If, like me, you’ve been happily playing with the interim Dungeons & Dragons rules included in the recent Scourge of the Sword Coast, Ghosts of Dragonspear Castle and Dead in Thay adventures – or with the public playtest that those rules are drawn from – you are probably wondering what has changed. What do I need to know as I adapt to the new version … Continue reading Basic Dungeons & Dragons: Combat changes
A few pages from the Starter Set have been posted online by people who have been sent the set early, and there are a few notable changes. I’m not planning to analyse every little thing that has changed since the Interim Rules Document, but there are a few highlights that are worth noting. In particular, the Cure Wounds spell has changed from 2d8 healing per … Continue reading Changes from the D&D Playtest: Starter Set Spells
It is probably fair to say that the main line of D&D development never had a coherent initiative system until AD&D 2nd Edition came along in 1989. Gary Gygax was many things, but a writer of clear, unambiguous combat rules was not one of them. The systems in the various versions of Basic D&D were used by many as the basis of how to run … Continue reading Initiative in AD&D 2nd Edition
With the posting of the archer build of the Fighter with a Folk Hero background, we’ve learned… not that much more. Folk Hero: This is a new background, which gives the Rustic Hospitality trait. Skills? Certainly Animal Handling and perhaps Survival. Fighting Style: Archery: The bonus to attack has changed to +2, up from +1. No Mount proficiency? Does the Vehicles (Land) proficiency include riding … Continue reading Changes from the D&D Playtest: More Starter Fighter changes
Mike Mearls has tweeted that the Basic D&D PDF to be released on Thursday, 3rd July will include the “Core Rules” in addition to the character creation material – that is, it will have Combat, Exploration, Spells and the other material you need to run the game. Other DM-specific material you need to create adventures, in particular, monsters, will be in a later update when … Continue reading Basic D&D PDF to include How to Play and Character Creation
Copies of the Starter Set have begun to arrive in Canada early. (Very early – about three weeks so). As a result, we now are able to look at the final character sheets in the set… Here’s a run-through of what has changed for the Rogue from the Interim Rules Supplement in Dead in Thay. Hit Dice: This is a big one. The Rogue now … Continue reading Changes from the D&D Playtest: The Starter Set Rogue
The Wizard character sheet from the Starter Set is now available, so it’s time to have a look what changed from the playtest (specifically, the interim rules in Dead in Thay, which were drawn from the last public playtest packet). Wizard not Mage: This is the big one – the class is back to being called a Wizard, not a Mage. Evocation Savant: This is … Continue reading Changes from the D&D Playtest: The Starter Set Wizard
Posted by Wolfskin on EN World: Compared to the Hobgoblin Warrior in Scourge of the Sword Coast, this hobgoblin is outfitted with much better armour (chain mail + shield compared to ring) and thus has an 18 AC compared to 14. The Hobgoblin Warrior had Steadfast (a bonus against being frightened) and Disciplined (an action that allowed an ally to gain advantage with its next … Continue reading D&D 5E: The Hobgoblin – Stats and Comparison
The wonderful people on EN World have posted screen captures of the Unboxing Video which reveal some of the monster stats. Here they are in a cleaned up form, with comparisons to the playtest: OgreLarge giant, chaotic evil Armor Class 11 (hide armor)Hit Points 59 (7d10+21)Speed 40 ft Str 19, Dex 8, Con 16, Int 5, Wis 7, Cha 7 Senses: darkvision 60 ft., passive … Continue reading D&D Starter Set – Monster Stats
Now that we have the Cleric’s character sheet, let’s have a look at what has changed from the last of the playtest documents (October 2013)! Preserve Life: This was called Restore Health in the playtest. The restriction barring it from being used on constructs or undead has been removed, and the range has been increased from 25 ft. to 30 ft. Turn Undead: It now … Continue reading Changes from the D&D Playtest: The Starter Set Cleric
