So I found out that D&D Next (5.0) is being playtested atm. I am wondering if anyone is playtesting it, what they think of it, and whether they will invest in this system when it gets published.

My thought: I am kinda liking it from what I have gathered. I havn't actually played it yet, but it seems to be less dependant on feats and skills and more on roleplaying - not quite minimalist but pretty bare bones compared to 3.5, 4.0, and Pathfinder.

It also looks like numbers will not be going up substatially throught the game. This means that there will be less power creep throughout the game as a whole. I know my one friend in Pathfinder has something like 50 AC, and his Will (lowest saving throw) is something like a 14 or 16. As it is, the DM doesn't bother throwing any resources at him because he is almost impossible to hit.

That doesn't seem likely in this game.

I also like the idea of "advantage" and "disadvantage". So when you attack while stealthed, you get the advantage on an attack: you get to roll two dice and take the best one. Kind of nice when you made a plan and it all goes down the hole because your first and only roll was poor.

Average characters will only be getting 4 feats (1,3,6,9) that give interesting bonuses.

Here is the website for those who have not heard of it thus far:
https://www.wizards.com/dnd/dndnext.aspx

I want to hear what others have to say about this system!

I read the first offering they put out and was generally impressed with what they were offering but I have not had the leisure to go back and download more. What i was seeing was similar to your assessment, more of a minimalistic approach with some good ideas thrown in.

Another system I learned about from Tabletop (Youtube) is the Dragon Age RPG. Not so much into the world but the system is straight forward game,easy to learn and has lots to work with as well.

For an in depth and hilarious dnd next live session w will wheaten and others. Its who i saw at PAX and why i came back to the inn !

The world and lore of Dragon Age is amazing and the gameplay so simple w a nice stunt system for kicks focusing on roleplay than munchkinism and numbers.

I have access to the books and content, but haven't had a chance to play test it. A good deal of the rules are refined, pulled back to the roots of the game. I am 50/50 on my feelings for 4.0. Some aspects were very interesting (mainly the class offerings), but some just bogged down the game (some of the combat, and how puny some magic users felt).

I'd offer to run something, but trying to stay focused on the art for the moment until I get comfy enough and faster to spend time on really running something.

I'm an old codger. I resisted 3E (heck, 2E is *still* my system of choice), but came to be able to play and enjoy D20 (3E/3.5E).

I hated 4E from day one, and that never changed. I always felt like it was a MMORPG on paper.

The 5E stuff looks promising. I'll be interested to see where this goes.

I have been a die-hard 2e fan for most my life but lately I found it lacking and I lost interest in playing D&D completely. I have been looking around for something different that would aid in role playing but would not be hard to throw together for a game.

I hadn't played D&D in many years, but as a wedding present, a friend gave me a beautiful set of reprinted 1st ed. AD&D books. After reading over those again, I poked around and found a PDF download containing all 26 2nd ed. AD&D books. With all of that now at my fingertips, my interest in D&D has been rekindled. So I guess I'm in kinda the opposite boat, Al-hehe.

5th Edition, or 'D&D Next' as Hasbro insist on calling it, looks as if it could be a decent system.

The problem is that the whole brand has, in my opinion, been irreparably tarred by 4th Edition (my opinions on it are much the same as Olan's). Not only was it a disaster for ganers but it was a disaster commercially. Many people who enjoyed 3.5 (as I did and do) did not switch to the horrors of 4th edition but to Pathfinder. The last I heard, Pathfinder core rulebook was outselling the 4th ed. PHB by 3 to 1. This has, clearly, influenced the decision to reset the system and create something that is authentically more 'D&D'.

It may well work. 5th edition may be fabulous. But, I think D&D has lost too much ground to make it up now. And, I'm not sure why anyone would choose the (potentially dodgy) 5th edition over Pathfinder.

Note: this is my own experience and view of Paizo. I am not one to say you shouldn't give them your money if you like their products, just that I have since been on the decline with them b/c I have been dissapointed in their products. Same reason People chose Pathfinder over DnD: reaction to the voice of the consumer.

The greatest problem with DnD 4.0 was that WotC/Hasbro/whoever the heck runs the brand decided that they would compete against a MMORPG. What was it called again? WoW or something...

Anways, this lead to a lot of spite because old gamers didn't want such a huge paradigm shift in philosophy on how the game runs. This was, in essence DnD publisher's turning their back on their initial customers in hopes of younger ones.

There was also a time when I made an inquery to DnD and they never got back to me on it. This offended me.

Then there was Paizo with their gentle reminder of what DnD was: a RPG. They fixed a lot of the mistakes people were mumbling about in 3.5 (HD of casters, rogue. Sorcerer not having eschew materials, etc.) and started listening to peoples questions, concerns, and ideas. They made their world pop out, and feel alive by giving it a similar layout to our own world (Europe and africa = Inner Sea region). They also were renowned for listening to people on their forums, and working towards projects that the people wanted.

But now, Paizo is in the same boat DnD was in all those years ago. Every adventure path is designed around some sort of sub-system, and time after time there are huge errors in the published materials that they make you spend 18+ dollars on. Then they make stuff like this that has absolutley no point and then act surprised when it doesn't sell: http://paizo.com/products/btpy8oxq?GameMastery-Map-Pack-Swallowed-Whole

You see, the "we are a small company" explination for faults only works when you are in fact a small company. Acting the same way when you are beating the next major competator 3:1 will demand a certain level of higher quality - because you know, your making more money. To do otherwise makes me feel like you are just manipulating me.

Now then, what does this have to do with DnD Next? Well they are doing what Paizo was doing: listening to the players during playtest. It sounds like they will on occassion go to an extreme change just to see how it will be recieved, but in general they will take into consideration any points, problems, or ideas that are palced on the forums.

Will this hold after the release? maybe - for a time. But as it is, I feel like I am playing a part in designing a game system that me and my friends can enjoy - and I am working on it with people all over North America.

So for anything else, it is worth the experience of seeing just how different the game can change over the course of a few months, and see that in light of the finished product.

Also: DnD Next has been in playtest beta for over a year and it looks like it could be another before they consider going to the publishing process. Pathfinder never had that kind of span. reason for pointing it out: it is an oppertunity that WotC is taking to havily refine a game that they hope everyone will agree is better than Pathfinder in the same way Pathfinder was better than 3.5.