5th Edition D&D

[stoic_75]

I received the latest edition of Dungeons and Dragons for Christmas. I played one session and loved it. It feels really balanced and easy to play. All the rounds of open playtests seemed to have paid off as it has received positive feedback from fans of previous editions. But I still cannot help thinking, "Why couldn't WOTC do this for StarWars?"

[Grimace]

That ship has sailed. Now it's specific dice and Fantasy Flight for Star Wars, for better or worse.

[coldskier0320]

The whole time WotC had the SW license, it seemed pretty clear that the entire line was seen by them as little more than an afterthought, and in the case of Saga Edition, to use it as a beta platform for what would become DnD 4e.

I really enjoyed SWd20, and got to know the system pretty well...but I was not the least bit saddened by the news that the SWRPG wouldn't be produced by WotC when that finally became known. No hard feelings toward WotC by any means, but given the choice, I think I'm happier with FFG running it.

[Donovan Morningfire]

-double post-

[Donovan Morningfire]

Yeah, Star Wars was never a "top priority" for WotC. Which does make some degree of sense as D&D was the 800 pound gorilla and thus would get the bulk of the attention from WotC's RPG department.

Say what you want about FFG's system (personally, I find it be a lot of fun and the dice system to be one of the most interesting parts of the game mechanically given you can never be absolutely certain about how a roll with turn out), but FFG is treating Star Wars as a top priority license, not only for the RPG but for the CCG and various minis-based games as well. The team of in-house staff are very much dedicated Star Wars fans (I know, I've spoken with all but one of them at some point or another) and the majority of their freelancers, such as esteemed long-runner Sterling Hershey, are equally dedicated. The artwork is fantastic across the board, with no use of recycled images from the films, a stark contrast to WotC's "hit or miss" art.

As for the new edition of D&D, I like it. It's got a lot of old school feel to it, but having applied elements of 3rd edition and even a few from 4th edition as "lessons learned." Spell casters are still very powerful, but not as uber-powered as they were in 3rd edition while still being useful at lower levels. I've not done much play at higher levels (most of what I've played have been between levels 1 and 3), but on the surface of things it looks like the core math won't break down the way it did in 3rd edition, and the AC and attack bonuses won't get as ridiculously high as they did in 3rd or 4th edition. You're also not stuck on the treadmill in terms of your ability scores that affect attack and defenses like you were in 4th edition, and definitely are NOT reliant upon magic items; it'd be quite possible to run a game where magical items are indeed rare and wondrous things and still have the non-casters be capable of actively contributing in combat.