Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition Player's Handbook Reviewed

So, I just spent a whole blog explaining my history with Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) and what I thought of each of the previous editions. You can see that in this blog, Prelude to 5th Edition Dungeons and Dragons, if you need a history lesson on the game from my perspective. Now, the reason I posted all of that, I got a copy of the 5th Edition Player's Handbook from a game store that was favored with one of the advance releases before the official release date of August 19. Here is what I think of the game in two words based on this book alone: BUY IT.

I'll explain why, but first I want to say one other thing. I had a friend post about being worried about the schism that Fifth Edition may cause in the gaming community due to the existence of Paizo Publishing's Pathfinder (you can see some information on what that is in the blog listed above). Personally, Paizo started and caused any schism that will be created, so if blame should be placed for this, it should be placed on them. However, they made a good business decision, they took something they had legally and they improved it to compete directly with Wizards of the Coast (WotC), the producers of the Dungeons and Dragons game. That competition, I have no doubt, is what led WotC to go back to the drawing board as quickly as they did from Fourth Edition Dungeons and Dragons to produce the new Fifth Edition of the game. Competition is good, it has produced a much better product from WotC to bring back the fans of D&D. Let's see what Paizo can do now considering most of what they started with came from WotC and what WotC has now is better in every way and not an open to Paizo under an open gaming license agreement.

A few notes for short hand I am going to use:
1E = First Edition Dungeons and Dragons (including the original little paper books, Dungeons & Dragons, Advanced Dungeons & Dragons and all of its optional rules through the reprints of the original hardbacked copies of the three core books)
2E = Second Edition Dungeons and Dragons
3E = Third Edition Dungeons and Dragons, its half-step iteration 3.5, and its red-headed step-child produced by Paizo Publishing, Pathfinder (3.75)
4E = Fourth Edition Dungeons and Dragons
5E = Fifth Edition Dungeons and Dragons

Now, the real meat and why you should go buy the Fifth Edition of the grandfather of all role-playing games.

If you played previous versions of D&D or read my blog above, you have an idea of what was wrong with the game in all previous editions no matter what company produced the version. I'm going to start with the basics of the fixes. The rules are codified as they were under 3E, but the rules have been greatly reduced and streamlined to a much more compact game that allows for role-playing to once again freely enter the game as the game judge or Dungeon Master (DM) once again gains a some of the need for officiating back and some more free-form to which type of check should be applied in various circumstances. Healing issues have been resolved in a fabulous method - no more characters with so much healing there is no fear of death or too little healing that they cannot recover from a fight in a reasonable amount of game time. Spellcaster lack of combat options at low levels have been resolved using the spell system that existed under all previous editions of the game before 4E. Feats have been redone and balanced in as well as the former paragon and epic tier character options. Skills are "gone" but not completely. Combat has been simplified and streamlined, but not at the rejection of codification of combat. The game is better by returning to its roots with modern twists from lessons learned over the years and editions.

Healing went from "how in the world do we keep fighting after taking that much damage when our cleric has blown all his spells" (1E/2E/3E) to "you can't kill us even if we don't have a cleric" (4E). Now, we get, "this encounter is rough, but we can survive it if we play well as a team and use our resources wisely." The second winds that pretty much spelled no-death in 4E is gone under 5E. However, the fighter still has an ability called second wind, which lets the character heal once in each combat similar to the way Second Wind worked under 4E, but it's depleted after one use in a fight. All other healing comes from the same sources it has always come from under the first 3 editions of the game - the cleric, the paladin, etc. This lets the character that is normally taking the brunt of the damage take care of himself at least to a degree without the cleric having to blow all of his healing on the fighter's injuries in the first couple of rounds. In addition to the magical healing of some classes and the fighter's single use ability, every character can heal herself during short rests, so no more eight hour rest required after each combat, but also no need to blow every healing spell and potion the party can afford during and after the first fight. It's a good balance between the party knowing they could have a character die in any given combat, but they are not completely screwed by a bad roll, a DM mistake, or other things they may have no control over. Yes, a party with no idea of tactics may still end up totally annihilated by an unforgiving DM, but that could happen under most editions, though I saw parties with a complete lack of tactics survive where they should not have under 4E due to its over the top healing system.

Spellcasters cannot blast with their spells through a whole combat, in a way. The 5E creators took the spell system as it has always existed since 1E and through 3E and used mechanics that already existed to allow this with slight modification. The cantrip is now an at-will spell for most spellcasters. Cantrips that do damage, now do real damage for low-level characters, and by real damage, I mean it does the same amount of damage as a shortsword or mace (1d6). These are the go-to weapons of the rogue and the cleric, so wizards are now on par with those two classes when their true spells (1st level spells and up) are gone for combat. To make sure, everyone understands the value of this, every traditional pure spellcasting class (bard, cleric, druid, sorcerer, and wizard) has cantrips. Only the paladin and ranger do not have cantrips, and they have normal weapons to rely on at any time anyway. I know you don't believe me, but here's a simple list - bards have the vicious mockery cantrip (the worst at 1d4, but it gains as level increases and bards generally have decent weapons anyway), clerics have the sacred flame cantrip (1d8), druids have the thorn whip cantrip (1d6), sorcerers and wizards have the acid splash cantrip (1d6), and that is not an exhaustive list of choices. Each caster knows a minimum of 2 cantrips at first level, so she will even have some choices and most have 3 with one having 4. The rest of the spellcasting ability is much like what we are used to from 1E/2E/3E except at the higher levels. At higher levels for those massive damage spells, the mechanics have been changed slightly again to compensate for the high level caster's ability to devastate because she gets to roll 20 damage dice or 10 damage dice or whatever her spellcasting level is at the time. Damage dice for most of those high damage spells like fireball is now tied to its spell level and not the spellcaster's level. "Wait? What? I only get to do 3 dice of damage now with my most devastating spells?" you ask. No, yes, those spells are third or fourth level spells or whatever, but you can cast them as higher level spells by using higher level spell slots, so you can cast your 3rd level fireball as a 9th level fireball, but that's one less prismatic wall you get to cast today. This leaves the casters not just tossing fireballs out with no consideration at the higher levels as they may be sacrificing another more important spell for later for that massive damage output. Wizards and clerics now have to play smart with their choices of what to cast at any given time.

Feats have been integrated to the classes in some cases and made optional in others. Many of the commonly taken feats have been integrated in as class abilities for each class, like the meta-magic feats for example for wizards, which are now class features that they can take at certain levels. The rules have also made the combining of meta-magic a little more restrictive so no more double empowered, heightened, widened, miss my friends and only hit my enemies fireball changed to an ice ball, but you can still do most of that singularly and some of them can be combined. Also, every class does not get the same meta-magic since they have been made class abilities for example. The number of feats is also greatly reduced, for now at least - I'm sure we'll get more as time goes by. Each feat has been re-defined to work under the new mechanics of 5E though, which is much more balancing than all previous editions; more on that later. The feats that remained as feats, are, also, now optional for use, and if you think your character will be imbalanced because your friend used the optional feats and you didn't, you should also know that to get any feat, you have to give up something. Each class has gotten little ability bumps as they went up in level at 4, 8, 12, 16, and 20th level for a while now. This still exists, you get a +2 to a single ability or +1 to two abilities at those levels unless you want a feat, then you trade out your ability point bump for a feat. That's a balance that I can appreciate, what's more important to you, what that feat gives you or +1 to what an ability score bump will give you. Feats done right and balanced from all I can see and from the friends I know who are trying to break the game still right now.

Paragon level class options from 3E are now integrated into the classes from the beginning. Epic level options are gone because we do not have epic level play at this time (the game only takes us to 20th level). All of the paragon options aren't here, but many of the more popular ones are, and where classes do not have their old paragon options integrated it's because something else was integrated into the class instead. Here's a brief rundown of examples, which will also tell you the classes that exist in the Player's Handbook to start (most choose at third level; cleric, sorcerer, warlock (all at 1st) and wizard (2nd) being the exceptions):

Barbarians choose from 2 primal paths (Path of the Berserker, Path of the Totem Warrior)
Bards choose from 2 Bardic colleges (College of Lore, College of Valor)
Clerics choose from 7 domains (Knowledge, Life, Light, Nature, Tempest, Trickery, War)
Druids choose from 2 Druidic circles (Circle of the Land, Circle of the Moon)
Fighters choose from 3 martial archetypes (Champion, Battle Master, Eldritch Knight)
Monks choose from 3 monastic traditions (Way of the Open Hand, Way of Shadow, Way of the Four Elements)
Paladins choose from 3 sacred oaths (Oath of Devotion, Oath of the Ancients, Oath of Vengeance)
Rangers choose from 2 archetypes (Hunter, Beast Master)
Rogues choose from 3 archetypes (Thief, Assassin, Arcane Trickster)
Sorcerers choose from 2 origins (Draconic Bloodline, Wild Magic)
Warlocks choose from 3 otherworldly patrons (the Archfey, The Fiend, The Great Old One)
Wizards choose from 8 arcane traditions (abjuration, conjuration, divination, enchantment, evocation, illusion, necromancy, transmutation)

There is some room for expansion here from what we've seen of the paragon paths in 3E, but plenty of the favorites are here to start.

Skills are still a part of the game, but not like they were. Skills are no longer based on your class, instead each character chooses a background like acolyte, criminal, or entertainer to name a few. Each background gives a character proficiency in two skills, proficiency in at least one tool (used with some skills) and some other features as well as some basic background suggestions and characteristics for role-playing. Backgrounds are where you get the skills you are proficient in (I'll explain the proficiency mechanic shortly). It should also be noted that there is a list of backgrounds and what they provide in the Player's Handbook, but they are examples, and backgrounds can be built by DM and players to reflect the nature of what a player wants for his character to be or the nature of the campaign as long as they follow the basic rules laid out in the book. As I said, the game reintroduced the need for the DM to once again take an active role in the game besides just running the bad guys for combat. I remember how in 2E this was how you determined skills that your character might have before the rules were codified - now, the rules are still codified, but backgrounds have importance again if the players and DM want them to.

Some mechanics changes that are definitely for the better:

The bonuses to hit based on class are gone for the most part. All classes have the same to hit bonuses at equal character levels, so a fighter is no better with his weapons than a wizard. The fighter does have a better choice of weapons that he is proficient with, but if a fighter and a wizard both pick up a dagger and have equivalent strength, they both have the same chance of hitting. The weapons that each class is proficient with are much the same as they have always been since that class's introduction to the game. This is where the other big mechanics change occurs, there is a new mechanic that goes with proficiency. If you are proficient with something, you gain a bonus to the use of that item, and what I just called to hit bonuses are actually proficiency bonuses. So, for example, at first level all classes have a +2 to checks with their class's weapons and with the two skills they are proficient at as well as the set of tools they are proficient with. When you make an attack or a skill check, you add your proficiency bonus to the roll (if you're proficient at it) and ability score modifier that applies and adjustments for other factors like advantage/disadvantage (more on this later), cover, etc. Everyone has the same number of skills, everyone has the same proficiency bonus at the same level - the only variation is now ability score or proficiency and other external modifiers. It should be noted that you can never add proficiency to a roll more than once even if it's from other sources; certain things can augment your proficiency bonus, but for example, you do not get to add your skill proficiency and your tool proficiency to a skill check to craft a new shield. It's a good system that balances all of the classes for probably the first time ever.

Remember how when a character would get knocked prone in 3E, they were pretty much screwed if a bad guy was standing next to them. That is over, and you do not lose all of your movement for it either. Standing from prone costs half of your movement basically, and you can still use the other half to move if you choose. Moving away from an enemy still allows for an opportunity attack, but you're standing up at least for it.

Advantage/disadvantage are the major bonus/penalty mechanics. Certain effects can cause you to be at a disadvantage or advantage over an adversary or just in a situation. What this means in both cases is that you roll two dice when required to roll and take the best/worst of the two. For example:
 Sarai the rogue is fighting an orc, and the orc trips and falls to the ground prone; Sarai now has advantage over the orc, while the orc has a disadvantage to attack Sarai. Sarai tries to stab the orc with her shortsword; she rolls 2 d20's to hit..one is a 14 and one is a 10, she gets to use the 14 because she has an advantage. If the orc had been attacking her, and rolled the same dice with the same rolls, the orc would have to use the 10 to determine if he hit Sarai. Not a perfect system, but better than the flat bonus of old.

Conditions have changed in how they work in most cases and are not as brutal as they were under 3E. Prone being a good example of the changes.

All told, from the Player's Handbook, Fifth Edition D&D is an awesome game and the game we should have gotten instead of 4E, but at least WotC seems to have learned from the experience of 3E and 4E and given us what seems on par to be a great new edition of an old classic.

I wasn't going to play D&D anymore after my experiences with 4E and Pathfinder. This book has made me change my mind, so as long as the Monster Manual doesn't give us orcs that can destroy my first level character in one hit, I need to find a group that wants to play some old school home campaign style D&D. If you were set against D&D because of 3E or 4E or even if you went over to Pathfinder, this game deserves a look from you. It's got what you're looking for, and it is the game you want to be playing.

See you at a convention somewhere in the future I hope.