Dungeons and Dragons NEXT (or Fifth Edition) [RPG Review]

I've been waiting for the new edition of DnD for a long time. Fourth Edition had fallen flat.
I did enjoy Fourth for a long time, I regretfully admit. It was trying too hard to be WoW.

Dice are included in the starter box.

Now, I must confess that as of this review, I have only played one session with the new rules.

I also must confess that I really like them.

4.5 out of 5 stars

Now, right now the rating is not perfect, because I do not know all the nuances, all the classes, or races. I have read the long, but still incomplete, rules. The ones that actually do cover some elements of character creation.

Wizards of the Coast release line up.

Let me cover some of the new details and improvements over Fourth Edition.

To start with, it is a clean edition. The clutter and chaos of the previous edition is gone. No longer does every character have numerous powers and dozens of abilities at level 1. You get some, just not too many.

No longer does DnD feel like a table top miniatures game. Don't get me wrong, I love table top minis games, but when I'm role-playing I want a different experience. You do not even need a map in the new version... you can use one, but it is not needed.

Skills and level dependent bonuses seem more streamlined too.

Sample Character Sheet from the Starter Set.

There is one rather interesting thing that I've come across. The power level of the new edition of DnD seems to start lower, with a more steady climb. Characters start by being weaker than they were in Fourth Edition. When building a character using the 'points buy system,' no starting stat can be above a 15 before racial modifiers. This means no characters starting with Str or Dex 20 anymore (unless you use the dice rolling system, which is also weaker than 4th eds, so... still unlikely). I, personally, really like this.

There are of course other small changes, little alterations from the previous version.
In many ways this seems like a cross between 3.5 and second edition. Not a bad way to go in all honesty.

I've already pre-ordered the PhB for myself.
This edition is already shaping up to be better than the previous edition. We'll just have to see how far it actually goes, and how well it fares.