jaappleton
2017-12-20, 10:12 AM
So, he does a few of these a year. This one occurred yesterday, Tuesday the 19th of December.
Link to the AMA is here: https://www.reddit.com/r/dndnext/comments/7kuzsa/ama_mike_mearls_dd_creative_director/
I've gone through and compiled the most interesting stuff. Feel free to peruse the actual AMA yourself, I'm sure I missed one or two things some readers will find interesting, but based on my time here at GitP, I tried to compile what I think the community is interested in most.
On Eberron:
"Eberron is seen as a core D&D setting, alongside the Realms and Ravenloft. What does that mean? Can't say yet..." -MM
When designing the system was there a moment you all realized that it was just impossible to balance the power in the later levels, or was there a push to maybe nerf some things to keep the powercreep low?
The published adventures usually stop around lvl 14 or sooner. Are there any plans to make a high level Adventure?
"It's a chicken and egg issue. Our studies show that most people don't reach high levels, not for lack of desire but due to time pressures (campaign ends early).
IMO, making high levels work relies on moving away from combat as a solution. Players expect high power levels, especially with magic. I don't think countering that with stronger and stronger monsters is necessarily the way forward, but we don't have a good sense of it because few people reach those levels." -MM
What sort of niche do you think hasn't been filled out yet with a subclass in 5e?
"I'd like to see a subclass that does more with spirits and primal entities. I'd also like to see one that does something meatier with elementals and elemental power." -MM
Timeline for the next updates on Artificer, Mystic, and Revised Ranger?
"Hoping for ranger and artificer in first half of the year, mystic depends on a deeper revision to give it a clearer identity, driven by settings like Dark Sun and what it would need." -MM
Any word on supporting other setting, like Spelljammer and Planescape?
"Can't say when, but we consider the D&D multiverse to include all the settings you listed." -MM
You recently agreed to do some Archetypes in exchange for rather substantial donations to Child’s Play. Will those be made available to the public at any point?
"At least one will. I'm working on two so far, and the folks who made the donations have the option to make them available."-MM
What overlooked niche (creature, race, setting etc.) of the DnD multiverse do you think deserves a little more love?
"Genies - I think the elemental planes as a whole could use some more detail."-MM
What's up with the d&d novels. Any hope of it to get some love back ? It's sad they were forgotten in this era of transmedia d&d 5e.
"It turns out that as a game company, we're not so good at being a novel publishing company. We've talked about them, but nothing to announce."-MM
Any consideration been given to bringing back the 4E Warlord?
"Yes, been thinking about it a fair amount and have some ideas for it. It's not a robust enough concept to survive as a class, but we can do some pretty meaty things within subclasses. Issue so far has been feedback - hasn't bounced to the top of things people are asking for."-MM
Is it possible that 5E could see a Shaman-type class in the future, or does Druid/Barbarian fill the role that that would take?
"I'd like to do a shaman as a druid or maybe even a warlock. I think there's a space for a caster who traffics with spirits."-MM
What's the meaning of the black obelisks in each 5e adventure?
"Alas, cannot say..."
I know you've coyly mentioned it a few times, but is there any reasonable chance we'll ever see 5e spelljammer?
"Can't say anything, but (with some modifications) we see Spelljammer as a part of the D&D cosmology."-MM
Have you ever come across any rule which actually prevented a concept from working? If so, can you provide a recent example?
"When it happens, it's almost always because of bonus actions or the goofy definition of what a weapon actually is. Also, implements can cause headaches.
I obviously use bonus actions in my game, but otherwise pay no mind to what is actually a weapon or whether someone has the right implement to cast a spell. Those rules are basically there to help a DM if a player is doing something cheesy."-MM
I noticed recently that 5e doesn't include an arcane half caster. Was this deliberate? I'd like to know more about the design decision and if you see it as a niche to fill as the game grows or if you'd rather avoid it.
"I think we have enough casters that we're not necessarily seeking to fill that gap. The bard was probably the most likely candidate for that treatment, but worked out much better as a full caster."-MM
D&D has a lot of campaign settings that are not currently supported in 5E. What's your favorite campaign setting that you think is unlikely to receive support?
"I think we will eventually get to them all, but Greyhawk will be the toughest nut to crack to keep it true to its roots while also making it standout as something interesting to new players."-MM
How did the team come to settle on the first level features for the Hexblade and Celestial warlock patrons in Xanathar's? They both get two features at 1st level compared to one for the patrons in the PHB, and they are more potent besides. The Hexblade in particular gets a lot of meat at first level. And when designing the Hexblade, was it considered a problem that it would defacto outclass other patrons as a melee-focused subclass, even if Pact of the Blade is chosen?
"No, the hexblade is there to make a melee warlock easier to play. It was a concept that you could make work, but in a more convoluted way than we intend for 5e."-MM
What kind of reasoning went into the design of the capstone abilities for the classes like Superior Inspiration or Archdruid. Given the chance to change them, would you?
"We wanted them to feel broken, to provide a real reward for hitting 20. I don't know if I would change them yet - not seeing enough play at 20 to get a true sense of it."-MM
There must be some features of the game that were published with some expectation of how they would be used, only to see themtake on a drastically different tack once out in the play world. Are there any that stand out as being particularly unexpected in how they got used?
"I thought downtime would be something that saw more use, but it hasn't taken off like I thought. Tools are another one that kind of lagged. We supported them in XGtE precisely because the feedback we saw was that they were kind of half-baked.
No real surprises. The long playtest meant we ironed out the really big issues before release."-MM
Is there any interest in developing mass-combat or skirmish-combat miniatures rulesets for 5e?
"Yes, we are talking to a designer about tackling it in 2018 in UA."
RAW, since a Small Race can’t wield a 2H weapon properly, they can’t utilize the feat to its full extent. This is frustrating to me, since while I understand the weapon size limitation, it seems to make sense to me to allow a Small Race to benefit from the Feat if using a Versatile Weapon with two hands.
Did this factor into the design consideration at all? TL; DR Why won’t you let me Gnome Barbarian?!
"It's purely a flavor issue. You can ignore it and nothing breaks, probably the kind of thing that would disappear if we were building the game today."-MM
Is there any book or bit of content from previous editions that you want to update some of the ideas to 5E?
"Would love to do a 5e manual of the planes"-MM
Thank you for doing all that you do! My question would be what, if any, subclass would you consider your least favourite mechanically?
"All the paladin ones. The balance between core class and subclass mechanics is way off. The class overall functions very well, but there's not enough room to make the subclasses there really shine from 3rd level."-MM
The Plane Shift articles by James Wyatt.... Are they at all considered Official Material? Maybe not AL legal, but has there been any discussion about allowing them to be put on DND Beyond?
Similarly, what about longer running playtest material? I know the Revised Ranger isn’t ready yet (Or is it...? You tell me!), but after utilizing DND Beyond, it’s tough to go back to hand writing everything. Any shot of RR, Artificer or Mystic going up there with a massive asterisk saying “PLAYTEST ONLY”?
"Planeshift is not official. It's basically a thing James does for fun, and we don't want to burden it with needing all the work required to make it official.
We have talked to D&D Beyond about that, and are working on something to manage playtest material with them. Will likely start much smaller than a class to kick the tires on things to start."-MM
---------------------
That's it. Feel free to discuss!
My biggest takeaways:
Manual of the Planes is coming. Absolutely.
I found his note on Paladins not really shining to be incredibly interesting.
Good news on long-term playtest stuff going up on Beyond, IMO.
The comment about Small Races not being able to make the most of GWM, I like to agree with that. It should be re-worded to allow Versatile weapons being used with two hands. After all, 20 Strength is 20 Strength, whether coming from a Half-Orc or a Halfling, it's doing the same damage.
Warlord still hasn't been forgotten. IMO it works best as a Fighter that grants his attacks to other allies.
Kinda sad that basically he said Dragonlance isn't happening. That's what I inferred, anyway.
Link to the AMA is here: https://www.reddit.com/r/dndnext/comments/7kuzsa/ama_mike_mearls_dd_creative_director/
I've gone through and compiled the most interesting stuff. Feel free to peruse the actual AMA yourself, I'm sure I missed one or two things some readers will find interesting, but based on my time here at GitP, I tried to compile what I think the community is interested in most.
On Eberron:
"Eberron is seen as a core D&D setting, alongside the Realms and Ravenloft. What does that mean? Can't say yet..." -MM
When designing the system was there a moment you all realized that it was just impossible to balance the power in the later levels, or was there a push to maybe nerf some things to keep the powercreep low?
The published adventures usually stop around lvl 14 or sooner. Are there any plans to make a high level Adventure?
"It's a chicken and egg issue. Our studies show that most people don't reach high levels, not for lack of desire but due to time pressures (campaign ends early).
IMO, making high levels work relies on moving away from combat as a solution. Players expect high power levels, especially with magic. I don't think countering that with stronger and stronger monsters is necessarily the way forward, but we don't have a good sense of it because few people reach those levels." -MM
What sort of niche do you think hasn't been filled out yet with a subclass in 5e?
"I'd like to see a subclass that does more with spirits and primal entities. I'd also like to see one that does something meatier with elementals and elemental power." -MM
Timeline for the next updates on Artificer, Mystic, and Revised Ranger?
"Hoping for ranger and artificer in first half of the year, mystic depends on a deeper revision to give it a clearer identity, driven by settings like Dark Sun and what it would need." -MM
Any word on supporting other setting, like Spelljammer and Planescape?
"Can't say when, but we consider the D&D multiverse to include all the settings you listed." -MM
You recently agreed to do some Archetypes in exchange for rather substantial donations to Child’s Play. Will those be made available to the public at any point?
"At least one will. I'm working on two so far, and the folks who made the donations have the option to make them available."-MM
What overlooked niche (creature, race, setting etc.) of the DnD multiverse do you think deserves a little more love?
"Genies - I think the elemental planes as a whole could use some more detail."-MM
What's up with the d&d novels. Any hope of it to get some love back ? It's sad they were forgotten in this era of transmedia d&d 5e.
"It turns out that as a game company, we're not so good at being a novel publishing company. We've talked about them, but nothing to announce."-MM
Any consideration been given to bringing back the 4E Warlord?
"Yes, been thinking about it a fair amount and have some ideas for it. It's not a robust enough concept to survive as a class, but we can do some pretty meaty things within subclasses. Issue so far has been feedback - hasn't bounced to the top of things people are asking for."-MM
Is it possible that 5E could see a Shaman-type class in the future, or does Druid/Barbarian fill the role that that would take?
"I'd like to do a shaman as a druid or maybe even a warlock. I think there's a space for a caster who traffics with spirits."-MM
What's the meaning of the black obelisks in each 5e adventure?
"Alas, cannot say..."
I know you've coyly mentioned it a few times, but is there any reasonable chance we'll ever see 5e spelljammer?
"Can't say anything, but (with some modifications) we see Spelljammer as a part of the D&D cosmology."-MM
Have you ever come across any rule which actually prevented a concept from working? If so, can you provide a recent example?
"When it happens, it's almost always because of bonus actions or the goofy definition of what a weapon actually is. Also, implements can cause headaches.
I obviously use bonus actions in my game, but otherwise pay no mind to what is actually a weapon or whether someone has the right implement to cast a spell. Those rules are basically there to help a DM if a player is doing something cheesy."-MM
I noticed recently that 5e doesn't include an arcane half caster. Was this deliberate? I'd like to know more about the design decision and if you see it as a niche to fill as the game grows or if you'd rather avoid it.
"I think we have enough casters that we're not necessarily seeking to fill that gap. The bard was probably the most likely candidate for that treatment, but worked out much better as a full caster."-MM
D&D has a lot of campaign settings that are not currently supported in 5E. What's your favorite campaign setting that you think is unlikely to receive support?
"I think we will eventually get to them all, but Greyhawk will be the toughest nut to crack to keep it true to its roots while also making it standout as something interesting to new players."-MM
How did the team come to settle on the first level features for the Hexblade and Celestial warlock patrons in Xanathar's? They both get two features at 1st level compared to one for the patrons in the PHB, and they are more potent besides. The Hexblade in particular gets a lot of meat at first level. And when designing the Hexblade, was it considered a problem that it would defacto outclass other patrons as a melee-focused subclass, even if Pact of the Blade is chosen?
"No, the hexblade is there to make a melee warlock easier to play. It was a concept that you could make work, but in a more convoluted way than we intend for 5e."-MM
What kind of reasoning went into the design of the capstone abilities for the classes like Superior Inspiration or Archdruid. Given the chance to change them, would you?
"We wanted them to feel broken, to provide a real reward for hitting 20. I don't know if I would change them yet - not seeing enough play at 20 to get a true sense of it."-MM
There must be some features of the game that were published with some expectation of how they would be used, only to see themtake on a drastically different tack once out in the play world. Are there any that stand out as being particularly unexpected in how they got used?
"I thought downtime would be something that saw more use, but it hasn't taken off like I thought. Tools are another one that kind of lagged. We supported them in XGtE precisely because the feedback we saw was that they were kind of half-baked.
No real surprises. The long playtest meant we ironed out the really big issues before release."-MM
Is there any interest in developing mass-combat or skirmish-combat miniatures rulesets for 5e?
"Yes, we are talking to a designer about tackling it in 2018 in UA."
RAW, since a Small Race can’t wield a 2H weapon properly, they can’t utilize the feat to its full extent. This is frustrating to me, since while I understand the weapon size limitation, it seems to make sense to me to allow a Small Race to benefit from the Feat if using a Versatile Weapon with two hands.
Did this factor into the design consideration at all? TL; DR Why won’t you let me Gnome Barbarian?!
"It's purely a flavor issue. You can ignore it and nothing breaks, probably the kind of thing that would disappear if we were building the game today."-MM
Is there any book or bit of content from previous editions that you want to update some of the ideas to 5E?
"Would love to do a 5e manual of the planes"-MM
Thank you for doing all that you do! My question would be what, if any, subclass would you consider your least favourite mechanically?
"All the paladin ones. The balance between core class and subclass mechanics is way off. The class overall functions very well, but there's not enough room to make the subclasses there really shine from 3rd level."-MM
The Plane Shift articles by James Wyatt.... Are they at all considered Official Material? Maybe not AL legal, but has there been any discussion about allowing them to be put on DND Beyond?
Similarly, what about longer running playtest material? I know the Revised Ranger isn’t ready yet (Or is it...? You tell me!), but after utilizing DND Beyond, it’s tough to go back to hand writing everything. Any shot of RR, Artificer or Mystic going up there with a massive asterisk saying “PLAYTEST ONLY”?
"Planeshift is not official. It's basically a thing James does for fun, and we don't want to burden it with needing all the work required to make it official.
We have talked to D&D Beyond about that, and are working on something to manage playtest material with them. Will likely start much smaller than a class to kick the tires on things to start."-MM
---------------------
That's it. Feel free to discuss!
My biggest takeaways:
Manual of the Planes is coming. Absolutely.
I found his note on Paladins not really shining to be incredibly interesting.
Good news on long-term playtest stuff going up on Beyond, IMO.
The comment about Small Races not being able to make the most of GWM, I like to agree with that. It should be re-worded to allow Versatile weapons being used with two hands. After all, 20 Strength is 20 Strength, whether coming from a Half-Orc or a Halfling, it's doing the same damage.
Warlord still hasn't been forgotten. IMO it works best as a Fighter that grants his attacks to other allies.
Kinda sad that basically he said Dragonlance isn't happening. That's what I inferred, anyway.