The Cost / Benefit Analysis of 5th Edition

For most people, 5th edition is a fun, and engaging tabletop RPG. Players generally have an overall positive perspective of 5th edition. The rules and charts are streamlined, every character advances at the same rate, and, the table dynamics allow for a lot of fantastic story driven elements.   For most players who only have to focus on playing characters, 5th edition delivers a curated experience that is tailored to individual taste. This is largely due to the focus on player focused mechanics, and the emphasis on the player philosophy, "This is my world, and you are just DMing in it." Needless to say, the DM, as a player, typical leaves sessions feeling unsatisfied. Why is that?   In this section, we will run a cost / benefit analysis on 5th edition to explore why DMs typically feel unsatisfied while running 5th edition session. While this section will not address possible solutions to the problems proposed, the section will provide an understanding of problems that commonly arise from 5th edition.  

Inviting New Players

This is the best edition to introduce new players to tabletop RPG gaming. There are a variety of reasons that contribute to easing players into playing a tabletop RPG. Specifically, this edition provides a streamlined and fully customizable player experience. By inviting a new player base into the realm of tabletop RPG gaming, 5th edition has created an extremely fun and enjoyable experience for players who are new to the game.   While this creates a lot of fun and enjoyment for the 99% of players around the table, it comes with the cost of enjoyment for the DM (the remaining 1%). While this is by no means every DM's experience, there are plenty of DMs that consistently have this experience. But why is this such a common experience?   The short answer is the mechanics of player-centered game play. The long answer is a list of reasons why the mechanics of player-centered game play is problematic. The problems begin within the first chapter of the player's handbook, specifically, that all character classes level at the same rate. When players are able to consistently able to make game sessions, this usually isn't a big deal. However, when a player has to miss one, or, two sessions, noticeable power creep can create an unenjoyable player experience.  

Player Choice

The next problematic mechanic is that of player choice. 5th edition has an expansive selection of player choices. With 47 playable races to choose from over 44 books, and 12 classes (each with a large selection of subclasses), and, a nearly overwhelming amount of additional content (spells, feats, and, backgrounds), there is certainly no shortage of player choice in 5th edition. This provides players with the freedom to play race and class combinations that were previously restricted from, and had to pour over multiple source books from previous editions to find a way to create what they wanted to. However, a large majority of players simply hop on an app to streamline the process of character creation, spell selection, and whatever else will make playing the game feel much more like a video game. This is can be extremely frustrating for a DM for a few reasons.  

Not a Video Game

Tabletop RPGs are not video games. This needs to be pointed out because 5th edition borrows heavily from video games. Players, especially new players, often think that being the DM is easy, you are just there to move the game along. Players coming into sessions with this mind set often do not recognize that the DM is a player at the table, and instead wield power over the DM to have their gaming needs met. Typically, without recognizing how much they, as players, are taking, even when expressing frustration.   Even the DMG endorses player satisfaction being the only thing that matters. This is a problem because 5th edition has a strong focus on overpowered characters, while making creatures, monsters and other challenges extremely under powered. While this makes a player feel powerful, it can also make a DM feel extremely useless and unsatisfied with the session. Dissatisfaction, in this context, comes from putting effort into creating a difficult encounter, or, scenario (based on the rules), only to have players walk through it because they have "interpreted the rules creatively."  

Using Apps & Mixing Sourcebooks

Using apps, even the really good ones, are guilty of amalgamating source books where rule sets may conflict. Initially, the mixing of source books seems benign, until extremely overpowered spells, weapons, and/or items begin showing up. This is when players will often become rules lawyers with the mentality that "it is in the rules, so I can use it." This creates a lot of frustration when you are a DM because players often do not realize that source books are not written as a cohesive set of rules, but rather, as a set of cohesive rules for a particular realm.  

Overstepping on DM Responsibilities

Due to the sheer amount of content available to players, and, the player-centered focus of 5th edition, players begin to create things (Spells, items, maps, mechanics, etc.) for the realms they are playing in. While players do this for a variety of reasons, it is typically to be helpful to themselves, or, to others. What players fail to recognize when they begin creating things for the world their character inhabits is that they are actually taking away the creative outlet of the DM.   To reframe this, the DM has limited control over how a player creates their character, and, no control over how a player plays that character. Players have a lot of creative freedom to customize their character how they want, how that character interacts with the world, and, how that character solves problems. The DM, in contrast, has three main outlets to be creative: 1) When world building outside of sessions, including creating tables, charts, and, story beats. 2) When characters derail a campaign to do something that they want to do instead. 3) When having to make a ruling for an unlisted rule.  

Meta-Gaming

Meta-gaming is a consistent issue among all tabletop RPGs. Typically, RPGs get around meta-gaming through simply asking, "Would your character have that knowledge?" For the most part, players will give an honest response. 5th edition, on the other hand, is actually difficult to deter for all the reasons listed so far.   Meta-gaming is frustrating because it breaks game immersion. A min-max player on average, spends two minutes in combat maximizing their damage because it is fun to land a big hit. Being the other players at the table means that they spend two minutes listening to a player go into details that don't add to their character's story.   A rules lawyer will get into an argument with the DM, instead of accepting the ruling, or, the player's character preforms an action that only the player would have knowledge of. This breaks the flow of the game and punishes players, as well as, the DM because one player is using knowledge to benefit their character. Or, the player simply doesn't like the DM's ruling, because it does not favor their character.   At any rate, meta-gaming feels much worse in 5th edition when taking on the DM role. Primarily, this is due to player-centered mechanics that limit the DM's role, while encouraging and incentivizing players to take on more of the DM's responsibilities. Additionally, player's nearly unchecked access to rule sets and content often informs meta-gaming.  

Conclusion

The intention behind more streamlined and player-centered mechanics was clearly to invite new players into the fold. Yet, it is difficult to see how much these mechanics impede on the effectiveness of arguably the most important player at the table, the DM. By limiting the amount the DM actually does, it sets a tone for a game that is more akin to a complex board game, rather than a tabletop RPG. While no solutions have been offered yet, the section titled, What to Expect When You are Expecting . . . does offer solutions.