Anyone play D & D 5th Basic Rules?

[RunningLaser]

Just seeing if anyone plays the basic 5e rules and how they liked it. Or if you went from the full blown three core books to just the 5e basic rules.

 

[Nemesis]

Are you talking about just the core 5e rules found in the PHB?

 

[Bunch]

Just seeing if anyone plays the basic 5e rules and how they liked it. Or if you went from the full blown three core books to just the 5e basic rules.

Are you talking the free PDF?

 

[RunningLaser]

Are you talking the free PDF?

Yeah, the free pdf.

 

[Chaotic Wooster]

Yes, for an 8 session introductory campaign. It worked well and played faster thanks to less options and exceptions.

 

[RunningLaser]

That's one of the things I was curious about, speed of play and for those who've played both, how it compares. We played in a 5e game that got to 9th, and by that point effect tokens were heavy on the board. Wondered if 5e basic rules were more streamlined and faster in play.

Early on in 5e, levels one through three were fun and simple. From that point on I remember more stuff getting piled on.

 

[opaopajr]

Yes, played and own Basic 5e. Before book MM and DMG came out, let alone Basic 5e DMG/MM .pdf, ran a RAW Basic 5e PbP. I also resurrected that PbP here in RPGPub as one of the first PbPs on here. Also ran several in-person Basic 5e games, and several AL sessions.

Since many other friends had published book core (PHB, etc.) also played with that too. And when dealing with Season 1 and 2 of Adventure League also had to have familiarity with core published PHB, as both player and GM.

For the most part things are less widget heavy in Basic vs. Standard. The Champion Fighter, Life Cleric, Thief Rogue, and Evoker Wizard does keep most of the tinkering toned down. You still get widget juggling due to the nature of spells, but thankfully less. The main cause of widget juggling are 1) Multiclassing, 2) Feats, 3) Meta Hybrid Classes, 4) Archetype and Spell Bloat, almost in that order.

(Multiclassing and feats are definitely an afterthought of rigorous playtesting and it shows, but considering it is a WotC D&D that doesn't explode on contact I consider it an acceptable compromise.)

The big thing is Conditions and Basic Rules take foreground precedence again and people slow down looking to chargen to pull off their shtick. They end up looking to party and setting context synergy, since most of the chargen mini-game has been turned off. That said, even simplified the PCs still gain quite a bit of widgets by Tier 3 and 4. However that's just the nature of long-term gaming, period -- you'll see that from mid-end game play inflated characters in both level-based and skill-based PCs.

You may be better served putting a campaign level cap (just like a campaign skill point cap) on what you want to run. Eventually bloated widget inflation drags down all systems; none escape that black hole, though many delude themselves from that immutable truth. (Though we also have different levels of personal juggling tolerance, too. ) Try Basic 5e at lvl 9s and if still too much to juggle try keeping campaigns to only Tier 1 and 2, (meaning 9th lvls are more campaign end-game play).

It is significantly easier with optional cruft like multiclass and feats removed -- and paring down classes, archetypes, and races helps -- but higher play always brings its own trouble. Hope that helps!

 

[TJS]

You could also replace skills with one of the optional variants in the DMG which would simplify characters quite a lot.

 

[Chris Brady]

I tried it, but I prefer having feats. But that's all I would like to add to the basic game.

 

[cranebump]

If I were going to run 5E, that’s the version I’d run. Though I might use the proficiency dice option.

 

[Chaotic Wooster]

That's one of the things I was curious about, speed of play and for those who've played both, how it compares. We played in a 5e game that got to 9th, and by that point effect tokens were heavy on the board. Wondered if 5e basic rules were more streamlined and faster in play.

Early on in 5e, levels one through three were fun and simple. From that point on I remember more stuff getting piled on.

The basic rules only include the classic races and classes, which minimizes a lot of the time spent sifting through pages/notes/cards. True, wizards and clerics still get spell lists, but only one school/domain.

The rules are also condensed and updated, which reduces clutter at the table.

My experience is that the two players who were intimidate by 5th Edition's multitude of classes and races found the basic rules easier to learn and were more confident with the full game thereafter. Of course, if your players demand all the options, this isn't likely to be the case for you.