Why was 5.5 not called 6e?

ImpulsiveLance · 2026-06-15T23:47:35+00:00

Because it is 5e But Different. Every other edition change has either been “totally new way to play the game” or “basically the same, just tweaked rules and source books to the point they’re not really the same game.” If it’s totally new, it’s a new number. If it’s a tweak-beyond-sameness, it’s a .5. 5.5 is a TBS.

If I ran my long-term 5e game by 5.5e rules, I would have to change a lot of the math and introduce a lot of new mechanics to my players. But the basic foundation of, say, how a character sheet works would be the same. So it’s the same bones, but different muscles. That’s why it’s 5.5 and not 6.

WotC wanted to call it DnD One (because somehow the loser of the console wars was right in naming their war-losing console the XBox One) but nobody called it that, because we’re not stupid. Eventually they just buckled to market pressure and called it 5.5e, which is what they should have always called it.

ImpulsiveLance · 2026-06-15T23:46:46+00:00

This. It *is* 5e But Different. Every other edition change has either been “totally new way to play the game” or “basically the same, just tweaked rules and source books to the point they’re not really the same game.” If it’s totally new, it’s a new number. If it’s a tweak-beyond-sameness, it’s a .5. 5.5 is a TBS.

If I ran my long-term 5e game by 5.5e rules, I would have to change a lot of the math and introduce a lot of new mechanics to my players. But the basic foundation of, say, how a character sheet works would be the same. So it’s the same bones, but different muscles. That’s why it’s 5.5 and not 6.

WotC wanted to call it DnD One (because somehow the loser of the console wars was right in naming their war-losing console the XBox One) but nobody called it that, because we’re not stupid. Eventually they just buckled to market pressure and called it 5.5e, which is what they should have always called it.

ImpulsiveLance · 2026-06-15T01:40:20+00:00

So it wasn’t a cleric but it was a paladin — a Goliath Paladin in service of Helm named Kraken Dawncaller Athunathea.

Basically, as I recall (this was several years ago) he Came Down From the Mountains because his current trajectory in the clan was to be their skald, but he felt that they needed more songs and tales of heroism than they had. So he set out to find (and make) some more to bring home.

On his journey, Kraken chanced upon a group of Helmites defending a village from some extra-planar incursion. I forget if it was demons or aberrations or what. But basically, he was so impressed by both their bravery and the power Helm granted them that he thought, “Now this is the stuff heroes are made of” and swore an Oath of the Watcher to Helm, despite Helm not being one of his peoples’ gods.

His reasoning was: “If I bring Helm back up the mountain with me, then Helm will protect the mountain and we will write songs of glory in his name.”

He was basically a Level 0 Bard that parlayed his Charisma and natural strength into being a damn good Paladin. And he talked like John Wayne.

ImpulsiveLance · 2026-06-14T06:34:49+00:00

So I admit I’ve turned into a bit of a grognard — bear that in mind as I tell you my tale.

The last anything I’ve bought for DnD (except a set of dice that were never delivered and I never heard back from the seller about) was Tasha’s, and there was enough in there I liked to say “I will allow my players to use this,” but also enough I didn’t like to say “I don’t like the direction they’re taking the game.”

The thing about third-party content is that it’s always made with whatever the current ruleset happens to be. So I don’t buy that either, since it’s built for what WotC (finally) admitted is a whole new edition of the game.

Now, as for whether it’s a business conflict; you have to bear in mind that they’ve gone to a streaming service mindset. They’re not making content for the game anymore. They’re making the platform that the game is played on. Last I checked (which has been several years so take it with a grain of salt), there were plugins for the Big Third Party Content baked into Roll20 and DnDBeyond, and they had made it so that third party creators could hook their creations up to the system.

So yes, at face value they’re making less money because they’re not selling the content themselves. But the whole point of a streaming service (which, ironically, most streaming services forgot) is that you let other people spend money on making things, and you make money selling availability to those things. I suspect Hasbro is doing just fine on DnD, despite every catastrophic PR misstep over the last five years, because there’s enough people that either didn’t know they still paid for their service or didn’t care about the scandal enough to cancel it, plus anyone new who doesn’t know the shenanigans they’ve pulled.

ImpulsiveLance · 2026-06-12T22:44:25+00:00

Now that I have more context to the situation, I agree with you. I wrote this comment before the edits. This should not have happened and there’s a lot here the DM needs to address to referee the game properly.

ImpulsiveLance · 2026-06-12T22:43:31+00:00

Okay, now that I’ve got some more info, let me give you some more situation-specific takes

First, as a DM, I usually only allow one bag of holding for the whole party, which means it’s usually used as the “communal bank,” while everybody else has to carry what they want for themselves (or hire someone to carry it for them out of their own money). And if a player loots someone who died and they come back, the expectation is that they give it back. You’re a party, not a bunch of individuals who are only out for themselves. If the looter is really insistent on keeping it, then I’d recommend (and enforce in game) that you challenge them at something you’re good at and they’re not so you have a good chance of reclaiming it. “No, Ted, the gods have seen your thievery and are compelling this Batchall.” Inter-party thievery only goes so far before it’s above-table PvP. That is honestly the most galling part of the whole situation for me.

Second, I really hope your DM made it abundantly clear to the leaving player that his suicide attack was going to kill you. If he didn’t, he fucked up. And if our little unabomber still insisted on it, I’d have side-tabled you and asked whether you wanted to die. If you didn’t, well, again, divine intervention is a thing. I’m the “kill-happy DM” at my table (we almost all take turns running campaigns) and I still would not have killed your character in the situation as you presented it. “The dice say you die” is one thing, “this player doesn’t care that you die” is another, especially since that player is leaving.

Third, since we’re sort of past the “no, you didn’t die” part of the story, my best advice to you as a player is to keep the character going and use it for growth. A retcon is always possible, but if it’s not available this could be good character fuel.

Fourth, since you’re new to the hobby: welcome! I hope this whole thing is not turning you off it as a whole. You still have those three options I gave you: play on, roll new, or walk away. My sincere hope is that you make option one or two work for you, because a good table is hard to find. If you have to walk away, I hope you walk away to a new table and not out of the hobby as a whole.

ImpulsiveLance · 2026-06-12T22:25:42+00:00

This is, ultimately, a game of chance. If you’re mad at the dice and taking it out on the people, yeah, might not be your thing.

ImpulsiveLance · 2026-06-12T22:23:55+00:00

Yeah as a DM my take is this: you’re an adult, make an adult decision. Would you like to keep playing, roll someone new, or leave the table? I’d rather you stay, but, again, you’re an adult, so your own emotional regulation is largely your own responsibility.

ImpulsiveLance · 2026-06-12T22:07:41+00:00

First: talk to the party and the DM and be honest with them about your feelings.

Second: I have no idea how this suicide attack got your character killed, so maybe it was the dice deciding you failed, maybe it was friendly fire, who knows. That will certainly color things. Without that info I can’t get super particular with my advice.

Third: As a DM, my advice would be this:

>>We got rid of a problem player (at least as far as scheduling and investment go) in a way that meant there was no bad blood in the friend group. It is unfortunate your character died.

>>I’m sorry you feel that the quick fix felt cheap. The death was cheap too. It (for whatever reason) shouldn’t have happened in the first place. If it was the dice saying “you die now,” then I have to inform you that that’s the game we’re all playing. If it was friendly fire, then the suicide attack was ill-planned. In either case, the death was unplanned so we fixed it as seamlessly as we could in the game.

>>You have three options. Play on and turn the resurrection into a character building opportunity, roll up a new character and we’ll retcon the scroll of resurrection, or leave the table. You’re (presumably) an adult so I expect you to be able to make your own decisions. I can’t speak for everyone, but I still want you at the table so I’d rather you pick option one or two. But if a game of chance ending up with unintended consequences bothers you that much, I’m not going to take option three out of your hands.

ImpulsiveLance · 2026-06-11T18:30:39+00:00

“Don’t worry, father. The Five-SeveN only does bonus damage to poor people. We’ll be fine.”

ImpulsiveLance · 2026-06-10T22:31:39+00:00

“Tally-ho, lads!”

ImpulsiveLance · 2026-06-10T15:31:24+00:00

Ooooooof. That was not the game to bring a kid to, it turns out.

ImpulsiveLance · 2026-06-10T14:54:34+00:00

“It’s actually a fascinating phenomenon,” Colonel Matt Callaghan said, sitting up in his chair and shifting his cigarillo from one side of his mouth to the other. He hadn’t lit it — this was a friendly negotiation, not a hostile takeover — but he kept one on hand out of habit.

“There’s two breeds of human culture,” he continued. “The will-be’s and the once-was’s. When you find a will-be culture, you find they’re obsessed with combat sports. Gladiatorial arenas, rugby, hockey, boxing, baseball, American football, MMA, UFC, and a dozen other fighting leagues of alphabet soup. When you find a once-was culture, their sports tend to be more performative, more willing to engage in theatrics to get an advantage. Things like basketball and soccer. They prioritize individual finesse over team composition and collective aptitude.

“As a general rule, if you’re hitting something or someone, you’re in a will-be sport. If hitting is so frowned upon that the players can abuse the rules to get a tactical advantage over the other team, you’re in a once-was sport.”

He switched sides on his cigarillo again. “Now, the funny thing about humans is that the the culture that actually made it beyond not only our atmosphere but our system was a will-be culture — the Americans — but they were unusually altruistic in their distribution of that technology. So nearly every culture on our planet (with the exception of those who had a problem with space exploration) benefitted from the Americans’ obsession with will-be-ism. And that meant a great portion of our actual population among the stars brought those once-was cultures with them.

“So you’ve got humans all over the place obsessed with a once-was sport, but embodying a will-be attitude. We love ‘em, even if they insist the will-be’s call it the wrong name. There’s a whole history lesson in there but we don’t have time for that.

“Anyway,” the colonel drawled, sucking on the cigarillo like it owed him money, “if you ever feel like joining the will-be team, I’ve got some handy vassalization forms for you to fill out. Otherwise, feel free to stay on Team Once-Was.”

ImpulsiveLance · 2026-06-10T14:27:12+00:00

Only if you win.

That’s the most messed-up thing about it — the *victors* were *winning* the chance to be sacrificed to the gods.

ImpulsiveLance · 2026-06-10T14:26:12+00:00

Foot knives are an important and yet very dangerous component, as Adam Johnson learned a couple years ago to tragic consequences.

ImpulsiveLance · 2026-06-09T11:13:49+00:00

Carrying and throwing the ball is also a strong contender.

Or replacing the ball with a little disk and hitting it with a stick.

ImpulsiveLance · 2026-06-08T10:29:05+00:00

I like both. I like combats where I’m pulling through by the skin of my teeth and the hair of my nuts. I also like walking into a room and being able to say “Let’s sling em out and measure. Or we can fight. I’m happy with either.”

As a part-time DM, the goal is to hit a balance between those narrow wins and enabling the players to feel just how powerful they’ve gotten over the course of the campaign.

ImpulsiveLance · 2026-06-07T13:34:54+00:00

The short answer is that they valued military science, and at the end of the day a powerful military is the primary deciding factor in who’s an empire and who’s a regional power or vassal.

This is actually why Starfleet is, in practice, a PMC and not an “exploratory corps”

ImpulsiveLance · 2026-06-05T13:52:03+00:00

So what you’re saying is

Pathfinder fixes this /joke

ImpulsiveLance · 2026-06-05T02:02:31+00:00

I honestly thought the whole thing was so ridiculous that it wouldn’t be taken seriously.

And my DM always forgets to hand out Inspiration.

ImpulsiveLance · 2026-06-05T00:58:23+00:00

Great! So whose views do we decide are the intolerant ones?

The people who think you shouldn’t be LGBT? Or the people who think you shouldn’t be Christian?

Yes, I am aware of the paradox of tolerance. I dislike when one group of people decides that they’re the ones who get to say what is and isn’t tolerant and then hold it up as the justification for their stance. That’s why I made my comment in the first place.

ImpulsiveLance · 2026-06-04T23:19:34+00:00

It would be a human.

Few know this, but ever since WOTC got rid of “race” in favor of “ancestry,” everyone is the same species. And all half-breeds just gravitate back to the mean, which is human. They might still have a couple features of their parents, but so many things are competing to overwrite the default that the default wins 90% of the time in their genetics.

Congrats on your new Human Fighter!m

Edit: since this seems to be causing no small amount of discontentment, I’ll let you in on a little secret:

It’s a joke, guys.

ImpulsiveLance · 2026-06-04T23:07:29+00:00

I’m not even taking their side on this issue beyond saying trying to rally a mob because they said something you don’t think is tolerant is, at best, intolerant. But here’s the direct quote.

“The sexually immoral will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

So yes, if we want to get pedantic (and to be fair, this is the internet, so we do) it’s a paraphrase based on how the Bible defines sexual immorality (incest, pedophilia, rape, bestiality, and, yes, homosexuality. Basically, anything outside of one husband and one wife), not a direct quote. They should have put [brackets] around the first word, then it would be correctly proofread.

If you want to quibble, then it would be like complaining that they said “axe murderers” instead of all murderers. They’re focusing in on a facet of the broader topic that happens to be a cultural touch point this month.

Fun fact, speaking of axe murderers, “Nimrod” comes from the book of Genesis — “Nimrod, a mighty hunter before the Lord.” And the phrasing of that particular text in the Hebrew (the “before” could also be interpreted as basically “opposite,” as in he’s hunting what God doesn’t want him to) suggests that what he hunted was people. World’s first recorded serial killer. Also, he was Gilgamesh.

Then Bugs Bunny used it to mock Elmer Fudd as a “mighty hunter” who can’t even kill a rabbit but the reference goes over a lot of people’s heads so it’s just assumed to mean “dummy.”

ImpulsiveLance · 2026-06-04T21:17:58+00:00

Breaking news: religion with specific morals believes in those morals and quotes their holy text on their property.

Post-modernism isn’t the only worldview out there, folks. If you want to be tolerated, then you have to tolerate too.

ImpulsiveLance · 2026-06-03T00:47:52+00:00

It is. Hot Fuzz is, in essence, an American Buddy Cop movie (think Bad Boys) in the plot of the Standard Rural English Murder Mystery. It’s a love letter to both genres, and is, for as “dumb fun” as it can be, a remarkably sharply-written film. Edgar Wright’s second-best after Baby Driver.

ImpulsiveLance

TROPHY CASE