D&D: Five Ways to Prepare Yourself For the New Core Rulebooks
With a new set of Core Rulebooks on the way, it’s time to prepare for the great upheaval. Here’s what to do.
An Edition Change is an exciting time. And while the move from 5E to 5.5E should be much much smoother of a transition than, say, 3.5E to 4E, there will still be plenty of things to get used to. So with that in mind, here are five things that you can do to prepare for the changing of the guards, so to speak.
Of course, your mileage may vary. But, in general, these are some ways to get yourself ready for what’s coming.
Check out the Previews
First things first, WotC and several other YouTubers are showing off a ton of the new rules before the book’s even come out. Ginny Di has unveiled the Bard College of Dance. Treantmonk is talking about Weapon Mastery rules. My personal favorite, Dael Kingsmill is over here looking at one of the new DMG sample locations, the Silver Dragon Inn.
Meanwhile, WotC is taking folks on a very high level through the different classes and will be digging a little deeper into all the rest as we get closer. If knowledge is power, this is your chance to get some early on. Take a look at the final versions of things and get a feel for how the rules will work.
For instance, you could start using the new Weapon Mastery rules right now if you wanted to. It illustrates just how easy it is to drop something into an ongoing game.
Back to the Ol’ Character Sheet
Of course, with a new ruleset in the work, if your group makes the switch and keeps the game going, it’s not a bad time to consider revamping your character. Maybe one of the shiny new subclasses, like the Bard College of Dance, or the Barbarian Path of the World Tree is a perfect fit for your concept. Or maybe you just finally feel like Berserker is actually worth taking and is also what fits your character.
An edition change over can be the perfect time to reimagine your character. Or to come up with a new one. Maybe Druids were never appealing, or you were curious about Monks but played at a heavily optimized table. Well it’s a new frontier now. Might be time to cook up a new character for the next leg of your campaign.
End Your Campaign
Or, end your campaign. I mean, look, if you can think of a good reason to end your campaign, you always should. It is much better to leave the group wanting more, and stick the landing, ending on a satisfying note than it is to keep going until you’ve squeezed every last drop of juice out of the lemon. Or whatever metaphor I’m mixing. Though, you do want to feel satisfied. It wouldn’t do to end a campaign that’s just a few miles away from the inn you all started at.
However, if your campaign has been running on a while, the new edition might be the perfect excuse to start looking for a way to tie it up and send your story off into the sunset, making way for a new adventure.
Find a Game
This one is for those of you out there who haven’t played in a while, or who are into D&D but have never actually played. Which is a surprising amount—and no shame either. After all No D&D is astronomically better than Bad D&D. But, with a new edition coming up, people are going to be excited. It might be time to try and find yourself a game.
There are so many resources now for people looking to get into D&D, or to get back into it. From online communities where you can just post a notice and find some folks, to paid DMing hubs like Start Playing. It has never been easier to find people eager to play. And the new edition is the perfect excuse to jump in/jump back in.
Play Some One Shots
Finally, if you are waiting on starting a new campaign and/or character, now is the perfect time to get into some one shots. Play some short adventures. Play some new games that aren’t D&D even. But this is a perfect time to take a break so you don’t burn out and refresh things.
I’m not saying you have to go outside and touch grass, or anything. But. You know, give yourself some time to recharge.
And before you know it, the new Edition will be here.
