanely well and know if they are over extending or cutting it close.