Transitioning to DMing 5E from 3.5, pointers appreciated.

[mabriss lethe]

Backstory: I've been asked to DM a D&D campaign for a group of predominantly new players. (as in, half the group has never played a tabletop before and the other half have either never played D&D or haven't played in many years.) My background as a DM is fairly extensive in other versions of D&D, predominantly 3.P, and many other systems outside of the D&D franchise. I'm pushing for 5E since I think it will be a lot more beginner friendly than something like 3.5 or Pathfinder, and I generally detest 4E.

My current plan:
- Before we even begin character creation, I plan on running one or more one-shots with pre-gen characters so that everyone can get a taste of the basics of play for as many of the classes as they want before we settle in to the campaign proper. How many practice sessions will depend on the players, I've got no real preference for a timetable. It'll also give me a chance to knock the rust off as a DM without too much at stake for anyone. (I anticipate the group being low-op, RP heavy, and a fairly high degree of player attachment to their characters)

-Campaign will begin at level 1 after they've gotten a few test runs under their belts and learned a bit about what they like to play. (not set in stone if there's a good reason to begin at a higher level)

-Core 3 books only, I know there are some nice goodies in some of the other books, but I think this group will appreciate a baby-steps approach.

My Question for DMs that have made the switch: Do you have any basic advice either for a DM coming from 3.5, or for just working within the 5e framework for the first time. Is there anything I should know/look out for that isn't already pretty obvious?

[Bahamut7]

Bounded Accuracy. You need to understand this first and foremost. In this system, the highest DC you can get is a 30 (considered impossible), AC is below 20 typically, accuracy boosts will be +11 by level 20, People won't be rolling bags full of dice, AC is typically assigned based off a formula (leather gives 11 + dex I believe for example), etc.

You can't exceed 20 in an attribute score unless certain items are used or you play a Barbarian. This ties into bounded accuracy.

Feats, Multiclassing, and variant Humans are optional rules. Every 4 levels of a class you are awarded Ability Score Increase (+2 in one or +1 in two) or a feat if you are playing with feats. Multiclassing has ability score requirements. Variant Humans get a free feat at level 1 which is why they are optional.

Cantrips scale with character level...not class level. Proficiency also scales with character level.

DO NOT throw enemies with multi-attacks at characters levels 1-2. This is equivalent to throwing 2 enemies as opposed to one per multi-attacker.

The system is designed to be low on magic items. Really think over what items your party finds as some can only be attuned by certain classes. For example, no Wands of Healing, but there is a healing staff that can only be used by Clerics and Druids, not Wizards.

You can move, attack, and move the rest of your movement (if any movement is left over). Hit and Run tactics are a thing in this version. This means a Monk with 2 - 4 attacks (level 5) can run around and hit 4 different targets that are not bunched up.

Read the DMG and Player's handbook and make sure your players are aware of what an Action can be. Characters can make an Action, Movement, a Bonus Action (if they have one), and a Reaction. You only are allowed 1 reaction and 1 bonus action per round.

All I got for now.

[nickl_2000]

As a player, the bestest things I saw were based on healing. Healing is no longer a cleric only thing (with a smattering of weaker skills by others). Bards, Druid, Clerics, Paladins, and Rangers all heal pretty well and Clerics can drop some major damage in this version.

Even outside of magical healing, in the standard healing style you can regain hit points through the use of hit dice during short rests. So, while not the best of ideas you can survive without a healer.

[Fey]

Spells no longer use "1d6 per caster level" as a damage mechanic. Instead most spells will have a set damage to start, then you use a higher spell level to increase it. This has some similarities to Psionic abilities with augmentation.

Rogues can sneak attack more easily. There's no long list of enemies that are immune to sneak attack (in 3.5 you couldn't sneak attack undead, oozes, constructs, plants, etc). As a tradeoff, sneak attack can only be used on one hit per turn, regardless of your number of attacks.

Some things that were feats in 3.5 are now folded directly into the basic rules. Examples: Anyone can use two weapon fighting without a feat as long as they wield light weapons (a feat can upgrade that to one-handed weapons), Weapon Finesse is built into finesse weapons automatically, everyone can Spring Attack because movement rules have been changed, etc. You should familiarize yourself with all of these so you don't tell a PC "You need a feat for that" like they would have in 3.5.

For skills and such, there's no more skill points. Instead you're either Proficient with a skill, or not. If you're proficient, it's Ability Bonus + Proficiency Bonus. If you're not proficient, it's just Ability Bonus. There's also no system for increasing/decreasing DCs based on difficulty or circumstances. Instead if you have favorable circumstances, you might gain Advantage (roll twice, keep the higher), and if you have unfavorable circumstances, you might Disadvantage (roll twice, keep the lower). This makes it easier to manage skills without so much math and adjustments on every roll.

No more Base Attack Bonus. If you're proficient with a weapon, it's Str + Proficiency Bonus. Finesse and ranged weapons are Dex + Proficiency Bonus. Spell attacks are Spellcasting Modifier (Int for Wiz, Cha for Sor, etc) + Proficiency bonus. This is tied into Bounded Accuracy, as mentioned above. In 3.5, you could easily have a fighter attacking with +20 to hit, a rogue with only +14, and a Wizard with only +7, when they're all the same level. In 5e, if you're all the same level and all have the same score in your key stat, you'd all have the same attack roll (before adding in anything from feats, etc).

Related to the above, there's no more Touch AC and Flat-footed AC. Everyone hits the same AC, making characters more equal in their capabilities.

Saving throws are no longer Fort, Ref, Will. Instead a save can be any stat. A spell will specifically call for a "Wisdom saving throw" or a "Charisma saving throw" or a "Strength saving throw" in the text. And just like skills and attacks, saves are proficiency + ability bonus for your good saves, and just ability bonus for your bad saves.

[Puh Laden]

Characters at character creation are built of theee core parts: race, class, and background. I don't know if you used backgrounds in 3.P, but I didn't, because they weren't core. The backgrounds and the personality traits you can choose in 5e can be good inspiration for both backstories and, more importantly, adventures. Their parts are also mix-and-match (read the intro to the background chapter). I find that the backgrounds help new players get a vision of what their characters are in the world. They also help bridge the gap for me between how I as the DM see the character and how the player sees the character.

What I did with a bunch of new players was I ran a 1-session adventure with no ties to any characters and then I tied in adventures I already wanted to run with particular PCs. I want to do things in the underdark, so the drow's family needs help. I want to do feywild stuff, so the dragonborn noble's clan's river is dried up and they need to get the mcguffin to fix it from the feywild. I want to throw this party into an actual dungeon with an actual dragon, so a red dragon has moved in to the clan's mine and taken the admiration of the clan's kobold workers. Does the dragonborn barbarian side with his gold father or red mother in killing or allying with the dragon?

[Beelzebubba]

Think of it this way: it's a blend of Basic, AD&D, 3.x and 4.x. If you've played them all, you'll recognize little bits everywhere. And overall, it's an excellent mix. It's really the best D&D we've had IMO.

It's way, way simpler than 3.x. Most of what I say below is to say 'these areas are simpler than before'. Rolling up characters is faster, resolving combat is faster, it's overall speedy in a way I haven't seen since Basic.

The numbers are overall much smaller. The progression is flatter. 20th level characters can no longer laugh in the face of thousands of commoners with bows - in this edition they become super strong but not godlike. They will die a lot easier to large numbers of lesser-powered beings.

--

Specific stuff:

Advantage and Disadvantage are the 'new mechanics' and they are great. Expect to see a lot of use, in many situations. They are far more effective than +2/-2 bonuses at changing behavior and strategy, and they are a heck of a lot easier to DM.

(Invisibility, cover, and dealing with the spells that mess with that are a bit trickier now. Two people fighting each other inside darkness basically have the same rolls as outside, since both suffer the same effects, unless one has a feat or ability that either negates their disadvantage (Warlock's blind sight) or negates their opponent's advantage (Alert feat). It's probably the only area of 'advantage/disadvantage' that isn't really intuitive.)

Stacking has been almost eliminated. When you have, say, a spell that effects AC (like Barkskin), you don't have to dig through what type of bonus it is and see if it stacks or not, instead they provide different ways of calculating AC. So, Barkskin is 'your AC is never lower than 16'.

Attacks of Opportunity are way less supported. Read up on those rules. Way less expectation of, or support for, miniatures than 3.x.

Instead of 'take 10' or 'take 20' you have 'Passive investigation' and 'passive perception' checks. Read up on those.

Spellcasters are nerfed in a HUGE way. Basically, 'concentration' on a spell means only one of those can be going at a time, and that relates to almost every buff and long duration spell. The stacked buff is gone. Five rounds of hulking up the entire party for a single nova event is gone.

Many spells - NERFED. Look at Sleep, Hold Person, Charm Person. Way shorter durations, less powerful effects.

Same deal with magic items - NERF BAT. Most of the powerful magic items are limited to 3 per character through a mechanism called 'attuning'. The only attribute buffs come from a few classic AD&D items, the 3.x stuff like +5 Circlet of Intellect is gone gone gone, and there are no straightforward crafting rules. It's back to 'if you want something, go adventuring'.

--

However, one thing is exactly like traditional D&D: the books litter rules and important things everywhere, in a variety of ways and places, so you have to sometimes cross-reference three completely different places to resolve a thing. (Fog Cloud: see Heavy Obscurement. Heavy Obscurement: see Blindness Appendix A.)

[TripleD]

Small change that gets overlooked a lot: climbing, jumping, and swimming are no longer skill checks. They are set distances based on your strength or speed.

There is an "athletics" skill, but it's mostly used for grappling.

[Pex]

You need to create your own DCs for everything that would use a skill. It's impossible and impractical to do so when creating the adventure. Rather, you have to do it on the fly as the situation warrants. Unlike 3E DCs do not have to be nor always a high number. DCs of 15 and even 10 are normal. Also, it's supposed to be the case that there are times there's no need to roll at all. This is akin to 3E's Take 10 and Take 20, though 5E doesn't use those terms. Players should only be rolling when there's a chance of failure, that chance doesn't have to be high, and allow for things where failure just wouldn't happen so don't roll; the PC just does it or knows it. It might help to set up your own DCs for things you expect to come up often. For example, what a PC knows about a monster would be a Knowledge (Intelligence) check. A DC of 10 + monster's CR would be reasonable and succeeding would give more than just one tidbit of information. Opposed rolls is still a thing.

There is no magic mart by default though you can have it if you want. Normally in 5E players do not purchase magic items. It's old school pre-3E where magic items are found in hoards, looted from bad guys, or gifted by patrons. PCs do not need nor usually have as many magic items in 5E as they would in 3E, but they do exist, the game works fine with them, and PCs can have them. While there is no harm in taking player requests, as DM you have direct control of what magic items PCs will have. Also, PCs no longer create magic items. There are official rules to do so, but they made it practically impossible to do in game/campaign playing time. It's outright forbidding it without the guts to say so, but I opinionate. If you do allow PCs to create magic items you'll need to create your own method that allows players to do it in a reasonable amount of game time and monetary cost.

There is no 5 ft step. All players can move as far as their speed allows and do whatever it is they want to do. They may even move before and after their thing limited by their max speed in total. Starting at 5th level warriors get to attack twice for the same Attack action regardless of how much they move, will move, and are allowed to move between those attacks. Attacks of Opportunity only occurs when moving away from a threatened area. There is no Attack of Opportunity for moving through a threatened area, casting a spell, drinking a potion, etc.

[pwykersotz]

I suggest you read the rules on encounter building carefully, or at least use this site (http://kobold.club/fight/#/encounter-builder) or another similar one to manage it. As an experienced DM you shouldn't take too long to be able to eyeball most encounters, but remember a few guidelines. Multiple lower power minions are far more deadly than single big minions. CR is a calculation of raw battle power, not of overall challenge; playing smart or changing non-CR-affecting options like movement or minor special features can be a big deal. Also, first level players are fragile. NPC's are built asymmetrically versus PC's, and have a lot more health.

And like others have said, wipe the slate clean. There are a LOT of terms that you think you'll recognize from 3.5. Don't take it for granted, it has probably changed a great deal.

[ad_hoc]

Small change that gets overlooked a lot: climbing, jumping, and swimming are no longer skill checks. They are set distances based on your strength or speed.

There is an "athletics" skill, but it's mostly used for grappling.

That isn't true. Yes, there are distances, but you can also make checks.

My number 1 piece of advice is this:

The main resolution mechanic is far different than in 3.x.

In 5e players declare what their characters are doing rather than declaring they are making checks.

Then you as DM determine the outcome.

If all 3 of the following are true then a check may be made:

#1. The outcome is in doubt - That is it isn't so easy that the character auto succeeds or so hard that they auto fail
#2. There is a meaningful consequence for failure.
#3. It is interesting.

For example, gone are the checks to climb to a wall. The characters just do it unless special circumstances make the above 3 factors true. Then you set a DC yourself depending on how you feel about it. You may also grant advantage or disadvantage based on other factors.

A side note, many DMs from 3.x get the surprise rules wrong. There is no more surprise round. Read over that page in the PHB carefully.

[Malifice]

Backstory: I've been asked to DM a D&D campaign for a group of predominantly new players. (as in, half the group has never played a tabletop before and the other half have either never played D&D or haven't played in many years.) My background as a DM is fairly extensive in other versions of D&D, predominantly 3.P, and many other systems outside of the D&D franchise. I'm pushing for 5E since I think it will be a lot more beginner friendly than something like 3.5 or Pathfinder, and I generally detest 4E.

My current plan:
- Before we even begin character creation, I plan on running one or more one-shots with pre-gen characters so that everyone can get a taste of the basics of play for as many of the classes as they want before we settle in to the campaign proper. How many practice sessions will depend on the players, I've got no real preference for a timetable. It'll also give me a chance to knock the rust off as a DM without too much at stake for anyone. (I anticipate the group being low-op, RP heavy, and a fairly high degree of player attachment to their characters)

-Campaign will begin at level 1 after they've gotten a few test runs under their belts and learned a bit about what they like to play. (not set in stone if there's a good reason to begin at a higher level)

-Core 3 books only, I know there are some nice goodies in some of the other books, but I think this group will appreciate a baby-steps approach.

My Question for DMs that have made the switch: Do you have any basic advice either for a DM coming from 3.5, or for just working within the 5e framework for the first time. Is there anything I should know/look out for that isn't already pretty obvious?

The resource management system differs wildly from third edition to 5th edition. A handful of classes work on almost exclusively a short rest mechanic (Warlock, Monk and Fighter) while many other classes work off a long rest mechanic (Full casters, Barbarian Paladin) with only a handful of resources and abilities that recharge on a short rest. The Rogue is pretty rest neutral.

What this translates to is you need to ensure that the majority of your adventuring days (aim for around 50%) feature several encounters. 'Adventuring day' in fifth edition translates to [the period of time in between long rests].

Adventuring days featuring fewer encounters or even a single encounter will favour the full casters, barbarians and paladins. Conversely, adventuring days featuring many short rest will favour the warlocks, monks and fighters.

Mix up the number of encounters in your adventuring days. Sometimes have longer adventuring days with limited opportunity to short rest. Sometimes have longer adventuring days is with many opportunities to short rest. Occasionally have an adventuring day featuring only a single encounter, but be prepared to ramp up the difficulty of that encounter up a few notches.

The encounter building guidelines assume the longer adventuring day. They assume that your average party will be able to handle 6 to 8 medium to hard encounters in between long rests, with those encounters broken up by 2 to 3 short rests. The assigned difficulty of encounters is within that context. Taken out of that context, a single hard encounter (being the only encounter of an adventuring day) will be steamrolled by most parties.

The best way to maintain the longer adventuring days of fifth edition is to use timed quests (put the PCs on the clock).

The alternative method is to use the gritty realism variant which turns short rests into eight hours and long rests into a full week. If you use this variant I would also suggest using the healing surge rules as well so the characters have some access to healing during the adventuring in day (this lets them tackle three or four encounters in between short rests)

[laserswords]

One quick tip I've got is to really, really embrace the power of the advantage/disadvantage system. It's got strong flexibility and can be used to (most of the time) replace the generic +2/-2 to a check system in 3.5, in a way that actually cheats the odds to make them a bit more predictable in a good way.

Oh, the other thing is to know that your idea for the AC of a random enemy is gonna be wayyy higher in 3.5 than in 5e. In 5e, players should be hitting your enemies like 75% of the time, and hit bonuses don't scale nearly as quick as in 3.5, so you really don't need to scale the AC much either. A tough enemy these days for my 16th level party is still only like 18-22 AC, often less.

[Hrugner]

Best advice? The game is pretty bare bones. If you have trouble finding a ruling on something it probably isn't there and you may as well save yourself the time by making a ruling on it and writing it down to stay consistent. Characters are super simple, there's little need to make sure you have multiple things reinforcing a character focus. DCs are lower in general, as are ACs, if you see something over 30 early on something went wrong somewhere. Most DCs aren't written out anywhere, but the DCs are lower by necessity. Expect some level one deaths. Feel free to homebrew stuff to fit your wants and your player wants. There aren't very many moving parts here, so you're unlikely to create a cascade by making up one or two things. Just follow the current feats and spells as guidelines.

[Kane0]

My current plan:
- Before we even begin character creation, I plan on running one or more one-shots with pre-gen characters so that everyone can get a taste of the basics of play for as many of the classes as they want before we settle in to the campaign proper. How many practice sessions will depend on the players, I've got no real preference for a timetable. It'll also give me a chance to knock the rust off as a DM without too much at stake for anyone. (I anticipate the group being low-op, RP heavy, and a fairly high degree of player attachment to their characters)

-Campaign will begin at level 1 after they've gotten a few test runs under their belts and learned a bit about what they like to play. (not set in stone if there's a good reason to begin at a higher level)

-Core 3 books only, I know there are some nice goodies in some of the other books, but I think this group will appreciate a baby-steps approach.


Solid plan. Most people have already covered what you need to know, but I will reiterate:
Forget what you think you know from previous editions. There are a great many similarities that allow you to make the mistake of thinking they are the same. Action economy, stealth, surprise, spellcasting, opportunity attacks, feats, magic items and more are all very familiar but subtly different, don't get suckered into skimming something like Sneak Attack thinking you know how it works because it will catch you.

[Socratov]

oh, and something lots of people (especially when coming form 3.5) forget: only attack rolls and death saves, and I do mean only attack rolls and death saves and nothing else, can critically hit or fail. Regular saves are much like skills and a nat 1 or nat 20 is not a automatic failure or success (though given bounded accuracy, it probably is).

Also, in terms of 3.5 casters:

Wizards are now Clerics, Clerics are now Druids and they all act like they are sorcerers (just different every day). Bards and Sorcerers are now Sorcerers. Warlocks have become a kind of diet sorcerer. Metamagic only exists if you are a sorcerer, no bonus spells for anyone (though reloading is still an option for some) and caster level does not exist.

Your ability scores and your character level (in a way through proficiency) determine the strength of your spells (not the spell level) and that makes your cantrip just as hard to resist as your 9th lvl magic. speaking of cantrips: they are infinite. As in, every caster is a 3.5 warlock now. And yes, some of those cantrips are a lot of fun.


While I'm at it, please remember that feats/ability score increases are no longer tied to character level (like they used to be in 3.5), but to class level. You get new ones at the levels 4, 8, 12, 16 and 19.

There are no iterative attacks except for Extra attack for martials and most notably fighters.

Action types are their own thing and you can't use them interchangeably. So if something says 'bonus action', it's a bonus action and you can't sacrifice your 'regular' action to activate it (unless the ability specifically says that it can also be used specifically for other types of actions as well). this means that for instance, if the wild magic sorcerer uses misty step, triggers a surge and gets all bonus spells on his cast time, well that's it. No more casting that turn.

Which segues my way neatly into the next point, yes it's spelled out, but keep in mind that you can't more then 1 levelled spell per turn. Your turn is only limited to your initiative score. Reactions (like casting counterspell or shield) don't count towards your limit. Though, technically, if you have cast a cantrip first, you aren't technically allowed to spend your bonus action on a levelled spell. The other way around is just fine and dandy though...

Also, spells like moonbeam don't do damage right away, but on the start of the enemy's next turn, some some spells can be saved against again at the END of the turn. That means as soon as you roll the save you have forfeited your turn.

That's all for now, if I remember more I'll post them later.

[Grod_The_Giant]

The biggest stylistic change, I think, is in how skills work: that is to say they're baaaaasically nonexistant at this point. Not so much in terms of lack of skill points, but in that there's only a small mathematical difference between being Proficient in a skill and not. This means that the vast majority of the time, it's the d20 roll that matters, not what's actually written on your sheet. If everyone rolls, say, an Arcana check, someone will pass and someone will fail embarrassingly, and it won't really be related to who is and isn't Proficient. Not to mention that generally low modifiers mean that even a "skilled" character (Proficiency and a good Ability mod mean a +5ish bonus for the first ~10 levels) has a good chance to fail even "Easy" and "Moderate" checks.

So, basically, be really careful with when you call for Skill/Ability checks. In fact, I recommend avoiding them whenever possible, and just allowing Proficiency to work as a sort of gate-- "those of you proficient in Arcana know that blah blah blah..."

Otherwise... it's D&D; it runs like D&D has pretty much always ran (with the possible exception of 4e)-- casters have options, everyone else makes attack rolls and skill checks and sometimes use special class abilities. You kick in doors and crush skulls and, when pressed, pretend there's a functioning social system.

[Unoriginal]

Monsters are pretty different in 5e.

A goblin alone is a match for one lvl 1 PC, for exemple. CR for monsters are "a group of 4 PCs of this level can handle one monster like that", though there is variations into how hard the encounter will be within CR. Looking up the CR calculation/Encounter building rules in the DMG is pretty important.

Due to how the game work, having many people in your side is a major advantage, to the point that solo monsters are considered way easier than encounters where the same monster has a couple of weaker minions. And attacking in number can make even the start-of-the-game enemy NPCs stay relevant up to high level.