Level Up (A5E) Explaining A5e

[PJ Coffey]

I recently did a lot of very intense explanations of A5e at UK Games expo. I think this is probably useful if you're trying to get across what's going on with A5e, or, alternatively if you are thinking about running 5e for the first time.

How to Explain:

This guide explains what Level Up: Advanced Fifth Edition is and the advantages in playing it.

homebrewandhacking.com

 

[Distracted DM]

I appreciate this, though my players' issue was with the fact that the a5e classes are different from the o5e classes.
Adepts don't become immune to poison, the Ranger can't get a flat +2 bonus to hit from an archery fighting style (I pointed out that they can get +'s from other sources), and stuff like ?Deadeye/Sharpshooter? that ignores cover is level-gated and can't be taken immediately.

They've been patient or enthusiastic about certain facets, but I think more active choices/options rather than just big flat bonuses confuses some of them that have only ever played 5e. Which is funny, because 5e really doesn't work that well with big flat bonuses- the flat math breaks so hard.

The Monstrous Menagerie was what got me interested in a5e in the first place- I already ripped a lot of monster stuff from 4e and 13th Age etc. for my o5e games, but the a5e MM was everything I wanted with no hacking

Again, this was a nice writeup. I can't say it's useful for me to explain/sell the system to my players, but the more that helps me personally grok a5e the better.

 

[PJ Coffey]

I appreciate this, though my players' issue was with the fact that the a5e classes are different from the o5e classes.
Adepts don't become immune to poison, the Ranger can't get a flat +2 bonus to hit from an archery fighting style (I pointed out that they can get +'s from other sources), and stuff like ?Deadeye/Sharpshooter? that ignores cover is level-gated and can't be taken immediately.

They've been patient or enthusiastic about certain facets, but I think more active choices/options rather than just big flat bonuses confuses some of them that have only ever played 5e. Which is funny, because 5e really doesn't work that well with big flat bonuses- the flat math breaks so hard.

The Monstrous Menagerie was what got me interested in a5e in the first place- I already ripped a lot of monster stuff from 4e and 13th Age etc. for my o5e games, but the a5e MM was everything I wanted with no hacking

Again, this was a nice writeup. I can't say it's useful for me to explain/sell the system to my players, but the more that helps me personally grok a5e the better.

If the Narrator is having a good time then that really helps the game last. I know when I'm not having fun running a game I try and finish it off ASAP.

The beauty of it is you have all the materials and if they don't want the options, they can just use the old classes. And if one tries out an A5e class the rest can end up following.

If you're all having fun then you're doing it right!

 

[Morrus]

I appreciate this, though my players' issue was with the fact that the a5e classes are different from the o5e classes.

That’s always been an odd complaint to me. So use the class you like. You have a choice of 13 more classes but you don’t have to use any class which doesn’t appeal to you. I’ve never played a cleric and never will but don’t object to its existence. If WotC made some new classes would they object to those too?

 

[Distracted DM]

It's because there's a direct comparison. Here's the o5e Rogue you know, here's the a5e Rogue that's new and does NEW things but also doesn't do all the same things you're used to.

Also now you don't get Uncanny Dodge until level ?6?, whereas o5e gives it to you at 5.
It's just a matter of "this is different, it's not the same plus better."

 

[Distracted DM]

If the Narrator is having a good time then that really helps the game last. I know when I'm not having fun running a game I try and finish it off ASAP.

The beauty of it is you have all the materials and if they don't want the options, they can just use the old classes. And if one tries out an A5e class the rest can end up following.

If you're all having fun then you're doing it right!

Oh totally- my problem is that I want to get away from o5e classes, largely because of Tasha's terrible design decisions. Some of the stuff in there just flat-out breaks 5e's flat math from the get-go (1-level dip in peace cleric, and that stacks with Bless). I could house-rule it all but I'd really rather not. Before Tasha's in o5e, I didn't care about what the players brought to the table- stuff that was a little over or under-powered was fine, anything in the WotC books was fine and any 3pp stuff I'd take a look at.
Tasha's just makes it difficult to challenge the OP character without merc'ing the rest- or targeting the OP character (like a Twilight cleric) which then feels like I'm picking on them because they're that particular archetype. It just creates not-good feelings all around, entirely because of bad design in a first party product.

 

[Corinnguard]

It's not just Heritage that makes A5e different, there's also Culture, Background and Destiny too.

 

[PJ Coffey]

It's not just Heritage that makes A5e different, there's also Culture, Background and Destiny too.

Oh? Tell me more!

 

[PJ Coffey]

Before Tasha's in o5e, I didn't care about what the players brought to the table- stuff that was a little over or under-powered was fine, anything in the WotC books was fine and any 3pp stuff I'd take a look at.

Same. I used to really respect the balance and spent a huge amounts of effort trying to run RAW and attempting to run as I imagined they'd be doing in Seattle. Tasha's cured me of that.

 

[Corinnguard]

Oh? Tell me more!

What I like about Culture in A5e is that like heritage, you aren't 'locked' into it. In D&D and PF, there was something of an automatic assumption that if you played a Dwarf or an Elf, you were raised in a Dwarven or an Elven culture. You could be, but what if you are not? If you were raised in a different culture, how would this fact be reflected by your character? A Dwarf raised in an Elven culture should have their cultural traits. They shouldn't have any Dwarven cultural traits at all because of where they grew up. But there was no way to present these cultural differences in D&D or PF mechanically. A5e provides the game mechanics for Culture that were missing or absent in those other RPGs.
Now if you wanted your Dwarven character that had been raised with a Dwarven culture, you can now specify which Dwarven culture in A5e they hail from. They could be have been raised in a Mountain Dwarf culture, a Hill Dwarf culture, a Deep Dwarf culture or even a very religious culture or Godbound culture. Other RPGs really didn't go in deep mechanically with regards to how different one Dwarven culture was different from another Dwarven culture. Most of the differences were written up descriptively.

Background in A5e isn't too different than what you see in O5e. You still gain proficiencies in whatever tools and skills are being offered by that background. But now Background provides your character with their initial ASIs. Which race/species/heritage you picked for your character doesn't determine which ability score receives a boost. Then there are the Connections and Mementos. A connection is a person who matters to your character. They could be an ally, a rival, a family member or even an enemy. A memento otoh is an object of personal importance. Both of these can be used by a Narrator to connect your character to the adventure you're playing in. Your character might find themselves rescuing a family member, having a chance encounter with a rival or meeting an old friend/mentor. Or they discover that the bad guys are after them because of the very item they carry with them for nostalgic reasons.

As for Destiny, it's the very reason why your character decided to leave their background (their profession) and become an adventurer in the first place! It's what motivates them to keep going during the adventure despite the odds and the hardships they meet along the way. But now the game rewards you with a benefit should you meet your destiny.

Heritage, Culture, Background and Destiny together provide you with more character customization that you can't get with whatever class you selected for your character. You aren't solely defined by your class in A5e.

This help?