Distracted by D&D

So I was distracted about D&D since I invested in the Starter and Essentials Kit. I thought it would be "easy enough" to get my son into. But I was wrong and strangely It took me about 20 hours of reading everything and videos to really grasp how much I was out of my scope.

My brother has the PHB and DMG which I then borrowed to understand more about the rules.

Even with all these reviewing, I still have to check the books because my understanding is really fragmented.

Modifier Inflation

The Modifier Inflation in D&D5e is a BIG change, especially coming from someone who would run Epic level games in 3.5. I largely agree with the decisions to cut the Inflation to 1/5. A +6 to +8 iscan be found in one ability of the PCs and takes considerable character resources.

Maxing out the Magical Bonus to +3 and Focusing on "Qualities" instead of numeric advantages is a great improvement.

The easy-algorithm would be Get the STAT modifier (-1 to +4) plus the Proficiency Level (+2 to +6). With some classes, the Proficiency level for Non-Combat options are doubled (+4 to +12).

They also limited the Actions Per Turn to One Reaction, Max-One Bonus Action, and An Action. No 4 Attacks of Opportunity.

If you find the ACs low, note Cover modifiers SSRB-12, EKRB-36, PHB-196. These come into play a lot. Movement SSRB-10, EKRB-35, PHB-190 is done in a way that you can "displace" - which means 1) Reach weapons automatically provoke opportunity attacks if opponents do not spend the turn to "disengage", 2) Having reach to attack without provoking opportunity attacks, 3) forcing enemies to move to engage creates a very interesting behavior on the Board. ( When I get experience running the combat I'll try to give a Visual Mental Model of tactics).

Heavy Armors removes Dex Penalty to AC. So by implication and it's not definitively stated that Dex penalty lowers AC in light or medium armor. Stumbled on this when Trying to reflect on the Starting Characters and their Optimum play.

Rest Variants: Gritty Realism  DMG 267

I cannot help but prefer gritty realism because there seem to be minor "Consequences" for bad decisions or bad planning. All damage is "Recovered" in a Long Rest, is pretty potent. As story telling goes to say "A week passes" and "A night passes" is just a slight change in Mindset and a some of Preparation for the GM (1-2 hours of discussions with other GMs and preparing the options, and forecasting the type of behavior the options will create). 

1. Short Rest is 8 hours.
1. Non-Spellcasters are able to recover faster.
2. Long Rest is 7 days.
1. Resting 16 hours a day.
2. Able to do Light Activity -
3. mostly mental tasks with DC no higher than 8 plus modifier,
4. or Physical Tasks with a difficulty of 3 plus Modifier. So part-time work is 1gp per day.
3. Healer Feat and Healing Kit are key in Short Rests. PHB 167
1. 1d6+4+HD of the creature. Once per Short Rest.
2. Healers Kit is 50sp, 10 uses, and 5lbs.
4. PHB 186 Resting
1. Each PC has up their Hit Dice + hp modifier of recoverable HP. They can recover these Short-Rest HD after a Long Rest.
5. PHB 187 Downtime Activities
1. Practicing a Profession.
2. Recuperating
3. Researching

Lifestyle Expenses PHB 157

The notes below are all DM Homebrew Rules. 

1. Wretched  --
1. Potential Encounters
2. Cannot Rest. Just lets time passes.
2. Squalid  0.1 gp/day
1. Potential Encounters
2. Con Save DC 15 per period or rest is interrupted.
3. Poor  0.2 gp/day
1. Potential Encounters
2. Roll tools proficiencies at DC 10 to fix surroundings to be tolerable for a Period. Margin of Success is number of Periods fixed.
4. Modest  1 gp/day
5. Comfortable 2 gp/day
1. An advantage in Recuperating with Healer visits (1gp/vist)
2. With Short (8hr) Rests Healer visits healing 1d6+4+HD (1gp/vist).
3. Or delegate Unskilled Tasks.
6. Wealthy  4 gp/day
1. As with Comfortable.
2. Delegate Tasks to Skilled Professionals.
3. Hire healing from an “Adept” Healer, able to cast 1st level healing spells.
7. Aristocratic 10 gp/day
1. Delegate Tasks to a few of Skilled Professionals.
2. Hire multiple or better “Adept” Healers .

D&D5e Notes. Of Course Spoilers and all WIP. Planning to run on Feb.

1. 200111 D&D5E Homebrew Rules
2. 191202 Lost Mine of Phandelver
3. 200111 D&D5E Phandelver NPCS
4. 200110 D&D5E Table Notes

Experience Points	Level	Proficiency Bonus	Required XP to Advance	Years of Adventuring	Years of Experience
0	1	2		0.0	0
300	2	2	300	0.0	0
900	3	2	600	0.1	1
2,700	4	2	1,800	0.4	3
6,500	5	3	3,800	1.0	7
14,000	6	3	7,500	2.2	16
23,000	7	3	9,000	3.5	26
34,000	8	3	11,000	5.2	38
48,000	9	4	14,000	7.4	53
64,000	10	4	16,000	9.8	71
85,000	11	4	21,000	13.1	94
100,000	12	4	15,000	15.4	111
120,000	13	5	20,000	18.5	133
140,000	14	5	20,000	21.5	156
165,000	15	5	25,000	25.4	183
195,000	16	5	30,000	30.0	217
225,000	17	6	30,000	34.6	250
265,000	18	6	40,000	40.8	294
305,000	19	6	40,000	46.9	339
355,000	20	6	50,000	54.6	394

Notice that advancing from 10 to 11 is HARDER than 11 to 12, and out of place when I consider 12 to 13, and 13 to 14

I swapped it out and made them in the order of increasing.

Req XP	Level	XP
0	1
300	2	300
600	3	900
1800	4	2,700
3800	5	6,500
7500	6	14,000
9000	7	23,000
11000	8	34,000
14000	9	48,000
15000	10	63,000
16000	11	79,000
20000	12	99,000
20000	13	119,000
21000	14	140,000
25000	15	165,000
30000	16	195,000
30000	17	225,000
40000	18	265,000
40000	19	305,000
50000	20	355,000

Years of Adventuring. 

For very Upwardly Mobile NPC/PCs or Retired NPCs. Based on the Speed by which Starter Adventure will conclude in Game Time.

Years of Experience

Using 3.5 Race Ages. Adventurers or Upwardly Mobile Characters are a "Meta Game Construct". The GM and the Players can say who is an "Adventuring" NPC/PC. Non-Adventuring NPCs are characters who just want a LIFE. 

Race	Years of Experience
Human	x1
Dwarf	x3
Elf	x10
Gnome	x3
Half-elf	x1.5
Half-orc	x1
Halfling	x1.25

Cashless Incomes

Incomes are a challenge. Particularly changing the Rewards in "CASH" to Favors, Holdings, and Prestige. If the designers Didn't want a lot of Modifier Inflation, creating a Cashless set of rewards would have been the natural progression of course, that would have nerfed selling more "WOTC" approved options. 

I'm trying to Check out Strongholds and Followers but I plan to just Draw from GURPS and HARN and follow the D&D5e model and simplify. Like at work: Simplify and make a Detailed Breakdown of Assumptions (which I learned in PMBOK its called an Assumptions Log).