Dungeons and Dragons: Next

     I've played Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) for 13 years. More, if you count the times I created characters but didn't play, or the books and shows set in their universe. So 13.

     I've mostly played 3rd Edition, with a healthy dose of 4th. For those unfamiliar with the game, D&D is played with paper and pencil, not computers. New sets of rules and ways to play are periodically published. That is called an edition.

     The upcoming edition, "D&D Next" rather than "D&D 5th Edition" is being publicly playtested. This is, partly, to help avoid the uproar from some in the community that weren't happy with fourth edition, or previous editions. You can sign up for the playtest at http://dndplaytest.wizards.com/

     It's an extensive playtest; they're getting lots of feedback and explaining their philosophy of design in a series of blogs. My favorite is Legends and Lore, which discusses general design. I'm also big on Wandering Monsters, which discusses monster design, and D&D Next Q&A, which attempts to answer community questions each week. Q&A makes more sense if you're already reading the other blogs and playing the game.

     I've run a few dozen sessions of D&D Next; I've only played a character a couple of times. There's plenty about it to enjoy. There are enough ability increases to give a feel of progression. However, the bonuses to attack and skills remain relatively stable over time, allowing adventures and monsters to easily scale between levels. When it comes to skills, as they stand at the moment, you can choose either to gain new skills or to give all your skills a higher bonus, representing expanding your repertoire or focusing on existing abilities.

     Feats are being overhauled. They've been part of the game since 3rd Edition, and a great way to customize your character. However, they add complexity to the game which some people don't like. When simplified characters became available for fourth edition, some people in my group switched to them.

     There is an option in Next is to take a bonus to an ability instead of a feat. Since bonuses to attacks, skills, and other rolls are more rare, ability bonuses are a bigger deal than in previous editions. So feats, which are about equal to a +1 to an ability, also take on more meaning. Rather than being a minor tweak, they become major features of your character. You don't gain a new trick with your weapon; you master it. Or, that's where they're heading.

     It's not all about stats and combat, however. They're adding in more options for personality and roleplaying and interactions with other characters, and ways to reward roleplaying beyond experience. They recently added rules for exploration. I haven't been able to play D&D Next for a while, but I have a group now. My players are in a city campaign, so maybe a trip through the sewers, or a chase through a busy neighborhood. There are powerful undead around they may need to find, or escape...