Returning to D&D.

     I finally got into 5th Edition Dungeons & Dragons. I have been away from it for a while, leaving 3.5 and not getting into 4th, but rather playing Pathfinder instead. As I explore this version of D&D, 5e, I want to write a blog entry here and there about the features I like, or wish they would include. There is a lot I like about it so far, but just a few things that I would like to see improved.

     I like that the main setting takes place in the Forgotten Realms world of Toril. It's a classic setting, with various tribes of humans around the world. My experience with this setting comes from Black Isle's RP sprite games (Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, etc.). I'm not quite used to the Forgotten Realms pantheon. That will take some getting used to when creating clerics. I'm more used to those of Greyhawk (Pelor, Olidammara, Nerul, etc.).
     Ravnica, the ecumenopolis setting of a series of Magic: The Gathering cards, is a possible alternate setting! I had to get that book when I could. Some other Magic settings, like Zendikar, are available in PDF form, but Ravnica is a physical book.
     In the grander scheme of things, the cosmology has returned to the Great Wheel. I'm used to this, as it is the cosmology used in 3.5.
     There is no mention of prestige classes, which is fine. I didn't think that I would welcome such a change, but I love what was done instead. Let's say a player wanted to make a mage-thief. He starts with a thief, then plans his skill points - present and future levels - around that future leveling. He adds a few levels of wizard, then he can chose to take on arcane trickster class levels. Now 5e just has archetypes; that same player can just take on limited spellcasting ability at 3rd level without multiclassing. In future blog entries, I might talk about archetypes that catch my eye, ones that I've come up with, or ones I've adapted from prestige classes from earlier 3.5 supplements.
     Bards are more powerful now! I've always loved the class, as they are very music-oriented, and they have random pieces of knowledge. Now they have a full 9-level spell list, and have a feature called Secret Magic; at certain levels, they can pick two spells from any other class' spell list. So, you can have a bard that sings down a Meteor Swarm. Also, I've converted my 3.5 7th level bard, Sirrus Kobayne, into a 5e 7th level bard of whispers.

     The stripped-down skill system will take getting used to. You don't choose skill ranks; you just have proficiencies based on your class. That does make it a little less customizable.
     At higher levels, spellcasting is a bit limited. But there is versatility in spellcasting. For instance, Wizards (for example) combine their class level with their Intelligence bonus, and that's the number of spells they can prepare. The spell slots tells the player how many of each level they can cast. So, they can prepare two spells of Level X, but only have one slot in Level X, so there's a sense of versatility.

     In future entries, I would like to talk about supplements that I wish would be adapted to 5e. 5e isn't terribly old, but I think a lot of players are missing the Draconomicon, for example.