Nimble 5E Preview Review

What do I like about the Nimble 5E RPG? Here's a review of the game as it is presented in the free sample PDF provided on backerkit. 

Faster combat is pretty much guaranteed. 

More specifically, combat turns in Nimble 5E will be faster … snappier. This means less down time for everybody. How is this accomplished? How about, no Armor Class and no roll To Hit? Players just roll for damage. You still miss, if you roll a 1. And if you roll the maximum value on the die, you crit and can roll again. This means that lower value dice both miss more often, but also crit more often. The thing about rolling a crit is that it ignores armor. That's right, effects that reduce damage are ignored when you roll a crit. So that higher chance of missing might just be worth it if you are fighting a heavily armored opponent. And rolling exploding damage dice is just so much fun.

Three action economy.

You get three actions. Use them how you want. Attacks after the first are called "rushed attacks" and are made at disadvantage (roll an extra die of the appropriate type, keep the low one) but you can attack three times if you want. You don't have separate reactions, but can "borrow" actions from your upcoming turn if you want. (This is all pretty easy to grok. You have three actions. They aren't broken up or divided into categories. They just are.)

There is a clear and consistent turn order.

The new initiative system might seem wonky at first, but really it's awesome. Players go first and everyone takes turns around the table. However, rolling for initiative is one of those hallmarks of D&D style combat and it is retained here. How? Once, at the beginning of combat, all players roll for initiative. Depending on how high you roll, you will get one, two or all three of your actions in that initial round. In subsequent rounds you will get all three actions, but in that moment when everything starts, just how alert and ready was your character? Your initiative roll will tell you, and rolling higher here will really make a difference so having a good initiative modifier matters. I LOVE this system.

There are new defensive options.

Armor reduces the damage you take. You can perform a "defend" reaction after being hit to reduce damage in combat by your armor value a second time, effectively doubling your armor value. There's also a reaction called, "interpose" that allows you to put yourself between an enemy and their target. You can even use the two reactions together.

Cleaner death mechanics.

No more death saves. When you drop to 0 HP, gain 1 level of Exhaustion and the Dying condition: actions are is limited to 1/ round, concentration is broken, and continuing to fight may further harm you: attacking/casting spells causes 1 level of exhaustion unless you make a DC 10 STR save; taking damage while Dying causes 2 levels of exhaustion, a crit causes 3 instead. If you gain 6 levels of exhaustion you die.

The characters are heroic.

The next several pages of the preview showcase characters, and these look epic.

  

  

The berserker is an unstoppable tank of rage. The cheat is a rogue that can just set their dice to whatever they want. The Mage is a powerful spellcaster with some interesting and random chaos magic effects thrown in. The Oathsworn is a vengeful paladin who gets more powerful when they take damage.

The magic system makes sense.

Magic is broken into tiers and casting spells expends mana. Make spells more powerful by expending additional mana. It all makes sense.

Simplified but more impactful racial abilities.

Races each have a single special ability, but these racial abilities are useful. It also seems that racial abilities can be mixed and matched. Players are encouraged to play the strengths they want and to layer in racial distinctions as flavor and roleplay. (Awesome!)

Monster stat blocks are simplified.

Certain monster qualities are assumed to be default (such as movement and armor). This makes stat blocks a lot smaller and simpler, and exceptions can be easily noted when needed. (The fewer things a GM has to track, the better.)

The character sheet is super open.

Only 10 skills and they are organized with Ability Scores at the top of the sheet. There's lots of room at the bottom of the sheet to list your powers the way that you want. 

  

  

This character sheet might be a little too open for some, but it allows you to decide what's important and where to put it. I like that.

These are Nimble's features as listed at the front of the preview:

• Fast Attacks — Know instantly if you hit and how much damage you do.
• Exploding Critical Hits — Retain the chaotic excitement of battle.
• Teamwork & Tactics — Be rewarded for smart positioning, and clever teamwork.
• Actively engage in combat — New reactions: Defend & Interpose.
• Instant Initiative — No more clumsily polling the party, get right into combat.
• Respect the Story — Keep role-playing through combat & new resting rules.
• More Player Agency — Flexible action economy, strategic weapon system, & more.
• Deep Yet Focused — Streamlined character sheets, easy to find what you need.
• Overhauled Magic & Spell system — Easier to pick up, more freedom, more flavorful.
• 5e compatible — Keep using your favorite adventure modules, monsters books, & supplements.
• New Classes & Subclasses — Thematic mechanics, customizable, & super flavorful.
• New Legendary Monster system — Easy to run for the GM across different party sizes.
• EASY to Learn & Teach New Players — continue to grow the hobby by making it less intimidating to play and GM. A plethora of GM tips are included. Great for first time and even experienced GMs.

Personally, I like all of this. All of it. I can't wait to get Nimble 5E to my table.