Did anybody else participate in the playtest for D&D Next over the last few weeks?
One of my groups, who I have dubbed the OverThinkers did the "mad tea party" method. We each grabbed a character or the DM hat, played until we got bored and someone yelled "clean cup!" and we all sent our paperwork one seat to the left.
The themes and backgrounds all, IMO, have potential. They're trying to get away from increasing base attacks/damage with each level and instead giving you more things to do on your turn as you gain experience. I found that good and bad, especially when I was playing the wizard. If I used my memorized spells (of which there were three at first level) in the first encounter, I was basically fucked. Magic Missile is back to auto-hit and shitty damage. Hi, I'm a duck, let me nibble you to death.
The test characters, as you might expect, are cookie cutter. A dwarven fighter, a human cleric of Pelor, a dwarven cleric of Moradin, a halfling fighter, an elven wizard. Because, of course, no halfling ever becomes say a ranger or a cleric, and everyone knows elves are just too delicate to be anything but wizards. This paragraph has been closed-captioned for the sarcasm-impaired.
I've submitted my survey, waiting for the next batch of playtest equipment. If you want to join in the fun, it's free, just sign up at Wizards.com
One of my groups, who I have dubbed the OverThinkers did the "mad tea party" method. We each grabbed a character or the DM hat, played until we got bored and someone yelled "clean cup!" and we all sent our paperwork one seat to the left.
The themes and backgrounds all, IMO, have potential. They're trying to get away from increasing base attacks/damage with each level and instead giving you more things to do on your turn as you gain experience. I found that good and bad, especially when I was playing the wizard. If I used my memorized spells (of which there were three at first level) in the first encounter, I was basically fucked. Magic Missile is back to auto-hit and shitty damage. Hi, I'm a duck, let me nibble you to death.
The test characters, as you might expect, are cookie cutter. A dwarven fighter, a human cleric of Pelor, a dwarven cleric of Moradin, a halfling fighter, an elven wizard. Because, of course, no halfling ever becomes say a ranger or a cleric, and everyone knows elves are just too delicate to be anything but wizards. This paragraph has been closed-captioned for the sarcasm-impaired.
I've submitted my survey, waiting for the next batch of playtest equipment. If you want to join in the fun, it's free, just sign up at Wizards.com