5E: The Math is Out of Control

Why should I even care if the 2024 version of D&D is backward compatible with 10 years of power-gaming content? The math is still broken, the numbers are still too high, the hit points and stats are out of control, and I see people walking away from all of 5E just because the numbers are too silly and the balance is broken, especially at high levels.

The only other 5E clone that took rebalancing seriously was Level Up Advanced 5E, and I still like this version of the game. The math is tight and not way out of control, offering a glimmer of hope for those dissatisfied with the current state of D&D.

The only game on this blog where the math could be considered wild is Dungeon Crawl Classics. Then again, it is wild by player choice, with things like spell-burn and mighty deeds. There are apparent costs for pushing a roll, burning luck, blowing stat points on spell-burn, and other mechanics that can make the game "slippery." Otherwise, the math in DCC is still tight and under control.

D&D, as it stands, has math that is out of control by entitlement. The game's stats must be lowered, inspiration is handed out too quickly, and advantage is too easy to obtain. DCC, Shadowdark, and OSE all have "3d6 down the line" stats, and that is a refreshing change in today's "guaranteed 18" ability score generation methods. Entitlement and "too much power" force players out of the game.

Games like Dark Souls are popular. Players love a challenge, and winning against all odds is a thrilling, white-knuckle ride. In GURPS terms, high and low stats are your character's "advantages and disadvantages"; they define a character's strengths and weaknesses. A character with only strengths is boring, which is where all D&D 4, 5, and 5.5E characters start.

We have left the "good design" realm and entered entitlement, which started back in AD&D with the '4d6 and drop the lowest die' method. Yes, this has been around forever, but it has been broken for a long time. This was one of the biggest mistakes of AD&D, and the original B/X rules had it right.

3d6 down the line.

These are your "advantages and disadvantages."

I swear, when D&D 6 comes out, the standard stat block will be 18, 18, 16, 16, 16, 14. Starting hit points will be doubled, and you will get three feats at the first level. It is funny; whenever I hear people try Shadowdark, they all enjoy the lower power level, and no one complains that there is "not enough character power."

Every Wizards version of D&D has turned the power creep and player entitlement to 11. The hit points and damage scaling are way out of control. The differences between a d4 and a d6 mean nothing when your character does 25-50 points of damage per turn. It is hard to call anything past 3rd Edition D&D.

Seriously, a four-hit-point goblin in B/X versus a d4 dagger is felled on only one result of that die (25%). With a d6, that is three out of six results (50%). Today? They have seven hit points. Sure, everyone adds a stat bonus to a roll in 5E, but the original B/X system is much more elegant and gamified. A stat bonus to damage in B/X means a heck of a lot more than 5E.

Any old-school game worth its salt is watching damage modifiers and keeping those in check. Hit point bloat and inflation destroy a game and shoot the math into the hundreds (5E) or thousands (4E) of hit points. That is terrible game design and destroys the meaning of needing to use unique polyhedral dice.

The average of a d4 is 2.5, a d6 is 3.5, and a d8 is 4.5. That is a 2-point spread.

When my character does 50 points of damage per turn, why are we using d4s and d8s? That 2-point difference, even multiplied some, means nothing. At that point, simplify the game and use d6s like white box games.

5E's doubled hit-point scale sucks.

4E's tripled scale destroyed the game.

B/X and BECMI still have it right.

Imagination and clever tactics will always be more powerful than any "automatic fantasy superpower" a game designer can write in a book. Shadowdark is so difficult players come out better skilled to play 5E, and they quickly find the game boring because it is too easy. I even find it hard to return after playing games on this blog.

Shadowdark's "hard-line" approach to ability score generation is refreshing. OSE and DCC also do straight 3d6. Thank you! Never change. Ability score "stat-inflation" began in AD&D with the "4d6 and drop the lowest" method, it sucked then, and it sucked since. There is a massive difference between a 10-average starting score and a 12. When 4E came out, the starting scores bottomed out at 10, and they never forced you to have negative modifiers.

If there is one thing in common about the games on this blog, it is that they are all straight 3d6 games.