Mattlore said:
Does anyone have any play-test testimony on DnD Next? I've been wanting to see some things on it, but information has been scarce for me (Or I just suck at google). I would really love for DnD Next to be the next 3.5 or (if a miracle can happen), the next Pathfinder
Info has been scarce because of a non-disclosure agreement for those who have playtesting materials. Legally, we can't just give everything out.
I've played several sessions of Next, and am currently DMing a campaign that has players up to about level 8 so far and showing no signs of slowing yet. My thoughts are as follows:
- At face value, when you first look into it, the rules, skills and abilities seem over simplified (especially if you're coming from 4e which had powers everywhere), but that's just the bird's-eye-view. It's actually more similar to 3.5 as far as the general play rules go.
- 5e/Next attempts to get rid of the dependency on a grid. 4e relied too heavily on it, and Next tries to make up for that by playing more like a "theater of the mind." I still use a grid for combat because it's easier to track who is where like that, but my grid usage has significantly decreased since my time in 4e.
- If you're a spellcasting fan from 3.5/pathfinder, you'll be fairly pleased with Next's implementation. The spells per day (spell slot) system is back and in full effect in Next. Each class has their own table with number of spells at certain levels they can cast per day, how many they know total, etc. Arguably the more complex classes for sure are the magic users.
- Melee-based combat classes are very similar to older (non 4e) versions as well. They don't get special powers every level, and generally make up for that with some buffs. In my opinion, fighters are super-powered in Next, learning feats more often than other classes, and attacking multiple times. Maybe I'm just not giving my players a hard enough challenge, though. Results may vary.
- If you're attempting to teach people about D&D, Next is certainly the best way to do that. Having played 3.5 and 4e, I can say with certainty that character creation and leveling in Next takes way less time, and is generally easier to comprehend, even to new players completely foreign to tabletop RPGs.
All in all, if I had to choose a version to play so far... I'm choosing Next. Even with it still being in playtest right now, there's enough content available to use for a full campaign. Myself and the group I DM for prefer Next over other editions.