Post-Mortem

Living with D&D 5e after a 1-17 campaign (5e)

Today, something a little different. I recently finished a 42 session long campaign from level 1-17 with my group. Some of the modules I have used I have reviewed here previously (Scarlet Citadel, The Scrivener's Tale). Here, I would like to focus a little less on the content of this campaign, but on the rules, what they did well, and where they fell short. First of all, they must have worked well, as we had a lot of fun, and that is the core intention of a ruleset after all, isn't it? However, there were definitely instances where the rules got in the way of fun, which I would like to briefly outline here.

High Level Spells

High level D&D is difficult, especially for the GM, but especially high level spells are just broken. They make many challenges trivial, they make certain classes feel obsolete and create more moments of frustration than they do of fun. As a consequence, they put an impossibly high burden on the GM to solve these issues.

5e and Dungeon Delves

Even with the great guidance from Scarlet Citadel, it is now blatantly obvious to me that D&D 5e is terrible at doing its namesake thing: Dungeons. Darkvision is everywhere and minions such as owls with high passive perception reduce the sense of danger and of the unkown to nigh zero. A sense that is amplified by spells such as Leomund't tiny hut and the ever more generous HP pools of advancing characters.

Death is off the table

Once past level 3 or so, death is essentially off the table, thus eliminating any real sense of threat and also the sense of achievement that goes along with it. Narratively, the dying waking up, dying again, waking up again etc turns any situation of tension and peril into slapstick. Not necessarily bad for fun once or twice, but repeatedly it is just immersion breaking.

Multi-classing and the dissolution of difference

Paradoxically, the provision of tons of player options and ability to multi-class leads to a reduction of variety for playgroups that are even only marginally interested in optimising their characters. Class dips for the Shield spell, Booming Blade or the ability to wear better armor creates a collection of characters that are more the same then they are different, robbing the game of variety.

But as I do not want to be complaining here without providing any solutions, you can find a set of rules below that would address these issues for our specific group dynamic. Most of these are just toggling certain optional rules "off", while others add minor details or restrict access to certain character options. A key intention is also to speed up combat. Here is what I would communicate to my players before the next 5e game: