I snagged the last copy at one of the closest game stores about 15 minutes after they opened. First impressions of the book, in no particular order (though it seems to be negatives then positives).
There is lots of magic. Every class has a magical option. Beyond Clerics, Druids, Wizards, Warlocks, and Sorcerers whom we expect to be magical, Paladins and Rangers gain spells early and Bards are now full casters. Two of the three Monk versions gain spell-like powers. Fighter's can be Eldritch Knights and Rogues Arcane Tricksters. The Barbarian still has the least magic, though the Totem Warrior gets a type of mystic powers as well. While I don't begrudge classes having magic options per se, it is a little hard to escape all the magic. Fighters, Rangers, Barbarians, Monks, and Rogues can be "normal" or martial-only characters, but the magic is baked into Paladins and Rangers at early levels.
Baked in assumptions abound. While it looks much easier to house-rule things in 5th edition than 4th edition, the classes and their options may require careful monitoring depending on the setting. Sorcerers and Warlocks and spell casting bards don't fit well into the world of Dragonlance. Spell-heavy Paladins and Bards and Rangers likewise might not fit so well into other worlds, not to mention Arcane Tricksters or Eldritch Knights. Unique spell lists for each class makes it harder to pull off something like elemental provinces for an Al-Qadim conversion. All necromancers, for example, now gain power by using the souls of their slain enemies, for example. All druids do wildshape, making me yearn for a Shaman class.
Charisma is everywhere. Bards, Sorcerers, Warlocks, and (to a lesser extent) Paladins are all Charisma-heavy classes. More Arcane casters use Charisma than Intelligence: Wizard is the only Intelligence class. It evens out a bit if the Eldritch Knight and Arcane Trickster are counted (they're really only 1/3 casters), but they don't use spellbooks or anything.
Warlocks get a Cthulhu reference. That seems unnecessary.
Wizards seem to have lost their position as kings-of-magic. Sure, their spell list looks a bit bigger than the Sorcerer's or Bard's, but they don't have a better variety of spells at any given time than the Cleric or Druid, both of whom get the same number of spells plus maybe bonus domain or circle spells. I really wish they would have gotten a two-for-one deal on preparing spells of their specialty school or something. But even Bards get the ability to add spells which are not on their spell lists to their repertoire (Magical Secrets) which could be those nifty Paladin-only spells. Wizards do get ritual casting, but so do Bards, Clerics, and Druids. And the number of ritual spells isn't exactly impressive. It looks like there are about 17 wizard ritual spells, compared to 4 warlock ritual spells, 4 sorcerer, 11 ranger, 3 Paladin, 12 Druid, 12 Cleric, and 12 Bard (thank you Ari Marmell). Individual Clerics or Druids might gain additional ritual spells based on their domains or circle of the land, while Bards might gain additional rituals from their Magical Secrets and Warlocks from a Pact of the Book. Most rituals are level 1 or 2, with a few higher level, and there's only 31 unique ritual spells in the book (many classes have, for example, Water Walk). I guess it isn't that Wizards aren't good at magic, they're just not necessarily better than other classes.
So many special powers. There are lots of unique, special powers for each class. I don't like this design philosophy. I prefer things a little more modular and universal. You see this particularly in the wizard, I think. Each specialty gives the ability to put spells of your specialty into your spell book easier, but that's it. No bonus memorization. No bonus spell slot for your specialty. And hard-coded powers for the Abjurer that duplicate what abjuration spells do. The Evoker's sculpt spell feature is great. It modifies how spells are used. But the Enchanter's Hypnotic Gaze or the Illusionist's Illusory Self... these just duplicate spells. A 2-4-1 deal on prepping spells, or an ability to cast with lower-level slots for a signature spell... these would just modify how spells get used and allow for some more variation. Many of the powers are good ones like this, just not quite enough.
The thing is damned pretty. The artwork seems more realistic and less anime-inspired. There's lot of people of color. Likewise there are some characters wearing clothing that is less western-fantasy inspired. So I'm pretty happy with that. The parchement-color background is subtle and doesn't interfere with reading.
I called it a great compromise edition. I think that's accurate, but it looks fun too. Just harder for me to do some crazier things (like Dark Sun or Al-Qadim or maybe Dragonlance). Some of the baked-in assumptions probably work just fine for Planescape or Spelljammer. Or other types of generic fantasy. I think I'd rather play this than Pathfinder.
There are great references to other D&D worlds in the book. Though not Dark Sun or Al-Qadim, the basics of Greyhawk, Dragonlance (!!!), and Forgotten Realms are mentioned. Quotes from some of the novels, and the Planescape cosmology is back (with bits of 4th edition shadowfell, feywild, and elemental chaos). Even in the gods section, they're giving us what we need for Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, Eberron, and Dragonlance. I wondered at the lack of some setting references, like Spelljammer or Mystara or Ravenloft, or my beloved Al-Qadim or Dark Sun.
I'll have to comb through the rules, but it looks largely like what we saw from the playtest packets. More likely, someone else will blog a nice run-down of the differences, so I'll have to keep my eyes open.
There's room for growth. The Death Domain for clerics was relegated to the DMG, which we won't see till November. But it gives me a little hope that some of these nice variants will show up eventually. And despite some whining about Al-Qadim being a harder conversion than, say, Planescape or Spelljammer, you I can imagine it might not be the worst to add in a few cleric domains, alternate Wizard traditions (Sand, Sea, Wind, Flame), Genie-Pact warlocks, etc. to really make a game your own. Hopefully the DMG will have some samples.
Overall, I think this is going to be a good game. Not 100% what I wanted, but a few house-rules (really, a 2-4-1 deal on wizards prepping spells of their school, maybe limited to their intelligence bonus) and a list of available options for any campaign... I'll have to play some more and see how it all shakes out.
There is lots of magic. Every class has a magical option. Beyond Clerics, Druids, Wizards, Warlocks, and Sorcerers whom we expect to be magical, Paladins and Rangers gain spells early and Bards are now full casters. Two of the three Monk versions gain spell-like powers. Fighter's can be Eldritch Knights and Rogues Arcane Tricksters. The Barbarian still has the least magic, though the Totem Warrior gets a type of mystic powers as well. While I don't begrudge classes having magic options per se, it is a little hard to escape all the magic. Fighters, Rangers, Barbarians, Monks, and Rogues can be "normal" or martial-only characters, but the magic is baked into Paladins and Rangers at early levels.
Baked in assumptions abound. While it looks much easier to house-rule things in 5th edition than 4th edition, the classes and their options may require careful monitoring depending on the setting. Sorcerers and Warlocks and spell casting bards don't fit well into the world of Dragonlance. Spell-heavy Paladins and Bards and Rangers likewise might not fit so well into other worlds, not to mention Arcane Tricksters or Eldritch Knights. Unique spell lists for each class makes it harder to pull off something like elemental provinces for an Al-Qadim conversion. All necromancers, for example, now gain power by using the souls of their slain enemies, for example. All druids do wildshape, making me yearn for a Shaman class.
Charisma is everywhere. Bards, Sorcerers, Warlocks, and (to a lesser extent) Paladins are all Charisma-heavy classes. More Arcane casters use Charisma than Intelligence: Wizard is the only Intelligence class. It evens out a bit if the Eldritch Knight and Arcane Trickster are counted (they're really only 1/3 casters), but they don't use spellbooks or anything.
Warlocks get a Cthulhu reference. That seems unnecessary.
Wizards seem to have lost their position as kings-of-magic. Sure, their spell list looks a bit bigger than the Sorcerer's or Bard's, but they don't have a better variety of spells at any given time than the Cleric or Druid, both of whom get the same number of spells plus maybe bonus domain or circle spells. I really wish they would have gotten a two-for-one deal on preparing spells of their specialty school or something. But even Bards get the ability to add spells which are not on their spell lists to their repertoire (Magical Secrets) which could be those nifty Paladin-only spells. Wizards do get ritual casting, but so do Bards, Clerics, and Druids. And the number of ritual spells isn't exactly impressive. It looks like there are about 17 wizard ritual spells, compared to 4 warlock ritual spells, 4 sorcerer, 11 ranger, 3 Paladin, 12 Druid, 12 Cleric, and 12 Bard (thank you Ari Marmell). Individual Clerics or Druids might gain additional ritual spells based on their domains or circle of the land, while Bards might gain additional rituals from their Magical Secrets and Warlocks from a Pact of the Book. Most rituals are level 1 or 2, with a few higher level, and there's only 31 unique ritual spells in the book (many classes have, for example, Water Walk). I guess it isn't that Wizards aren't good at magic, they're just not necessarily better than other classes.
So many special powers. There are lots of unique, special powers for each class. I don't like this design philosophy. I prefer things a little more modular and universal. You see this particularly in the wizard, I think. Each specialty gives the ability to put spells of your specialty into your spell book easier, but that's it. No bonus memorization. No bonus spell slot for your specialty. And hard-coded powers for the Abjurer that duplicate what abjuration spells do. The Evoker's sculpt spell feature is great. It modifies how spells are used. But the Enchanter's Hypnotic Gaze or the Illusionist's Illusory Self... these just duplicate spells. A 2-4-1 deal on prepping spells, or an ability to cast with lower-level slots for a signature spell... these would just modify how spells get used and allow for some more variation. Many of the powers are good ones like this, just not quite enough.
The thing is damned pretty. The artwork seems more realistic and less anime-inspired. There's lot of people of color. Likewise there are some characters wearing clothing that is less western-fantasy inspired. So I'm pretty happy with that. The parchement-color background is subtle and doesn't interfere with reading.
I called it a great compromise edition. I think that's accurate, but it looks fun too. Just harder for me to do some crazier things (like Dark Sun or Al-Qadim or maybe Dragonlance). Some of the baked-in assumptions probably work just fine for Planescape or Spelljammer. Or other types of generic fantasy. I think I'd rather play this than Pathfinder.
There are great references to other D&D worlds in the book. Though not Dark Sun or Al-Qadim, the basics of Greyhawk, Dragonlance (!!!), and Forgotten Realms are mentioned. Quotes from some of the novels, and the Planescape cosmology is back (with bits of 4th edition shadowfell, feywild, and elemental chaos). Even in the gods section, they're giving us what we need for Forgotten Realms, Greyhawk, Eberron, and Dragonlance. I wondered at the lack of some setting references, like Spelljammer or Mystara or Ravenloft, or my beloved Al-Qadim or Dark Sun.
I'll have to comb through the rules, but it looks largely like what we saw from the playtest packets. More likely, someone else will blog a nice run-down of the differences, so I'll have to keep my eyes open.
There's room for growth. The Death Domain for clerics was relegated to the DMG, which we won't see till November. But it gives me a little hope that some of these nice variants will show up eventually. And despite some whining about Al-Qadim being a harder conversion than, say, Planescape or Spelljammer, you I can imagine it might not be the worst to add in a few cleric domains, alternate Wizard traditions (Sand, Sea, Wind, Flame), Genie-Pact warlocks, etc. to really make a game your own. Hopefully the DMG will have some samples.
Overall, I think this is going to be a good game. Not 100% what I wanted, but a few house-rules (really, a 2-4-1 deal on wizards prepping spells of their school, maybe limited to their intelligence bonus) and a list of available options for any campaign... I'll have to play some more and see how it all shakes out.
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