DnD Next

I'm a sucker for DnD. I got into it as a kid with the third edition box set. Before that I had only played Advanced one time, but it was absolutely that first experience that got me hooked even before I fully understood the fundamentals. I had heard my friend talk about his older brother's cleric like the character was real, someone my friend knew personally. The claims of struggle, leadership, and jewel encrusted weaponry fascinated me, a seventh grader infatuated with the Redwall series and who considered UFO spotting a brave and admirable endeavor. 

As I got older I began exploring DnD's roots. Initially I didn't quite recognize the "old school's" appeal. Now I can't seem to get away from it. Unfortunately my knowledge of old school systems is largely second hand hearsay from various blogs. My actual old school credentials aren't technically credentials at all. My connection to the school is a tenuous one, bridged by various retro-clones. But I've sort of fallen in love with two in particular, Crypts & Things and The Adventurer Conquerer King System. 

At Pax I attended a Q&A session with two Wizards of the Coast DnD game designers. They were keen on reiterating two fundamental points. First, DnD "needs to be about the people rolling dice around a table -- not about rule mechanics." Perhaps this is why Wizards touts 5e as a unifier system. They mentioned that everyone seems to like "at will spells," but no one likes cumbersome rules nor inadequate challenges. 

Secondly, the designers suggested that the new system would be "modular." This is something I find appealing, and especially if they mean the core books will provide an adequate section on advice for creating custom DM content. But as of now it is much too soon to make any rash predictions. The designers noted that 5e is roughly between 15 and 20 percent done. They also mentioned that in the last play-test clerics did not have "turn undead." I found this highly odd, but I laud the design team's willingness to push conventions for the sake of experimentation. 

*I have paraphrased the Wizards reps' statements to the best of my memory's ability. 

- J.B. Geany