My Path to 5e

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dmw71
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My Path to 5e

#1 Post by dmw71 »

My Path to 5e:
  • A friend opens a "local" brick-and-mortar gaming store (it's over 40-miles and over 1-hour away) and hosted the following Meetup:
    "Interested in playing Dungeons and Dragons at our store? Come out and visit with us this weekend!

    What is this meetup all about? The intent is to be a meet and greet to test interest, availability and willing DM's (or those willing to learn) for 5th Ed D&D Adventures League and / or Homebrew. Informal session to meet like minded individuals and answer questions on how organized play runs."
  • I attended, and met a few guys that played 5e.
  • They were cool.
  • I wasn't sold on 5e, but was excited about the possibility of finding a local gaming group.
  • A date to run an actual session (and not just talk about it) was set.
  • I spent over 4-hours creating two characters:
    dmw71 wrote:I probably spent three-hours (no joke) building the character I'm (probably) going to use in the game...
    dmw71 wrote:This second character took me about 1.5 hours to create, which is still a decent amount of time, but it was significantly easier the second time, after having gone through the process before.
  • Good DM ran a really good session (See my write-up: Session 01 - Varis Gladomain.pdf; attached.), but still did not get a real feel for 5e as it was heavy role-playing and there were very few opportunities for game mechanics to be called upon.
    Session 01 - Varis Gladomain.pdf
    (79.63 KiB) Downloaded 45 times
  • Regardless, I purchased physical copy of the 5e Player's Handbook (mostly to support my friend's shop, but also... because I was curious).
  • The plan was for this group to meet every two weeks.
    • Our first session was back on November 16, 2017.
    • Still have not met a second time. :(
  • As time passes, I convince myself (without actual evidence) that I'm going to like 5e.
  • Volunteer to do after-hours work over New Years Eve weekend at my work.
    • Receive two surprise monetary rewards -- one from my manager, the other from the account group I did the work for.
    • Pull the trigger and use this new "free" money to purchase a bunch of 5e books I had been adding to my cart on Amazon (and Kobold Press):
      5e Sources.jpg
      5e Sources.jpg (115.92 KiB) Viewed 8384 times
  • Frustrated that the first group I played with can't seem to schedule another date, I seek out a truly local gaming store that hosts D&D games;
  • Found one that hosts games every Tuesday night!
  • Attended my first session at this shop the other night (Tuesday, January 9, 2018).
    • The game had started a half hour before I arrived (even though I arrived before the starting time published on the website).
    • It was an existing group in the middle of an active session... in an ongoing campaign.
    • They halt their game to allow me to join; one of the players gave me a pre-generated character (a 3rd level mountain dwarf barbarian).
    • Another good DM.
    • While still Tier 1 characters, the fact that everyone was 3rd level or higher, with a lot more options available to use, this game gave me a much better feel for a 5e game.
    • I was hesitant to use some of my borrowed barbarian's skills (e.g. rage, reckless attack, frenzy), but did a few times. (Enough to end up with level 2 exhaustion). :)
    • Definitely a more powerful game than the AD&D games I'm familiar with.
      • I'm still not sure how I feel about this?
      • It's kind of fun to have more stuff to do, so I think I'm okay with it.
      • I'm going to force myself to silence my inner reservations and just go with it.
    • DM tells me to create a new 4th-level character of my own (I returned the pre-gen barbarian) to use in future games.
      • This could be interesting!
      • Think I'm going to try a spell-caster since I have no clue how spell-casting works in 5e yet.
    • Sadly, have a conflict next Tuesday and will need to miss their next session. :(
      • I actually cancel this other commitment (a once-per-month meeting at my kid's school on the third Tuesday each month, which I have been attending faithfully for the past 4+ years) in order to play D&D. :shock:
        • I recently helped them configure and set up live-streaming of their meetings, which are saved and can be replayed, so that helped make my decision easier.
  • First group tentatively schedules a date for the second session -- January 18, 2018 (a full two-months after the first session).
  • There's yet another session at a gaming store near my work tomorrow night that I'm tempted to join... but probably won't.
    • Need to self-impose some limits of time spent away from family to game before so wife doesn't do it for me. :D
  • Visited the local game shop for a second Tuesday in a row last night and met with the same group of players.
    • I created my own 4th-level character to use ongoing in this game (since I borrowed a pre-gen for my first session).
      • I wanted to create a character that can cast spells (maybe a cleric or a paladin?), but, as I discovered when attempting to create my first random 5e character, I'm really not familiar enough with how spells work in 5e and didn't have a chance to read chapter 10 on spellcasting in the PHB yet.
      • Elected to create something simple -- a dwarven fighter.
        • At 4th level, a fighter will have selected an archetype.
        • This does grant all kinds of extra features and skills for your character.
        • Yes, 5e characters can do a LOT more than 1e/2e characters can.
        • I'm okay with it.
      • Tangent: It turns out, the guy I borrowed the pre-gen character from last week is the father of one of my oldest daughter's new friend at school.
    • While I don't exactly want to, I think I'm going to withdraw from the game held at my friend's gaming store. Playing in-person once per week is plenty, and this Tuesday night game is a lot closer, and meets more regularly.
  • Considering all the hardcover books I've already purchased (I've added one or two more since taking the picture above), I'm glad I can say that I officially like 5e. :)
---

I hinted at it the other day, and I know this won't be a popular decision (here), but I've officially decided that I'm going to table all previous versions of D&D and adopt 5e as my new edition of choice.

All in.
-- Project --
Playtest: Untitled Project (1e)
-- DM --
Greyhawk Campaign: Sandbox (1e)
(Status: Archived)

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dmw71
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Re: My Path to 5e - Update

#2 Post by dmw71 »

Update: Tuesday, February 6, 2018
  • My last two games with my Tuesday night group (01/23/2018 and 01/30/2018) have been a bit disappointing.
    • The DM is running a new module and is woefully unprepared:
      • It seems obvious that he's reading box text (and it's kind of obvious that it's the first time he's ever read it);
      • I've also found myself questioning some of his rulings (which is crazy given my lack of experience);
        • I want to look into a halfling rouge's ability to hide in the middle of combat.
      • I've come to suspect that the module is either designed for a less powerful group. "It is designed for a party of four to six characters, levels 3 to 5." It's not. It's a little disconcerting that our group, at 4th-level, seems invincible. :(
    • My original group, which runs at my friend's gaming store, finally had it's second session tomorrow last Thursday (February 1, 2018).
      • Our first (and only) session in this game was back on November 16, 2017.
      • The game was cut short because the DM received a text that is son's temperature spiked to 104.7 and the wife was taking him to the hospital.
      • But it is a much better game! The DM is really good, and it's a good, smaller group of players and characters.
    • I can't afford to budget the time for multiple face-to-face games on a regular basis (especially on top of my involvement here).
      • I was prepared to drop this occasional Thursday night game, but decided that I would rather just skip my Tuesday night game on the weeks when this Thursday night group meets -- we're next scheduled for February 22, 2018.
    • My next Tuesday night game is tonight (February 6, 2018).
-- Project --
Playtest: Untitled Project (1e)
-- DM --
Greyhawk Campaign: Sandbox (1e)
(Status: Archived)

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dmw71
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Re: My Path to 5e

#3 Post by dmw71 »

Update: Tuesday, February 13, 2018
  • My Tuesday night session was a lot better tonight. Still a lot of reading the boxed text, but it was just fun.
  • It was really nice having the PHB and Xanathar's Guide on D&D Beyond so I didn't have to lug my books around.
    • Having the page open for my class, so I could actually see what special features I should have, with links to details about them, is very convenient;
    • One of the guys loaned me the cards from his 'D&D Spellbook Cards Deck (Martial Powers and Races)' for my character's special features (since he was playing a different class and wasn't using them).
      • Having those cards out on the table was even more helpful
      • So I purchased my own set. :)
  • Next week I am skipping my Tuesday night game and will play with my Thursday night group instead.
-- Project --
Playtest: Untitled Project (1e)
-- DM --
Greyhawk Campaign: Sandbox (1e)
(Status: Archived)

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