Dead Island Riptide, and looking to the future...

Well I'm back again with another post.  Lately I've been thinking about getting back into school, but the problem with that is just how to go about it and what do I want to do?

I enjoy writing; its a hobby but its not something you can just translate over into a profession.

Things that I have going for me:

• I'm exceptionally creative.
• I enjoy writing.
• I can draw to some degree.
• I'm an analytically thinker. 

Things I got working against me:

• I have a GED.
• I have no past college experience.
• I need to do online - only - courses that allow me to work on things on my own time/terms.  This is due to the fact that I have a family.
• Because I have a family I need a loan/grant that gives enough money not just to pay for schooling, but will also handle living expenses.
• Everything I've seen about college courses don't jive with my wants.
• I also have no idea on how to go about doing things.

As my wife put it to me - what do I want to do with my life?

Well I'd like to be a writer.  But a job as a writer doesn't pay the bills unless I look for something in journalism.  Now this is an option that is starting to have a growing appeal to me as journalism does not necessarily mean I go out and interview people, though that is part of it.

A journalist can easily make a living doing what I'm doing now, writing a blog.  They can write for a newspaper, for a website, or do other things.  As I think about it it appeals to me more as a writer.  Sure its not writing a book or anything, but it would set me on a path.

As for money I'm likely going to end up having to take out a loan for paying for it all.  And from what I've learned I'll need to find something with a low fixed interest rate that would give me enough bank to pay for classes and living expenses for the duration of my time taking classes.  And classes all have to be online and not based on any sort of set schedule (as in the teacher posts the lesson and the students log in and view it when they are able to).

The reason obviously for this is that I can't sit in a class room.  Its not that I don't have the attention span, its just that I am easily bored when I am not actively engaged in some thing so I tend to fall asleep easily.  (I'm well known for falling asleep in church as a kid, and as a teen.  My family eventually decided to just let me stay home since I had no desire to be there anyway.)

But least to say that I've got something of an idea in place on how to solve my employment problems.

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Ok to get to the main topic.  I've been playing Dead Island Riptide for about a week or so now.  one of the best improvements I've enjoyed is the leveling up of your ability to use different weapon types.  This adds a bit of extra damage to what you can do and makes critical hits more likely.

I've been playing as Logan Carter, the ex-football player.  He's a carry over from the first game and all of his capabilities came with him.

The story, as many already know, continues on from the first game.  The first game ended with the survivors arriving via chopper to a ship for rescue.  Riptide kicks in at this point with them soon being taken in at gun point and put into a room with the new character John Morgan who is also immune to the virus.  This brings the playable character list up to 5.

As one would expect, the peace of captivity doesn't last long as zombies turn up on the ship.  You escape a midst the chaos as the ship ends up sinking and end up on the new island of game play.

The game introduces new banter as the characters go around doing their tasks.  But there are also a few other new things.

First there is the base defense part of the game that comes up.  These pop up as the story progresses and involves setting up defenses in your current home base to hold off a zombie horde as it attacks.  This involves placing mines, setting up fences, using miniguns (with limited ammo) and just trying to survive.  Now the other characters are present, unlike in the previous game, and actively help hold off the zombies, though they are not as effective as you are.

As for where I'm at right now, I'm in Henderson, just after the base defense on the roof of the cinema. 

Do I do coop?  Nope - I generally dislike doing coop with people I don't know.  Now this is less of a problem in Destiny, but then again I haven't played that game in months.

So one of my problems with the game is that there's no climbing mechanic that can help you to climb up on things or keep you from falling.  This was a lacking feature in first game as well and would have been a nice feature (something that was remedied in Dying Light).  One other thing that is lacking is a character who is more balanced than the other characters.  And by this I mean someone who lacks the focus that each character grants and allow a general specialist.

Logan - Good with thrown weapons.

John - Good with unarmed/claw/brass-knuckle attacks.

Purna - Good with firearms.

Sam B - Good with two handed/blunt weapons.

Xian Mei - Good with edged/blade weapons

Now for this generalist I figured maybe someone who was a little of the other characters but also their own beast.  For Fury, its hard to say, but the basic might be the ability to quickly move up to opponents when targeted and deal a powerful attack that sends the opponent flying back from the.

For Combat I'd say that they shouldn't have an area of focus but a broad focus on the use of all weapon types with maybe a better than normal capacity to trigger special effects for weapons than others.

And for Survival I'd build on improved movement, like being able to move faster on land and in water, maybe improved jumping, ranged attacks against the character have an increased chance to miss and so on.

I think that the only thing I'm disappointed are some instances when you are pushed back by an unseen force, or a surface is just slippery and you can't get on it because the character keeps sliding off.  These two problems combine sometimes to send you flying back off something you clearly should be able jump on top of.

The other problem is suddenly dying from a zombie one shot with a thrown weapon.  This shouldn't happen at all.  Yes it could do a lot of damage or kill you if your health is low...but not when your at full health.

Zombie AI also is a problem.  You can try and sneak up on them but they know your there already.  Another thing is the way they all seem to know right where you are.  Zombies should be dumb as a box of rocks, not all knowing of what ever enters into an area, especially drowners and infected types of zombies.  These guys home in on you in an instant which is irritating.  They should be more perceptive, yes, but a drowner should not be perceptive of where you are if you are not in water.  The infected should also have a reduced range of perception, but still keen none the less.

Now all this does make for a challenging game but from the stand point of a nerd who has played many table top RPG's and had long talks about zombies with other nerds its a little irritating to not see some degree of common sense at play in designing the different zombie types.

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Dead Island - A table top RPG setting?

Now I've mentioned the zombie thing in a previous posting but I wanted to retouch on the subject going over whether or not this video game would make a good RPG setting?  Well the answer is yes, but as long as the GM and Players are on board with the idea of there being a degree of ridiculousness involved.  For example, creating a sword that is electrified and can cause a zombie to become paralyzed and suffer ongoing damage is a bit out there.

First you have to create rules on crafting these unusual/exotic weapons.  Second there has to be a suspension of disbelief there.

Which Game system to use?

• Hero System - By far the best system to use as you can easily use the point system to craft the various mods for weapons.  The system also allows you to make talents like those of the characters from Dead Island.
• D&D 5th Edition - Not a good system to use for this setting unless translating it into a D&D setting.  Mods would just be enchantments, but if you have the GM's book you could work out a steampunk like setting where mods could be applies in the place of actual magic enchantments.
• Savage Worlds - This set of game rules could make a good place to start for a game.  Now the GM may want to add some new talents that could better emulate some of the things found in the Dead Islands game setting.  Mods for weapons could be worked at as well to some degree.
• Mutants & Masterminds - This game system is similar to hero system in that it makes use of points to build your characters with.  Feats are present as are super powers which could be used to simulate just improved mastery of combat.
• Star Wars - Clearly the appearance of zombies in the Star Wars universe would be a non-cannon adventure to deal with.  The setting does offer the technology for a man-made virus to exist that works like the virus in Dead Island.  Exotic weapons aren't really necessary since the ones in Star Wars are more efficient than the ones that exist in the game, but this shouldn't stop a player from coming up with creative mods that work with in the rules for the game system.

So in Dead Island you have a number of different types of zombies.

• Walkers - These are people who have been eaten to some degree, greatly harmed or have been dead for some time and sport decay to that effect.  Walkers are a slow type of zombie that does not give chase, but can lunge forward with some speed when someone is fairly close.  They stand up slowly as well after being knocked down.  Walkers can also lay motionless on the ground until someone draws too close.  Walkers cannot climb or open doors as they lack the mental capacity anymore that allows them to figure that much out.  Instead they will simply bang and claw at something until they break through.
• Infected - These are people who have just turned into a zombie.  Decay has not set in and they are thus faster and more intuitive than Walkers as they have not suffered any physical deterioration.  They can chase and climb after a character (and though they don't do this in the game it could be reasoned that they could open doors). Infected tend to look fairly normal except for their screaming and whole biting thing.
• Thug - This is a mutant type of zombie that is larger than normal and stronger than a normal walker, but is other wise like a walker.  These are the more common type of mutations that are found to occur from the virus.
• Drowner - This is a zombie mutation adapted for water.  They lay in wait in the water until someone draws close, then they animate.  Drowner's move quickly in water and on land functioning like an Infected.  They do seem to be as smart as an infected as they know to grab onto boats and climb up into them.
• Ram - This is a mutated zombie that is massive in size, but has its arms bound in a straight jacket and charges opponents attempting to ram them.  They are fast when running at an opponent but tend to be slow to react and often become dazed if they run into something.  In the game they are only ever shown being in straitjackets, but it is likely that if their arms were free they would readily use them  and be immensely dangerous.  Its implied that they were criminals with some degree of violent insanity that would cause them to be restrained like they are on a regular basis.
• Suicider - This is a mutated zombie that has an instinct to draw close to a living person and explode with the force of a bomb.  They are easy to spot as they are massively deformed, and are slow moving.
• Floater - This is a large, as in fat, zombie that spits out an acid like mucus (poison) at opponents.  Its not fast moving but perceptive enough to target people.  When someone is close up it can spew out a small torrent of the acid instead.  They are highly resistant to fire damage as well as poison damage.  However they are more susceptible to electrical damage.  Like Drowners, floaters tend to be near water sources.
• Butcher - This is a mutated zombie that retains the mobility of an infected, but has lost its hands and its face is nearly an exposed skull.  The bones in the forearm are unusually sharp or jagged as it they had grown longer and to form blades.  The butcher is a vicious opponent that attacks relentlessly, but since they lack hands they cannot climb or manipulate doors.
• Screamer - Another mutate type of zombie, in the game they appear to have been women who had open brain surgery as well as being older women due to their grayed hair in the game.  they are fast like an infected, but can also emit a loud scream that leaves the character stunned and unable to do much.  It also serves to call for additional zombies.  The metal neck brace of the screamer also helps to prevent it from taking a decent shot to the head as a means of taking it out.
• Wrestler - This mutant type is like a thug only they have a massively enlarged arm that they use as a massive club.  They move slowly and while they can swing the club-arm for a single powerful hit or for a more wild but larger number of swings.  After a swing they are often vulnerable to attack.
• Grenadier - This is a mutated zombie that removes bloated boils from its body (which regrow quickly) and lobs them at the character like a grenade of the same acid spit of the Floater.  They tend to be built like a thug but have the added trouble of having deal with their grenade like pustules.

One of the main themes of these two games is the immunity granted to the main characters against he virus.  Though not immune to getting killed, the virus cannot take hold of them, though it is noted that there is a mutagen (which is responsible for the various mutant type zombies) that can have an effect on your character.

Spoilers if you have not played or finished the game..

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Now while I have not finished the game I have read ahead and found out what all happens as it would seem I am close to the end.  The mutagen seems to give the character a boost in power and toughness, but does not necessarily make them loose their mind, at least not right away and become a zombie of some sort eventually.  Its not easy to tell from the ending if the heroes of the game survived at the end or not as there is a snarl of zombie before cutting to the credits, which doesn't mean that this is the case.  On the other hand this could be how the infection spreads to California in Dead Island 2.

But in any case the idea of the mutagen being this floating landmine that the PC's have to deal with is a good story like narrative component.  Now the GM should look at keeping any potential bad effects of the mutagen to a minimum and focus on the positive effects.  This way the characters can continue to be used rather than running the risk of them becoming monsters.  

On the other hand ending the campaign on the cliffhanger of this being a possibility is one option with the pick up of a new campaign taking place with new characters but in the same setting as another option.  That way the new characters may cross paths with the old characters who might be alive and fine and able to give advise, or they may be unique "boss" creatures for the new heroes to deal with.

In all the game makes for an interesting setting for a table top RPG complete with side missions to distract from the main mission.

The game itself is ok, but too short and should have been longer to offer more story or a better ending.

Watching Dying Light Game Play...Playing Dead Island...Zombies in Table Top RPG's

I am back with another entry.  Lately I've been watching a lot of Dying Light game play on Youtube via the poster: MrRetroKid91.  Now normally I don't watch his channel a lot because I'm usually watching: theRadBrad.

On top of that I'm also watching a lot of Monty Python (up to Season 3, Episode 10 as of right now).

So Dying Light is another open world zombie hacking/slashing game but with some tweaks over that of the Dead Island series.  The big one being that you can free run/climb across your environment.  Its like a first person version of Assassin's Creed so to speak.  And watching the game play makes me wish that someone had thought of putting the mechanic into Dead Island, or at least Dead Island Riptide.





Now I haven't played Dead Island Riptide yet, but I've heard that there were a number of improvements but it was also much the same game.

In table top RPG's you typically have just one type of Zombie.  Their not too tough and are slow moving.  But in modern culture the slow moving zombie is a thing of the past.  Things like rigor mortis and the decay of muscle and tissue are forgotten in favor of a more dangerous zombies.


While some zombies are slow moving there are faster more active ones that are smarter than the others that can climb up obstacles that you try and use for cover that the slower ones can't climb on.

Now table top games typically don't go into varieties of zombies that have come to exist in video games.  This of course started in the Resident Evil games were mutations could occur with the undead.  From there things have progressed to where now in many zombie based video games there are now a multitude of different types of zombies that can exist that includes mutated types.

The one thing that has bothered me is that there is never an explanation as to why or how you get the different types of mutations.

But its also gotten me thinking about doing up a zombie survival game for my group.  Now we have done a zombie survival game in the past but it was just normal folks vs. zombies.  Its never anything along the lines of these video games.

So what types of zombies would you add?  Well you can add them all.

• Normal:  A normal zombie is one that is slow moving often due to damage to its body, decay, or rigor mortis.  They are easy to dodge, but can be dangerous if they get their hands on you or are able to swarm you.
• Fast:  A fast zombie is a zombie that has recently turned.  They are unharmed and remain fresh so to speak until physically damage or after an extended period of time has occurred.  They are often a bit smarter than a normal zombie to some degree.
• Spitter:  This is a zombie that is able to produce a noxious amount of acid from its body.  Now normally stomach acid wouldn't really harm a person, but the idea behind the zombie is that they can not only regurgitate their stomach acid, but can produce it in obnoxious quantities.  This is one of the first examples of a mutation type of zombie.  Typically the body is altered so as to allow the zombie to be able to produce a viscus acid which they can then spit out at a decent range.
• Bricks:  Typically this would be just a zombie of someone who was in extremely good shape.  But in some games a brick is also a mutation.  In this case they are often strong, tough, over sized and tend to charge their opponents with decent speed.  Getting hit often is very damaging as well.  Sometimes there can be multiple variations of this.
• Exploders:  These are generally zombies that detonate like a bomb.  They are gross but can kill a person or group of people quite easily.  Shooting them often causes them to explode further away from the group.  Their blast force is often like a grenade in video games, but would need to be upped in a table top game.
• Berserkers:  One of the more dangerous zombies, they are fast and often either possess claws or use the jagged bones of their forearms to slash and cut people.  They are often deadly hunters and attack swiftly and relentlessly.  There are a number of variations on this type as well.

There are other possible types of zombies as well that video games will come up with.  But another thing to keep in mind is game setting.

• Standard Survival:  This is where its just normal people vs. normal zombies.  Zombies don't fare well in the cold or heat, but last long in tropic or temperate climates.  Equipment typically does not deteriorate quickly like in real life with some exceptions.  A machete for example won't bend and break down after smacking zombies around a few hundred times.  The same can be said for modern sledge hammers and such which are used to smash walls and concrete with little wear.  No exotic zombie types exist in this sort of setting 
• Fantasy Survival:  This would make a zombie survival game that has exotic zombies, but would also allow for players to be able to find or craft exotic weapons.  The possibility of players developing some sort of special powers would not be untoward,  but these are often with in some degree of reason as a development of an exceptional talent related to the skills one possesses.  Note that with this setting I'm not inferring to an actual fantasy setting of swords and magic.
• Heroic Survival:  This game setting is similar to the fantasy setting but throws in magic and/or superpowers to some degree, or ridiculous tech.  A game like Sunset Overdrive fits into this category where players aren't meant to really take too much in the setting seriously and are just looking to have fun rather than analyzing how things work.

Item wear an tear in table top games should be overlooked as it bogs the game down.  Typically an items should take some wear if a critical failure for a roll is made while using the item, in which case the item either breaks or is just that much closer to being broken.  But if the GM is wanting to track a condition then it would do them well to assign a number of uses similar to a number of shots, only that a use is expended only when the item strikes a solid object.

• For Example - In Hero System you would figure out the item's body and possibly multiply it by 5 or 10 to determine its number of uses.  So if an item had 6 Body then it could be used either 30 or 60 times before breaking or being rendered too damaged to be used.

So what else is there to know about zombies?  Just the anatomy of a zombie in table top games.

First off a zombie feels no pain.  A resistance to pain can be put down as either resistance to damage, or immunity to pain, or immunity to a particular type of damage (like STUN damage in Hero System).

Strength of a zombie is often fairly normal with the exception that they can exert their full strength constantly unlike with a normal human who has mental limits on their strength.  How this is handled depends on the GM.  A slight boost in strength to represent this capability would be appropriate, or a bonus to damage, grappling, and certain skill rolls or ability checks.

Zombies are also immune to mental attacks.

Zombies are affected by fire and do burn but cannot be killed with fire alone.

They can be killed either with a direct blow to the head, or by dealing a large amount of damage that results in the body just not being able to hold up anymore.  But this depends on just how you want the zombie to work in your game.  In some cases you may force the player to dismember a zombie to stop them permanently.  Cutting off the head or destroying it makes the body fairly safe to deal with but it will keep moving on its own.  Body parts cut off will keep moving on their own, but will have no direction from the head.

In this case a player will have to make more precision attacks, but the GM may wish to make the zombies easier to deal with since it takes more effort to take one down.

The other option for a GM is to make rather ordinary zombies easy to take down, where the player needs only land a hit that does damage to take them down.  But by this token more serious zombies should be present, such as the various mutate types of zombies.



In other news, I have gotten a job though its not what I was hoping for it is what I have gotten.  I'm working 10hrs a week doing janitorial work for just $10 an hour.  So yes its not glamorous and won't do alot for paying bills, but its all I got at the moment.  I'm thinking of going back to school but I'm only interested in doing online classes since I don't have the time or desire to be in a classroom for any length of time.  And once I get my first paycheck I'll have to let the state know, which will likely mean my food stamps will go away.  The money we get from that is already not enough so now we're going to be left in a lurch.

Also both my kids are sick too, so I feel like a zombie since I (and my wife) didn't get enough sleep last night.


Hope everyone else is having a great day.

The New D&D, or D&D 5th Edition - Breaking it down and reviewing it.

Ok so the the new D&D game system has been out for a while now, but we're going to chat about it because there are still people who are new to Table Top RPG's.

D&D is often the classic that gets people into playing RPG's in the first place, but these days there are a number of other options available, both complex and not so complex.

So lets get started with things.

The game functions a bit the same as previous models...except for 4th Edition which most fans of the game would rather forget.  Though 4th Edition did have an easier time with character making and combat this did not necessarily make it better.

5th Edition is an attempt to get back to the favored 3.5 Edition while at the same time creating something new.  It succeeds to a degree but also fails.

ABILITY SCORES
The 6 classic scores are still present and function much the same as they once did.  However there are some complaints here.  Now there is still the classic method for determining scores by rolling 4d6 for each score, keeping the best while discarding the 1 lowest roll.  Then of course there are the pregenerated scores you can apply.  After this each race can apply various bonuses to those scores. and no penalties unlike in previous editions.

The main gripe comes from the point buy system.  Buying scores starts at a base score of 8, and you have 27pts to buy up your scores.  And the highest score you are allowed is 15.  Previous editions allows for a score max of 18, which is my first problem with the system.  A score of 10-11 still offers no bonuses, and anything under 10 offers a penalty.

Its an irritation if you want that barbarian to be supremely strong and tough but lacking in other areas.  this stands in contrast to what you can potentially roll with 4d6.  On the other hand this is what house rules are for.

I've played games where you roll 1d20, 3d6, 24d6 (pick the dice you want to use - no more than 3 per ability score).  Or just go with more points for the point buy method.


CHARACTER RACES
The various starting races of D&D are still there: Dwarf, Dragon Born, Elf, Halfling, Half-Elf, Human, Half-Orc, and Tiefling (with the Tiefling and Dragon Born being more recent additions to the game since 3.5 Edition).  Now there are also some variations presented for some races as well like the High-Elf and the Wood-Elf.

There are really no complaints here.  All races offer an assortment of bonuses for a character like in previous editions.  In past editions there were penalties in addition to bonuses but these have been done away with.  It could be implied that the lower than normal Ability scores would account for this.


CHARACTER CLASSES
All the classes are back in this edition, including the newer Warlock class that first appeared with a 3rd Edition supplement book.

Each class gets an overhaul for the new edition.  The first and most prominent change is the fact that HP is higher for most of the classes.  A d6 is the lowest roll now while the highest is a d12.

Also one other change is addition of the Proficiency Bonus which replaces level based bonuses for attacks, saving throws, and so on.  Levels still go from 1 to 20.  Classes are now set up only to give 1 Feature with each level instead of multiple ones (though this is not always the case, such as is the case with spellcasters).  Ability score increases are given by the classes instead of as a general bonus for leveling, and they count as part of the classes Features.

One thing you will notice that is missing are the restrictions on some classes in regards to the character's alignment.

Barbarian
The Barbarian has been rebuilt so that its a more fierce class to deal with when they work without armor.  This hearkens back to the stories of Conan The Barbarian, whom rarely wore armor.  Old tropes are there as well such as the Rage ability.


Bard
Still one of the classes I will never play.  The bard appears much the same as before.  They gain access to spells, can play songs, get special skill buffs, and are more or less just there to buff allies and die because bards are useless unless someone is actively defending them.


Cleric
The Cleric is also much the same as it was, but it now has a few new tropes like "Channel Divinity".  Aside from their spell casting capabilities the Cleric is still a decent light fighter.


Druid
Again another spell caster class, for those who don't know.  The Druid is another class that many people don't like to play.  Shapeshifting is still there along with the new Druid Circle feature.  One thing new is their ability to wear medium armor, though they are limited to no metal armor or metal shields.


Fighter
Gone are the bonus feats from the fighter.  Instead the fighter sees a number of additional improvements and they gain more Ability Score increases than any other class - though this is due to the ability for any class to choose to either increase an ability score or take a feat.  The fighter sees the inclusion of a chosen fighting style, gaining a second wind, martial archetype, extra attacks, action surge, and indomitable features.


Monk
The monk has always been one of my favorite classes, but also a class that needed other optional builds, like instead of focusing on being a spiritual based class there could be one that focuses more on the martial aspects of it than the spiritual side.  Next to the Fighter, the Monk has possibly the most benefits that can be acquired.


Paladin
The paladin is still much like the cleric in how they are built...except they are of course more combat orientated and have fewer spells.  Rather than being bound to an alignment a paladin is bound by the oath they take.


Ranger
The ranger is much the same as they were in the previous editions, mixing some fighter, rogue, and spell caster together.


Rogue
The rogue is is also like the ranger and is mostly the same as they were in the past editions, but with a few changes here and there.


Sorcerer
The sorcerer is still good at what they do and are more the heavy hitter now than the wizard.  Something new is the "Font of Magic" feature which gives the sorcerer  "sorcery points".  This basically allows a sorcerer flexibility in figuring out their spells in addition to enhancing their spells as well.


Warlock
So the warlock seems quite a few changes from previous editions.  Their spell progression is figured differently from the sorcerer and wizard.


Wizard
The wizard is more knowledgeable on spells than others thanks to their more open flexibility.  One thing that sets a Wizard apart is their "ritual casting" feature with allows them to cast a spell directly from their book with out having it prepared in advance.  They also seem to be able to recover spells faster than other classes.



BACKGROUNDS
Moving on from classes you then figure out your background.  Its here that you encounter a few new things too.  Alignment is still there to help your character with their moral compass.  Some of the new things you will encounter are personality traits, ideals, bonds and flaws.  These are just things that help flesh a character out, but the GM may even reward players who use these.  The idea is that you can gain a bonus in some situations in regards to to these small aspects of your character (often described in a single sentence).

Also new are actual backgrounds that help establish the characters actual history.  Backgrounds grant additional benefits that essentially help tell the story of where your character came from.  Such benefits can include additional skill proficiencies, languages, equipment, or other possabilities.

The affore mentioned personality traits, ideals, bonds, and flaws are also present in the background offering.  Here you can simply roll to randomly determine one, or you can just pick one if the GM is ok with this.  This helps to show what is available for characters, and if there was something you had in mind that is not on those lists then they serve as an example of how you would write one up.

Examples of backgrounds include Criminal, Folk Hero, Hermit, and Sailor.


EQUIPMENT
Its odd to see this book in the order it presents things in.  Equipment should generally be after skills and feats, but that is not the case here.  One change that has been made is how AC (Armor Class) is figured.  In this edition the armor worn just gives you your AC and may, or may not, allow you to add your DEX bons to it.  Some armor has strength requirements for it to be worn, and some in addition to this also have a Stealth "disadvantage".

Weapons have some new properties noted for them.  For example the long-sword is noted as being "versatile (1d10)", meaning it can be used with one hand or two.

General gear is also present and seems mostly unchanged.


CUSTOMIZATION OPTIONS
Ok so this is where you get your additional rules for customizing your characters.

First up are the rules for Multiclassing.  Now to multiclass they have implemented some prerequisites in the form of having a certain Ability score(s) of 13 or higher.  This isn't a big issue and probably has been a needed thing for some time now as it reigns in on anyone multiclassing into anything.  Narratively it gives a reason like "while your Fighter would love to be able to hurl fireballs at his foes, he simply cannot because he lacks the proper gumption (Charisma in this case) to do so.

This means that if you are planing on multiclassing eventually you may want to consider this option back when initially making your character.  You gain only certain proficiencies from the new class you take on as well.

Class features may also be impacted, especially if the classes share similar features.  As there are notations present regarding handling these.

Finally there are Feats.

I have to say, I hate how feats are done now.

In this new system you have to give up an ability score increase if you want a feat.  But feats are also much more powerful in the new system.  There are some that still have some prerequisites that have to be met first too.  In some cases the Feat still allows for an Ability score increase, but only by 1 point and to a particular score (rather than by 2pts or 1pt for one score and another point for another score).

While some people may like this option, I would prefer that feats be more of a way to further customize your character outside of class leveling, improving in small ways, rather than these bulkier versions.  Don't get me wrong, something like this is a nice idea...but they should be presented in a way that you can choose to replace any class feature with one of these feats instead.  Maybe having something like "Talents" which grant small bonuses that you only get a few of here and there but can build up with time would be a good addition.  But that's just me complaining.


HOW TO PLAY
From this point on the book moves into how to play the game.  Saving throws are based on ability scores as are any ability checks.  In some cases for some skills one ability can be substituted for another allowing for some leeway in how you wish to roll your skills.  For example, if intimidating someone you could use Charisma...but lets say your a barbarian and are quite large and muscular.  Here you could rationalize using your Strength bonus instead for intimidation as you look like the type that could break a person's knees with very little effort.

New rules include those for Resting.  Here players have the option for taking a Short Rest, or a Long Rest.

A short rest is generally an hour of down time and allows characters to essentially catch their wind and recover some HP (and maybe some spells if allowed).  A long rest however is around 8hrs long during which the person can do light activities including standing watch for a short length of time.  The upside is that the character regains all lost HP and other benefits of taking a long rest.

Another new option is Training which allows the character some off screen downtime to learn a new language or train in the use of a set of tools.  This costs no xp, but just time and money.

From here in the book a significant portion is given over to spells, which is understandable.

The book follows up with five Appendix's, one for Conditions (like being stunned, or poisoned), followed by Gods of the Multiverse, Planes of Existence, Creature Statistics (which gives you a look at a few different creatures and animals that will appear in the monster manual), and some Inspirational Reading.


IS THIS THE GAME FOR YOU?
That is hard to say without actually playing the game.  Your looking at around $50 to buy the Player's Handbook just to make your characters.  Then if you are looking to run the game your going to need to fork out another $50 for the Dungeon Master's Guide and the Monster Manual.  So in all you will have to fork out around $150 to play this new game.  No PDF's are available at a discount price either, though they do have PDF's of past editions.

While I would say that this price tag is just another reason to go with Hero System, its really up to you if you want to pick up everything.  Like with any hobby this is an investment, though Wizards of the Coast do tend to milk the property for all its worth for a few years before coming up with a new line.

But that's not answering the question.  The game seems to have taken a few hints from Star Wars Saga Edition game rules, and is also attempting to embrace rules from the past too while doing its own thing.

I would recommend giving the game system a try, if at all possible with out first buying all the books.  Now I'm not advocating getting PDF scans, but if at least one person in your game group is able/willing to get the books (or at least the Player's Handbook) then you can try it out and see if it is up for what your group likes.


UPDATE - 02/12/2015
So last Saturday my game group sat down and played D&D 5th Edition.  I on the other hand had to work and could not join them other wise I would have run my Star Wars game.

So my group had some positive comments about the system.  So to quote my friends:

Ian - Lesson 1: The HP system is a harsh, cruel mistress, but if your god loves you, you can roll a crit on your first death check!

Steve - I found it easy to run and would like to run/play it in the future.  However, it will take some time to get use to the new spells.  Ian's character discovered that he could resurrect himself ;P

Jake - It was a great game.  Ian is a wimp.  He never even came close to dying.  That being said having a second person in the party who can heal might be a good plan.

The 5^th edition game went well.  The system is much simpler than 3.0 / 3.5 D&D but still seems to give a good number of options.  I really enjoyed the game and would like a chance to play again.

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At this point I responded back about my dislike for the low starting HP for heroic characters and the magic system which I've never liked as I would prefer to just know "X" number of spells and then be able to spend "X" number of points to cast those spells as much as I like.  I then got some responses.
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Ian - The hit points aren't any different from most other editions outside of maybe 4E; they're what they've pretty much always been in D&D.  My own take is that 5E has the best version of the (for lack of a better term) "Vancian" magic slots to date in the game.  Overall, it feels to me like a modern, streamlined version of old school D&D.  It's easy to play and (for better or worse) gives a dose of what I would guess a number f people remember from their salad days of playing in some friend's basement on a Friday night while all the cool kids were off at the high school football game.  I had fun with it.

Jake -  I also had a positive experience with the system.  It was simple to learn which has a lot going for it.  I did notice it made for quick and easy fights.  As for low hit points I didn’t think it was unfair.  We were new characters and being kind of weak forces us to act as a group.

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Now here is where I will partly disagree with this.  The thing that D&D fails to keep grasping is that the players are the heroes and if hit once a level 1 character should never be reduced to a death like state.  Its unfair and detracts from the fun.  At level 1 your not an NPC, your a hero.  Sure you might be on the start of your adventure, but your cut from different cloth than everyone else.  You should be tougher and being taken out by a single hit is not really fair to anyone.

On the other hand.  I do see the point.



Yes at level 1 your not very good at survival.  You haven't developed the endurance to stay on your feet, knowledge to roll with a punch, or much else for surviving a fight.


So a final prognosis:  Give the new D&D 5th Edition a try.  If the game was rubbish my friends wouldn't be lamenting so nicely about it.  As for me...I'm just waiting for my turn to give the system a try.  After that then we'll see how I feel about it.