Please take this as a compliment: I have to audit which of your videos I click on because everything you review I end up either backing or purchasing. I appreciate your thorough coverage and clear explanations that make the content exciting and intriguing, some of your videos on games I had initially passed on have made me go back and pick them up. Please, my bank account cannot handle watching too many of your reviews and it pleads with me to limit what I happen to watch. I have already backed nimble so I thought this video would be safe to watch and comment on. Keep up the good work.
I think the biggest takeaway is what was highlighted at the beginning - “play what you prefer”. All products mentioned have value and can produce fun and memorable TTRPG moments. Boils down to what you want, making a choice and playing in that direction.
I'd say there are enough active issues with and alternatives to D&D 5e to suggest that it's now obsolete Which can't be as easily said about editions 2 through 4 of D&D (And many of those alternatives exist specifically just to resolve 5e's issues)
I LOVE how the flame spells work. Using a cantrip at first to impart the burning condition on a target and THEN using mana for your bigger spell, thats awesome!
I basically started using a 3-slot-based inventory. I like the way it's laid out in the character sheet for Nimble. Seems like a great way to have a night with non-TTRPG players.
The game looks good and I will probably pick it up. A big part of D&D for me and my players is the Attack Roll. Rolling a d20 with the anticipation of a Hit, roll a Nat 20 - cheers go up. The most memorable moments over the years involve roll Attack.
@@airsheeps I agree and its even better because it removes the first layer disapointment, yes, you could roll a 20, but you could also roll right under the enemy's AC and that's it, turn gone, wait 10 min more for your next turn if it is a big table.
I feel like a several-layer exploding crit gets a similar reaction. I'm imagining the increasing tension as the player attacking with a d8 rolls two eights in a row, and you all wait to see if they get a third
I've literally been thinking the past few weeks about trying to homebrew my own simplified and streamlined version of 5e, since a lot of my game group are annoyed by 5e's complexity, but uninterested in trying other fantasy rpgs (despite my pleading). This looks promising.
Thanks for the overview. This is very well said, love it! "Wizard of the Coast, a subsidiary of the publicly traded American toy company Hasbro, treats RPG books in the only way they know how: by assessing what people think of as maximum value and selling it to them while keeping costs as low as possible. And what people think of as valuable is page count. […] Each book pretty much has to clock in at or over 200 pages. There’s a science to it. Unfortunately, to get to 200 pages in every case, they employ contract writers to crank out what can only be described as filler. Customers of official 5e products have been shelling out millions of dollars for books that each contain about 50 to 75 pages of good ideas and concepts and 125 to 150 pages of sawdust-just absolute dross. This is the reason why I cover third-party and indie RPGs: they operate on a different objective than Hasbro’s games division subsidiary. They pretty much have to deliver quality content, or they won’t sell any copies."
Since the Pinkerton Incident, I have quit playing and purchasing WotC products, and am quite happy running Blades in the Dark and Savage Worlds. So I have no interest in buying yet another D&D clone. But would I *PLAY* Nimble if someone brought it to my table? You damn skippy I would! 😁
The attack missing on a 1 on the damage die is a genius idea. The thought never crossed my mind. Also, I just love inventory slots. Personally, I love games that ask less of the GM/players in terms of memorizing and tracking stuff and also those that give GMs lots of tools to use. A 100 different modifiers for a roll? No. A d100 random table to roll what you find in a room? Yes.
Dave, you are 100% spot on about the page counts. I don't care if the D&D/PF2e books are 300+ pages when 150 of the pages is useless extra rules or drivel for the sake of the page count. In Technical Writing (which, let's be honest, is what the rules part of TTRPG game books _are_) less is more.
What I really like it the modularity of character design. If you want a buff Halfling, drop the Luck ability, and take Sturdy from the Dwarf. Stops the card board cut out syndrome of D&D.
I'm playing Knave at the time of this comment but I'll give Nimble a look through it's preview. I'll wait for a retail copy, though. I figure by the time it reaches Amazon or my LFG/BS there might be room to try something new. I love the inventory slot mechanic simpler magic system.
This video changed my mind. I was going to ignore Nimble since I was so burned out on 5E and planned to stick with OSR games, but I've reconsidered. I did have some very memorable 5E games and if I could get a streamlined experience and still pull in the players that want that 5E style game experience, then I think I need to check this out. I'm in.
I'm definitely for Nimble, love speedy play, focus on story, not endless fights with dreary rolling. Also Hasbro sucked out all willingness to even invest in DnD anymore, sorry employees, it's not you, it's your boss. Still I'm also working on a completely system myself, with a very different philosophy, that leads into very different territory, except it's an RPG and players need to collaborate to overcome giant odds.
i'm getting whiplash from all the d20 systems and i know it's a good thing to have options but ... gonna have to see how things go may use the sample rules for a short adventure see how we feel.
Very interesting. I had missed this one. This looks like one I will need to take a look at it in greater detail. Using just a damage roll instead of both a to-hit and a damage roll is something I am seeing more and more. My "go to position" is to have "active" attack and defense rolls. I think that comes from my first gaming experience being with HeroQuest and then later GURPS (which has attack, defense, and damage rolls). But, when I am designing, it seems like I often go back combing those into a single roll. Sounds like a topic that deserves a deep dive.
Well, this is not a 5e product though and still many improvements could be made (if you know design). Personally I would prefer tags and keywords to make everything easier to read. Those cards definitely go towards that idea though
The exploding crits also really helps weapons like daggers. Lower overall damage threshold, but a much higher chance to crit. Very thematic! I like it!
I appreciate your review of this book. I was not really looking for any more 5E alternatives to dedicated shelf space to, but your methodical, yet still concise, breakdown of this product has given me a reason to consider using this at the table.
I really want to pick this up, as 5e doesn't gel for me in some scenarios, but I have to say: I LOVE TO HIT ROLLS! lol Many systems remove it, but its my favorite. I'd rather get rid of damage. Still interested in checking it out. Will watch this video and mull it over!
I hear you on removing damage rolls rather than to-hit rolls. I love a to-hit roll. I've been toying with the idea of folding damage into the to-hit roll in one way or another. For 5e, I'm testing out this idea: you deal damage equal to the amount you beat the target's AC by + half your level (rounded up). There are definitely some tweaks to be made on it, but I think it has potential for certain groups
@@emirefliI think it goes by increments of 5, they refer to the rule as “levels/increments of success” But in dc20 weapon damage has been completely rescaled. And if you beat the AC every increment of 5 you deal 1 more damage. In my person homebrew I kept to hit rolls and have a modified damage roll. Roll 1-9 = half weapon damage 10-20 full weapon damage On nat 20 crit you get a weapon battle effect. It’s been working well!
Hey Dave, great video. Love your explanation over this game and excited to play it. Looks like the link to the interview in the description is dead though. Hope you’re doing well!
Wow, maybe I've got my finger on the pulse of new dnd stuff or something, but I was just about to start writing a boss fight with Nimble 5e in mind so me and my dnd group could try out the rules
Great video. Just when I think no one can get me interested in d20 based games anymore (specifically, medieval fantasy genre ) something like this comes around and pulls me back in. The game looks great, I like the level of crunch. I look forward to seeing more.
13:10 : Reminds me a bit of Mage: The Awakening's magic system. I've seen you cover just about every other type of game but I haven't seen you cover and World/Chronicles of Darkness games. Here's my +1 vote to hopefully inspire you to do that (specifically Mage; I can't be the only Mage out there DESPERATE for content!)
Great review. 100% agree, but, I'm guessing because of the Shadowdark shirt, like you, my preference is for the lower powered, grittier, OSR/NSR style of gameplay. We switched to Shadowdark during the Kickstarter (I got a PDF review copy) and my group voted to switch systems in the middle of the campaign. Easy to learn, fast turns, fun to play, actual chance of death. SD for the win.
The page count thing was something I began to learn a few years back. I love collecting rpg books and reading them, but so much of it is just fluff or ideas. Which isn't always bad, but most of the time, the actual mechanics you need to know are on a GM Screen or Rules Reference page.
Oh. Wow This is so fascinating. I only buy stuff in brick and mortar stores. If Nimble makes it to my local game store, I am grabbing it. Ditto for DC20. DND 5E is the first TTRPG I got into. The worst part was how difficult and convoluted the rules are. I am so glad that is being fixed. Once I got a good understanding of the basic rules, I started to make house rules to streamline the game. Nimble is interesting because it streamlines the game. The stuff in this video is really cool. I would like to know more. I do have two main house rules. One is to roll one per turn for damage and add bonuses to that. Nimble has something similar. That blows my mind. What a coincidence. Great minds think alike. My other big rule is to use mana as a magic resource. This is something that coincidentally in DC20. The Dungeon Coach has a whole video about this. He dislikes spell slots even more than I do. His rant is hilarious. My favorite part about an RPG is classes. I am curious on how Nimble does it. This video had a little bit, but I would like to learn more. There are definitely different levels of complexity or "crunch". I am surprised that DND 5E was so high in the video's scale. I keep hearing about it being easy and simplified. I guess I am not alone in thinking this is too complicated. I wonder what the ends of scale would be. Maybe the top end of the scale could have older editions of DND. Maybe there can be dungeon crawl classics or something. Maybe the bottom has Fate. I think there is good and bad kinds of crunch. The good kind of crunch gives more customization options. The increased depth is fun to play with. Good crunch would be things like adding more classes, races and spells to the game. The bad kind of crunch is making the game more complicated without adding any choice. Having to roll twice in a turn is one example. Spells slots are another. That stuff should be simplified. It makes the game easier and faster without ruining the fun. Another example is weight and carrying capacity. That is something that I completely ignore. I am probably not alone. Nimble is brilliant in replacing that with an item slot system. It is simpler, and it gets the job done. Item slots are used all the time in video games. That can easily be implemented in TTRPGS.
I took a look at Nimble 5e upon Dave's recommendation, and I gotta say, this is the most promising 5e-compatible 5e-alternative rule I've seen so far. Other such rules seem to have replaced 5e's bloat with their own set of bloat, but this one actually looks like it may have streamlined things quite a bit. Very, very intrigued!
Dang, I missed the Backer Kit funding campaign. At least I was able to pre-order! This sounds like just the thing I need to get over the "I'm just not that into D&D5e anymore" rut.
When I'm branching out from D&D I generally avoid the D&D clones like Pathfinder, starfinder, OSR stuff, and the slate of post OGL controversy games like Tales of the Valiant, DC20, Nimble, and others. There's lots of games and systems out there. The two that have my attention now are Cypher System and Fabula Ultima, but even further out systems like Star Wars Edge of the Empire, Call of Cthulhu, Traveler, and Powered by the Apocalypse all have their merits. One upside to wildly different games is that you can still use some D&D products with them. If you forget the subclasses in most books and focus on books that give you useful DM tools, setting and genre guides, and subsystems or mechanics for specific areas of play that are essentially system agnostic, then you can use many supplements with any game system. I like running horror fantasy like games set in the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Instead of digging up the out of print BtVS RPG I simply have the players make melee focused 5e characters or Cypher System characters with some of the Superhero rules applied, and I run them through Call of Cthulhu investigations/modules.
While I'm more a dark and gritty player. Trying to get my players to fight tooth and nail. I think everything that third party content creators like this is just awe inspiring.
I'm more interested in more detail and variety so that is why I left d&d for pathfinder 1e. I like dc20 be cause he is combining 5e and pf 2e and doing his own thing. I will always prefer pathfinder 1e but I will use house rules that I'm taking from dc20 and other games.
Hmm, spell tiers instead of levels? Gear slots? Simplified spell list and descriptions? Seems similar to Shadowdark... looks like great minds think alike in terms of crafting a simpler version of 5E.
Nimble is very open about the fact that it looked at what everyone else did and took what it liked haha. It cites 5e, Pathfinder 2e, DC20, Shadowdark, MCDM, and a few others.
I'm 100% for the more modern approach of stripping down the rules, stat blocks, etc, to the bare essentials. As I have travelled my gaming journey, I have learned that it's the story, not the rules, that makes for great memories with friends.
There are some limitations but it depends on your attributes. Basically a child would still hit 75% of the time with a dagger but would have probably a -1 strength so it would do way less DMG and couldnt wear any good armour
As someone who ran a full campaign for 6 months using 1e, Nimble became our unexpected gem earlier this year. All my players loved it (save for that one whiny player).
I'd be interested in where you'd place games like Chivalry & Sorcery, RuneQuest, DragonAge, Dragon Warriors, AD&D 1e, D&D 3.5e, BECMI D&D, and ShadowDark on your complexity scale.
Sounds good. My thoughts are seemingly similar to yours: the streamlined rules really appeal to me, but I also prefer less superheroic characters. Not quite OSR levels of grit, but maybe a 10-level progression with 10th level characters being not *that much* more powerful than 1st level ones. So Nimble probably isn’t for me, considering I am one of those people who is by now extremely familiar with the 5E rules - but it looks like a big step in the right direction.
Have you looked into Worlds without Number? It’s character are beefier than their BX counterparts, but no OP as modern D&D. Plus it has a free version available on DrivethruRPG, And it’s not a rinky-dink QuickStart guide, it’s the entire game sans a few bonus options (and that’s are the are: optional).
After reading the beta doc for this I think calling nimble simpler is underselling it. Sure it has less moving parts, and streamlined systems but the game itself is far more tactical. The Class abilities and initiative are designed for the party to work off of each others strength and create combos. The Monsters while 'simpler' actually have features that make their group and type a distinctly different challenge to fight against.
I like the idea of no attack roles and just rolling for damage. My only concern is that since a miss is rolling a 1 on your damage die that it would be penalizing characters who used less damaging weapons like daggers, etc. Rolling 1 on a D12 is less likely than rolling one on a D8 or a D6 not to mention a D4 like the whip my bugbear gloom stalker ranger uses. D12 misses approximately 8.23% of the time while a D4 would be 25%. I realize that the D4 will explosively crit 25% of the time also however I don’t know that I would trade that for a 25% miss rate. I guess the head cannon could be that while daggers do less damage and miss more often when they do find purchase, they do a lot of damage. I’d love to hear everyone else’s thoughts.
D4 and D6 weapons will be more efficient against heavy armored enemies, because crit hit neglates armor. Greataxe have greater dice but its dmg will be reduce to half in almost every attack.
@@krzysztofpotka1185 I didn’t think about it that way. Now I like it even more because it gives a reason to use a variety of weapons, including lower damage ones for specific purposes.
I am a teacher starting my schools D&D club (hoping to make it more ttrpg generally but kids know D&D not TTRPG), do you think something like nimble may be able to ease the complexity while helping maintain the idea that it is D&D?
@@Em_The_Wandering yeah, people do it all the time. They teach the rules to new players and call it “D&D” and everyone has fun. Except it’s not actually D&D they’re playing. Nimble is a perfect back door replacement because it’s actually compatible with D&D.
So many variables to weapon use... In the hands of someone skilled, a dagger can be as lethal as a two-handed sword--but in a different way. I suppose you could frame it so that a dagger used against an opponent in full plate armor, or that is huge, or has a very tough hide, is not likely to do much damage even it it hits. But, again, if you are highly proficient, and in game play, roll a high attack number, the dagger may find a spot between the armor plates, or into the eye of a huge creature, etc. It's an interesting choice to lower the weapon's ability to hit when it's damage is already low.
I absolutely want a simplified D&D, like they did back in the day with B/X and AD&D. The barrier to entry for 5e is so high. But any existing player is going balk at not having all the crazy character options that 5e offers now. And personally, not sure how I feel about not rolling to hit.......
5e is a mess, but none of these address the issues with the game (imho). I would even say that it undoes some of the few things 5e does better than 3e. 10 levels with the number of abilities equal (or even less) to 3e within that range. 3e was very heroic (especially within Eberron) but was a convoluted mess. 5e is a pain in the ass because of all the little "+1 AC while not wrapped in a net, with one foot in a pot and one foot on a goat" in other words mostly useless and just taking up space on the sheet
The main thing I see the appeal in is simplified/streamlined spells. I am not a big fan of D&D's schools of magic nor the functionality of most spells. As much as people complain that D&D is "all combat" you look at the spell-list and it feels like over half the spells are for 'exploration' and 'social encounters' with the problem being that too many are hyper-situational. I'd prefer more spells to be combat-based, organized by damage-type and for utility spells to just be stronger or more versatile.
Sounds really interesting. My not-D&D of choice has been 13th Age so far but this seems really fresh. DC20 looks cool but at the same time kinda feels like just more D&D. A lot of these games would occupy the same spot at the table. I can't see many tables doing a DC20 and then a Nimble game, and then a 13th Age game - since all of those would sit on the same spot of heroic fantasy.
In regards to 5e complexity, it is less complex than D&D 3/3.5e and, from what I hear, 4e. I've played Pathfinder 1e, which is a refinement of the 3.5e rules, and 5e. Both of them are complex games, but 5e is simpler. Anyone questioning your intelligence for calling that out is a troll and not worth listening to. 5e still has lots of stuff to track and to remember. True, there's less math at the table, but it still has a staggering number of abilities and limited use things that you have to keep track of. Instead of keeping track of +1's and +2's, we're now keeping track of how many uses we have of whatever ability and what feats we have and whether we have advantage or not. It's still complex, it's just a different kind of complex. And that's not even getting into issues with the more options you have, the less creative freedom you have. It seems counterintuitive, but hear me out. When you have a rule that says you can do X if you have Y, the implication is that you can't do X if you don't have Y. What's worse, is that it's very easy for GMs to fall into the trap of thinking that if there's nothing that says they can do X, then they can't do X because it creates less work for them in having to figure out the game mechanics. That in turn stifles player creativity because why are they going to ask if they can do U, V, W, or Z if they've been told the rules don't say you can do X, so you can't do X. So as you add options and rules, you limit the space players have to be creative. Sure, you can ignore those rules, but a lot of players and GMs, especially new players and GMs, are going to be hesitant to do that. In the end, even if 5e is a 7 on the complexity scale where games like Pathfinder are an 8 or a 9, that's till a 7, that's still a very complex game.
This game has so much overlap with what I've been trying to achieve also (a lighter weight version of 5e, but more narrative driven). Thanks so much for reviewing this, will definitely check it out!
I find DC20 to be incredibly more complex and overwhelming. That's likely because it's still a work in progress but it worries me for the future if it doesn't start simple and get more complicated as a "thing" develops.
DC20 is "Imma take 5E and replace everything with GURPS stuff, except damage... that'll be Savage Worlds...but with a d20" That's not a bad thing, DC20 is neat...but not revolutionary.
My thoughts are most of this is a decent 5e Hack but some of this can be far more elegant and logical. Also rework Inspiration and make it something that doesn't just rot on the vine.
I disagree with you comment about being compatible with 5e. Its compatible from a GM perspective, but not from a player perspective. Could I grab 5e monsters, magic items & adventures and run them with Nimble, easily. Could my player grab a 5e subclass and use it with Nimble? Probably not. A spell, no. A feat, not sure on that. A race, yes this would be compatible. From a GM perspective, this looks interesting and I would be interested in testing this. But the players will have a lot of changes. So they will be less willing to try. Especially when they cannot use their uber broken half goliath necromancer, power feat, etc build. (Yet another reason why I think this game looks good from a GM perspective).
Interesting but I think for me, I can just take the rules and styles I like from other games such as ShadowDark RPG or Mork Borg and "hack" 5e to get what I want. I don't play much 5e at all anymore but when I inevitably do again, I'll probably just remove or streamline stuff instead of using a whole new system
Having a unique Crit mechanic for multi-dice weapons and then reshuffling the weapon dice to leave the rapier (which used to be 1D8) as the *only* multi dice weapon (2D4) kinda sticks out like a design... mistake? (Meanwhile greatsword is changed from 2D6 to 1D12?)
I think it’s to facilitate higher crit rates for certain weapons since now crits are baked into the damage rolls (a rapier is small fast and pointy and so it should crit more than a huge greatsword)
@@rusy3112 I understand the dice mechanic. My criticism is that *only one* weapon on the entire weapons list uses this mechanic. (in hindsight I should have bolded *"only multi dice weapon"* for emphasis)
Whilst the approach is "play how you want / like", the fact that streamlined books are coming more and more kinda demonstrates folks are yearning for simpler yet highly adventurous gaming. Kinda. However, let's not forget - if there's no D&D 5e, then there's no simpler games. I mean these if authors have to streamline something, what better books are there other than the 5es? I think the 5e is here to stay. They will be 6es and 7es in the future (just need the right genius to come along). If / when that happens, streamline gurus will be once again, busy. Busy is good.
always put a smile on my face hearing DC20 and "streamlined 5e" in the same sentence. game that wasnt released yet (not playtested by major part of ttrpg playerbase) and introduces more chaotic/free-feeling action economy cannot be easier than base 5e
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Please take this as a compliment: I have to audit which of your videos I click on because everything you review I end up either backing or purchasing. I appreciate your thorough coverage and clear explanations that make the content exciting and intriguing, some of your videos on games I had initially passed on have made me go back and pick them up. Please, my bank account cannot handle watching too many of your reviews and it pleads with me to limit what I happen to watch. I have already backed nimble so I thought this video would be safe to watch and comment on. Keep up the good work.
I think the biggest takeaway is what was highlighted at the beginning - “play what you prefer”. All products mentioned have value and can produce fun and memorable TTRPG moments. Boils down to what you want, making a choice and playing in that direction.
I'd say there are enough active issues with and alternatives to D&D 5e to suggest that it's now obsolete
Which can't be as easily said about editions 2 through 4 of D&D
(And many of those alternatives exist specifically just to resolve 5e's issues)
I LOVE how the flame spells work. Using a cantrip at first to impart the burning condition on a target and THEN using mana for your bigger spell, thats awesome!
I screamed when you said it has slot based inventory!!
I basically started using a 3-slot-based inventory. I like the way it's laid out in the character sheet for Nimble. Seems like a great way to have a night with non-TTRPG players.
The game looks good and I will probably pick it up. A big part of D&D for me and my players is the Attack Roll. Rolling a d20 with the anticipation of a Hit, roll a Nat 20 - cheers go up. The most memorable moments over the years involve roll Attack.
I expect an exploding damage die will still have that same effect. Especially if they roll max repeatedly, it may be even more exciting!
@@airsheeps I agree and its even better because it removes the first layer disapointment, yes, you could roll a 20, but you could also roll right under the enemy's AC and that's it, turn gone, wait 10 min more for your next turn if it is a big table.
I feel like a several-layer exploding crit gets a similar reaction. I'm imagining the increasing tension as the player attacking with a d8 rolls two eights in a row, and you all wait to see if they get a third
I've literally been thinking the past few weeks about trying to homebrew my own simplified and streamlined version of 5e, since a lot of my game group are annoyed by 5e's complexity, but uninterested in trying other fantasy rpgs (despite my pleading). This looks promising.
Same here, on all counts!
The idea of being annoyed by 5e because of "complexity" is such a foreign concept to me
@@princeblackelf4265 outside of the 5e and pathfinder communities you'll find A LOT of people who feel its too complex
Thanks for the overview. This is very well said, love it!
"Wizard of the Coast, a subsidiary of the publicly traded American toy company Hasbro, treats RPG books in the only way they know how: by assessing what people think of as maximum value and selling it to them while keeping costs as low as possible. And what people think of as valuable is page count. […] Each book pretty much has to clock in at or over 200 pages. There’s a science to it. Unfortunately, to get to 200 pages in every case, they employ contract writers to crank out what can only be described as filler. Customers of official 5e products have been shelling out millions of dollars for books that each contain about 50 to 75 pages of good ideas and concepts and 125 to 150 pages of sawdust-just absolute dross. This is the reason why I cover third-party and indie RPGs: they operate on a different objective than Hasbro’s games division subsidiary. They pretty much have to deliver quality content, or they won’t sell any copies."
Since the Pinkerton Incident, I have quit playing and purchasing WotC products, and am quite happy running Blades in the Dark and Savage Worlds. So I have no interest in buying yet another D&D clone. But would I *PLAY* Nimble if someone brought it to my table? You damn skippy I would! 😁
The attack missing on a 1 on the damage die is a genius idea. The thought never crossed my mind. Also, I just love inventory slots.
Personally, I love games that ask less of the GM/players in terms of memorizing and tracking stuff and also those that give GMs lots of tools to use. A 100 different modifiers for a roll? No. A d100 random table to roll what you find in a room? Yes.
Also means that martial characters with higher die sized weapons are less likely to miss compared to a wizard or rogue etc.
I mean 5e is simple, if you are used to SR or GURPS. But it's still a convoluted mess, so 6-7 is warranted.
I mean I just used to play 3.5 and 5e is insanely less complex than that edition. I'd put it at a 4-5 myself
I backed it in the hope to have an enjoyable system to use all those 5e products i have amassed (all of them from independent creators)
Could you suggest any affordable ones that are from independent creators and that you have enjoyed ?
@@dionisiosmarinos4285 I would also like to hear what you liked...
@@DomenG33K I don't have any 3rd party products at the moment sadly
Dave, you are 100% spot on about the page counts. I don't care if the D&D/PF2e books are 300+ pages when 150 of the pages is useless extra rules or drivel for the sake of the page count. In Technical Writing (which, let's be honest, is what the rules part of TTRPG game books _are_) less is more.
It’s funny to be how the name Nimble was the name of bread in the 70’s in the U.K. for people who wanted to lose weight!!😂
What I really like it the modularity of character design. If you want a buff Halfling, drop the Luck ability, and take Sturdy from the Dwarf. Stops the card board cut out syndrome of D&D.
I'm playing Knave at the time of this comment but I'll give Nimble a look through it's preview. I'll wait for a retail copy, though. I figure by the time it reaches Amazon or my LFG/BS there might be room to try something new. I love the inventory slot mechanic simpler magic system.
This video changed my mind. I was going to ignore Nimble since I was so burned out on 5E and planned to stick with OSR games, but I've reconsidered. I did have some very memorable 5E games and if I could get a streamlined experience and still pull in the players that want that 5E style game experience, then I think I need to check this out. I'm in.
I'm definitely for Nimble, love speedy play, focus on story, not endless fights with dreary rolling.
Also Hasbro sucked out all willingness to even invest in DnD anymore, sorry employees, it's not you, it's your boss.
Still I'm also working on a completely system myself, with a very different philosophy, that leads into very different territory, except it's an RPG and players need to collaborate to overcome giant odds.
i'm getting whiplash from all the d20 systems and i know it's a good thing to have options but ... gonna have to see how things go may use the sample rules for a short adventure see how we feel.
I really resonate with the 150 pages of sawdust after buying most of 5e.
Very interesting. I had missed this one. This looks like one I will need to take a look at it in greater detail. Using just a damage roll instead of both a to-hit and a damage roll is something I am seeing more and more. My "go to position" is to have "active" attack and defense rolls. I think that comes from my first gaming experience being with HeroQuest and then later GURPS (which has attack, defense, and damage rolls). But, when I am designing, it seems like I often go back combing those into a single roll. Sounds like a topic that deserves a deep dive.
I backed this. If it makes the GM’s job, my job, easier? Sold!
The illustrations and layout in this feels miles ahead other 5e third party products!
Well, this is not a 5e product though and still many improvements could be made (if you know design). Personally I would prefer tags and keywords to make everything easier to read. Those cards definitely go towards that idea though
The exploding crits also really helps weapons like daggers. Lower overall damage threshold, but a much higher chance to crit. Very thematic! I like it!
"Sawdust" - perfect !
I appreciate your review of this book. I was not really looking for any more 5E alternatives to dedicated shelf space to, but your methodical, yet still concise, breakdown of this product has given me a reason to consider using this at the table.
I really want to pick this up, as 5e doesn't gel for me in some scenarios, but I have to say: I LOVE TO HIT ROLLS! lol Many systems remove it, but its my favorite. I'd rather get rid of damage. Still interested in checking it out. Will watch this video and mull it over!
I hear you on removing damage rolls rather than to-hit rolls. I love a to-hit roll. I've been toying with the idea of folding damage into the to-hit roll in one way or another. For 5e, I'm testing out this idea: you deal damage equal to the amount you beat the target's AC by + half your level (rounded up). There are definitely some tweaks to be made on it, but I think it has potential for certain groups
This is what DC20 does by the way. The d20 roll to hit also determines your damage. You should definitely check it out.
Static damage then?
@@emirefliI think it goes by increments of 5, they refer to the rule as “levels/increments of success”
But in dc20 weapon damage has been completely rescaled. And if you beat the AC every increment of 5 you deal 1 more damage.
In my person homebrew I kept to hit rolls and have a modified damage roll.
Roll 1-9 = half weapon damage
10-20 full weapon damage
On nat 20 crit you get a weapon battle effect. It’s been working well!
@@Saikool64was coming to say this but you beat me to it. Love how DC 20 bridges the to hit roll to the damage.
Thanks for this! Just signed up to be notified for when it starts.
Hey Dave, great video. Love your explanation over this game and excited to play it. Looks like the link to the interview in the description is dead though. Hope you’re doing well!
The more I learn about ways to improve 5E the more I love Cypher System.
Wow, maybe I've got my finger on the pulse of new dnd stuff or something, but I was just about to start writing a boss fight with Nimble 5e in mind so me and my dnd group could try out the rules
Great video. Just when I think no one can get me interested in d20 based games anymore (specifically, medieval fantasy genre ) something like this comes around and pulls me back in. The game looks great, I like the level of crunch. I look forward to seeing more.
13:10 : Reminds me a bit of Mage: The Awakening's magic system. I've seen you cover just about every other type of game but I haven't seen you cover and World/Chronicles of Darkness games. Here's my +1 vote to hopefully inspire you to do that (specifically Mage; I can't be the only Mage out there DESPERATE for content!)
Dude I just backed this via your link. Thanks for covering this awesome project. I’m stoked to try this out!
Great review. 100% agree, but, I'm guessing because of the Shadowdark shirt, like you, my preference is for the lower powered, grittier, OSR/NSR style of gameplay. We switched to Shadowdark during the Kickstarter (I got a PDF review copy) and my group voted to switch systems in the middle of the campaign. Easy to learn, fast turns, fun to play, actual chance of death. SD for the win.
The page count thing was something I began to learn a few years back. I love collecting rpg books and reading them, but so much of it is just fluff or ideas. Which isn't always bad, but most of the time, the actual mechanics you need to know are on a GM Screen or Rules Reference page.
Oh. Wow This is so fascinating. I only buy stuff in brick and mortar stores. If Nimble makes it to my local game store, I am grabbing it. Ditto for DC20. DND 5E is the first TTRPG I got into. The worst part was how difficult and convoluted the rules are. I am so glad that is being fixed. Once I got a good understanding of the basic rules, I started to make house rules to streamline the game. Nimble is interesting because it streamlines the game. The stuff in this video is really cool. I would like to know more. I do have two main house rules. One is to roll one per turn for damage and add bonuses to that. Nimble has something similar. That blows my mind. What a coincidence. Great minds think alike. My other big rule is to use mana as a magic resource. This is something that coincidentally in DC20. The Dungeon Coach has a whole video about this. He dislikes spell slots even more than I do. His rant is hilarious. My favorite part about an RPG is classes. I am curious on how Nimble does it. This video had a little bit, but I would like to learn more.
There are definitely different levels of complexity or "crunch". I am surprised that DND 5E was so high in the video's scale. I keep hearing about it being easy and simplified. I guess I am not alone in thinking this is too complicated. I wonder what the ends of scale would be. Maybe the top end of the scale could have older editions of DND. Maybe there can be dungeon crawl classics or something. Maybe the bottom has Fate. I think there is good and bad kinds of crunch. The good kind of crunch gives more customization options. The increased depth is fun to play with. Good crunch would be things like adding more classes, races and spells to the game. The bad kind of crunch is making the game more complicated without adding any choice. Having to roll twice in a turn is one example. Spells slots are another. That stuff should be simplified. It makes the game easier and faster without ruining the fun. Another example is weight and carrying capacity. That is something that I completely ignore. I am probably not alone. Nimble is brilliant in replacing that with an item slot system. It is simpler, and it gets the job done. Item slots are used all the time in video games. That can easily be implemented in TTRPGS.
MARTHA! NEW DAVE!
Mmm... good food for lunch...
I have been fascinated by Nimble. Also, I see that Shadowdark t shirt. Very nice.
I was all in until you got to auto-hitting. I do not like this mechanic, but hey, I am sure many will. Best of luck to Nimble!
I took a look at Nimble 5e upon Dave's recommendation, and I gotta say, this is the most promising 5e-compatible 5e-alternative rule I've seen so far. Other such rules seem to have replaced 5e's bloat with their own set of bloat, but this one actually looks like it may have streamlined things quite a bit. Very, very intrigued!
Ive never been interested in playing a DnD adjacent game before this video : )
Dang, I missed the Backer Kit funding campaign. At least I was able to pre-order! This sounds like just the thing I need to get over the "I'm just not that into D&D5e anymore" rut.
When I'm branching out from D&D I generally avoid the D&D clones like Pathfinder, starfinder, OSR stuff, and the slate of post OGL controversy games like Tales of the Valiant, DC20, Nimble, and others.
There's lots of games and systems out there. The two that have my attention now are Cypher System and Fabula Ultima, but even further out systems like Star Wars Edge of the Empire, Call of Cthulhu, Traveler, and Powered by the Apocalypse all have their merits.
One upside to wildly different games is that you can still use some D&D products with them. If you forget the subclasses in most books and focus on books that give you useful DM tools, setting and genre guides, and subsystems or mechanics for specific areas of play that are essentially system agnostic, then you can use many supplements with any game system.
I like running horror fantasy like games set in the world of Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Instead of digging up the out of print BtVS RPG I simply have the players make melee focused 5e characters or Cypher System characters with some of the Superhero rules applied, and I run them through Call of Cthulhu investigations/modules.
Just backed it. Fantastic review, thank you!
While I'm more a dark and gritty player. Trying to get my players to fight tooth and nail. I think everything that third party content creators like this is just awe inspiring.
I love original 5e, but Nimble sounds really good. It has a lot of similarities to Tales From The Red Dragon In Board Game.
I'm more interested in more detail and variety so that is why I left d&d for pathfinder 1e. I like dc20 be cause he is combining 5e and pf 2e and doing his own thing. I will always prefer pathfinder 1e but I will use house rules that I'm taking from dc20 and other games.
Hmm, spell tiers instead of levels? Gear slots? Simplified spell list and descriptions? Seems similar to Shadowdark... looks like great minds think alike in terms of crafting a simpler version of 5E.
Nimble is very open about the fact that it looked at what everyone else did and took what it liked haha. It cites 5e, Pathfinder 2e, DC20, Shadowdark, MCDM, and a few others.
@@torva360 "We take what we want, and leave the rest. Just like your salad bar!" - Egg Shen, Big Trouble in Little China
This looks cool. Probably never gonna touch it. But it looks cool.
I'm 100% for the more modern approach of stripping down the rules, stat blocks, etc, to the bare essentials. As I have travelled my gaming journey, I have learned that it's the story, not the rules, that makes for great memories with friends.
yes,
No, rules interactions can make for good stories
@@leonelegender .
@@leonelegender It could very well be the case, but amazing rules interactions stories haven't happened to me yet in 39 years.
@@psychophipps damn bro, I'm sorry for you, what a life
How is attack skill measured? If a child uses a sword they do the same damage? Or are there weapon limitations based on class/attribute?
There are some limitations but it depends on your attributes. Basically a child would still hit 75% of the time with a dagger but would have probably a -1 strength so it would do way less DMG and couldnt wear any good armour
@@dionisiosmarinos4285 Thanks!!
I wouldn't put 5E at a 7, but I do agree that it's definitely not a "rules-lite" game.
As someone who ran a full campaign for 6 months using 1e, Nimble became our unexpected gem earlier this year. All my players loved it (save for that one whiny player).
Great breakdown. Definitely will look into it
6:03 That Burning Wheel comment... Oooph
I'd be interested in where you'd place games like Chivalry & Sorcery, RuneQuest, DragonAge, Dragon Warriors, AD&D 1e, D&D 3.5e, BECMI D&D, and ShadowDark on your complexity scale.
As someone who cut their teeth on 3.0 , then moved on to 3.5 and finally pathfinder 1e, I'd personally place 5e around 4-5 comparably
Hows the martial caster divide in nimble?
Based on the preview it's amazingly balanced. Due to the intercept action martials can tank better and have ways to deal DMG comparable to magic users
Sounds good. My thoughts are seemingly similar to yours: the streamlined rules really appeal to me, but I also prefer less superheroic characters. Not quite OSR levels of grit, but maybe a 10-level progression with 10th level characters being not *that much* more powerful than 1st level ones. So Nimble probably isn’t for me, considering I am one of those people who is by now extremely familiar with the 5E rules - but it looks like a big step in the right direction.
Have you looked into Worlds without Number? It’s character are beefier than their BX counterparts, but no OP as modern D&D.
Plus it has a free version available on DrivethruRPG, And it’s not a rinky-dink QuickStart guide, it’s the entire game sans a few bonus options (and that’s are the are: optional).
After reading the beta doc for this I think calling nimble simpler is underselling it. Sure it has less moving parts, and streamlined systems but the game itself is far more tactical. The Class abilities and initiative are designed for the party to work off of each others strength and create combos. The Monsters while 'simpler' actually have features that make their group and type a distinctly different challenge to fight against.
I will likely support this campaign.
Phenomenal review! Subscribed (:
I like the idea of no attack roles and just rolling for damage. My only concern is that since a miss is rolling a 1 on your damage die that it would be penalizing characters who used less damaging weapons like daggers, etc. Rolling 1 on a D12 is less likely than rolling one on a D8 or a D6 not to mention a D4 like the whip my bugbear gloom stalker ranger uses. D12 misses approximately 8.23% of the time while a D4 would be 25%. I realize that the D4 will explosively crit 25% of the time also however I don’t know that I would trade that for a 25% miss rate. I guess the head cannon could be that while daggers do less damage and miss more often when they do find purchase, they do a lot of damage. I’d love to hear everyone else’s thoughts.
D4 and D6 weapons will be more efficient against heavy armored enemies, because crit hit neglates armor. Greataxe have greater dice but its dmg will be reduce to half in almost every attack.
@@krzysztofpotka1185 I didn’t think about it that way. Now I like it even more because it gives a reason to use a variety of weapons, including lower damage ones for specific purposes.
I am a teacher starting my schools D&D club (hoping to make it more ttrpg generally but kids know D&D not TTRPG), do you think something like nimble may be able to ease the complexity while helping maintain the idea that it is D&D?
@@Em_The_Wandering yeah, people do it all the time. They teach the rules to new players and call it “D&D” and everyone has fun. Except it’s not actually D&D they’re playing. Nimble is a perfect back door replacement because it’s actually compatible with D&D.
So weapons with a lower damage are more likely to miss? So 1d4 and 1d6 are awful weapons to be stuck with.
So many variables to weapon use... In the hands of someone skilled, a dagger can be as lethal as a two-handed sword--but in a different way. I suppose you could frame it so that a dagger used against an opponent in full plate armor, or that is huge, or has a very tough hide, is not likely to do much damage even it it hits. But, again, if you are highly proficient, and in game play, roll a high attack number, the dagger may find a spot between the armor plates, or into the eye of a huge creature, etc. It's an interesting choice to lower the weapon's ability to hit when it's damage is already low.
Not necessarily. Weapons that have use smaller dice also have a better chance of doing a critical.
Unrelated: 9:10 Monster Tactics and other sections have the Us, Vs and Ys at larger size than other letters in the bold parts of the text.
I absolutely want a simplified D&D, like they did back in the day with B/X and AD&D. The barrier to entry for 5e is so high.
But any existing player is going balk at not having all the crazy character options that 5e offers now. And personally, not sure how I feel about not rolling to hit.......
Check out Shadowdark
thanks for covering this
this is superbly fantastic
I backed both screw it lol thanks brother great video
5e is a mess, but none of these address the issues with the game (imho). I would even say that it undoes some of the few things 5e does better than 3e. 10 levels with the number of abilities equal (or even less) to 3e within that range. 3e was very heroic (especially within Eberron) but was a convoluted mess. 5e is a pain in the ass because of all the little "+1 AC while not wrapped in a net, with one foot in a pot and one foot on a goat" in other words mostly useless and just taking up space on the sheet
The main thing I see the appeal in is simplified/streamlined spells.
I am not a big fan of D&D's schools of magic nor the functionality of most spells.
As much as people complain that D&D is "all combat" you look at the spell-list and it feels like over half the spells are for 'exploration' and 'social encounters' with the problem being that too many are hyper-situational.
I'd prefer more spells to be combat-based, organized by damage-type and for utility spells to just be stronger or more versatile.
Great video, thx!
Sounds really interesting. My not-D&D of choice has been 13th Age so far but this seems really fresh. DC20 looks cool but at the same time kinda feels like just more D&D. A lot of these games would occupy the same spot at the table. I can't see many tables doing a DC20 and then a Nimble game, and then a 13th Age game - since all of those would sit on the same spot of heroic fantasy.
I LOVE Nimble!
In regards to 5e complexity, it is less complex than D&D 3/3.5e and, from what I hear, 4e. I've played Pathfinder 1e, which is a refinement of the 3.5e rules, and 5e. Both of them are complex games, but 5e is simpler. Anyone questioning your intelligence for calling that out is a troll and not worth listening to. 5e still has lots of stuff to track and to remember. True, there's less math at the table, but it still has a staggering number of abilities and limited use things that you have to keep track of. Instead of keeping track of +1's and +2's, we're now keeping track of how many uses we have of whatever ability and what feats we have and whether we have advantage or not. It's still complex, it's just a different kind of complex.
And that's not even getting into issues with the more options you have, the less creative freedom you have. It seems counterintuitive, but hear me out. When you have a rule that says you can do X if you have Y, the implication is that you can't do X if you don't have Y. What's worse, is that it's very easy for GMs to fall into the trap of thinking that if there's nothing that says they can do X, then they can't do X because it creates less work for them in having to figure out the game mechanics. That in turn stifles player creativity because why are they going to ask if they can do U, V, W, or Z if they've been told the rules don't say you can do X, so you can't do X. So as you add options and rules, you limit the space players have to be creative. Sure, you can ignore those rules, but a lot of players and GMs, especially new players and GMs, are going to be hesitant to do that.
In the end, even if 5e is a 7 on the complexity scale where games like Pathfinder are an 8 or a 9, that's till a 7, that's still a very complex game.
Nimble 5e and DC20 are really similar. Damn!
Your reviews are great!
This game has so much overlap with what I've been trying to achieve also (a lighter weight version of 5e, but more narrative driven). Thanks so much for reviewing this, will definitely check it out!
I find DC20 to be incredibly more complex and overwhelming. That's likely because it's still a work in progress but it worries me for the future if it doesn't start simple and get more complicated as a "thing" develops.
DC20 is "Imma take 5E and replace everything with GURPS stuff, except damage... that'll be Savage Worlds...but with a d20"
That's not a bad thing, DC20 is neat...but not revolutionary.
hmmm.... so a dagger wielding rogue is expected to miss a lot??
Just to clarify. The new D&D 2024 books will retail for 50 USD, just as the original 2014 books. They are not adjusting for inflation.
I do think 5e is extremely simplistic, but it's also as deep as a puddle yet slow and cumbersome to run, so this seems like a huge improvement!
This is exactly what I want out of DnD
Whats your favorite RPG at the moment?
You sold me, D.T.!
My thoughts are most of this is a decent 5e Hack but some of this can be far more elegant and logical. Also rework Inspiration and make it something that doesn't just rot on the vine.
Having less spells but more flexible is always a win for me.
Are the cards part of the pdf package?
Nice review. 5e is already too superpowered, so i don’t want an even more superpowered game. So this isn’t for me. Maybe I’ll look into 5e Hardcore.
I disagree with you comment about being compatible with 5e. Its compatible from a GM perspective, but not from a player perspective.
Could I grab 5e monsters, magic items & adventures and run them with Nimble, easily.
Could my player grab a 5e subclass and use it with Nimble? Probably not. A spell, no. A feat, not sure on that. A race, yes this would be compatible.
From a GM perspective, this looks interesting and I would be interested in testing this. But the players will have a lot of changes. So they will be less willing to try. Especially when they cannot use their uber broken half goliath necromancer, power feat, etc build. (Yet another reason why I think this game looks good from a GM perspective).
Interesting but I think for me, I can just take the rules and styles I like from other games such as ShadowDark RPG or Mork Borg and "hack" 5e to get what I want. I don't play much 5e at all anymore but when I inevitably do again, I'll probably just remove or streamline stuff instead of using a whole new system
Having a unique Crit mechanic for multi-dice weapons and then reshuffling the weapon dice to leave the rapier (which used to be 1D8) as the *only* multi dice weapon (2D4) kinda sticks out like a design... mistake?
(Meanwhile greatsword is changed from 2D6 to 1D12?)
I think it’s to facilitate higher crit rates for certain weapons since now crits are baked into the damage rolls (a rapier is small fast and pointy and so it should crit more than a huge greatsword)
@@rusy3112 I understand the dice mechanic. My criticism is that *only one* weapon on the entire weapons list uses this mechanic.
(in hindsight I should have bolded *"only multi dice weapon"* for emphasis)
Whilst the approach is "play how you want / like", the fact that streamlined books are coming more and more kinda demonstrates folks are yearning for simpler yet highly adventurous gaming. Kinda.
However, let's not forget - if there's no D&D 5e, then there's no simpler games. I mean these if authors have to streamline something, what better books are there other than the 5es?
I think the 5e is here to stay. They will be 6es and 7es in the future (just need the right genius to come along). If / when that happens, streamline gurus will be once again, busy.
Busy is good.
There is many RPGs that bit dnd you know, many better
Ooookay... I'm late to the party. How do I get this?!?!!
Im gathering up 5e updates to make my own version, A5E is free and online
Looks pretty decent and the price is very inviting!
As the cool kids say from some point in time: "I'd fux with it."
Im reaching for my ICRpg book.
always put a smile on my face hearing DC20 and "streamlined 5e" in the same sentence. game that wasnt released yet (not playtested by major part of ttrpg playerbase) and introduces more chaotic/free-feeling action economy cannot be easier than base 5e