Playtest Recap: D&D DNA

In my 5e posts so far, I've commented on specific game mechanics that I felt were noteworthy for whatever reason, but I have yet to share my thoughts on the overall experience of playing 5e (I still can't bring myself to call it "D&D Next"). Amy and I have done some playtesting over the past couple of weekends, so I'll use those sessions as the basis for this discussion. (Watch for other "Playtest Recap" posts over the next several days.) First, some key parameters:

• We were using the pregenerated playtest characters (the human cleric of Pelor and the dwarf fighter) without modification, even in the case of (seemingly) obvious errors, such as the quarterstaff attack bonus that appeared to count the weapon as Strength-based rather than a Dexterity-based finesse weapon.
• We were using the "How to Play" rules as written -- nothing was houseruled.
• We did not play the "Caves of Chaos" adventure that was provided with the playtest packet. Some people dig this adventure as kind of a "sandbox" environment, but in my opinion it's just a bunch of bland rooms filled with equally bland encounters. Instead of "Caves of Chaos," I used the playtest Bestiary to create an adventure set in the Druid Cycle campaign world (the town of Caer Arfordir in Teyrnas, for anyone who's curious).

In a nutshell, it's been fun. 5e is simple and fast, with a lot of flexibility. At no point did the rules get in the way of the storytelling. With 4e (and, to a lesser extent, 3e and 3.5), I was always very aware that I was playing a game. I realize that's kind of an obvious thing to say (unless you're one of the legions of people whom D&D has driven insane, like the Tom Hanks character from Mazes and Monsters...save them, Jack Chick, save them!), but the point is that (in my opinion, at least) the game rules constrained the players' actions. In other words, you'd look at your character sheet and then decide what to do. With 5e, it's the other way around. You tell the DM what you want your character to do, and then the DM applies a game rule...and even then, only when necessary. I love how this works. The rules really do seem designed to facilitate the narrative. (Note: I'm not saying that good storytelling was impossible in 4e, only that the 4e rules tried to turn everything into a tactical situation...see the much-maligned Skill Challenges as perhaps the most egregious example of this phenomenon.)

What I most want to convey in this post, however, is that 5e has true D&D DNA. I see evidence of all previous editions (including some of the best aspects of 4e, such as At Will spells and self-healing) represented in the playtest rules and pregenerated characters. The design and development teams have a long way to go before they have a product they can sell, but even at this early stage I'm confident that they're on the right track. This is D&D, folks.